Paleontology at SUNY Fredonia

Paleontology Projects:

    Examples of published student projects include:

    • First CT-scan reconstruction of Graeophonus, a late Carboniferous whip spider (Arachnida: Amblypygi) from Coseley, Staffordshire, UK. [see publication here]

    • Original spotted patterns on Middle Devonian phacopid trilobites from western and central New York. [see publication here]

    • Epilogue to the tale of the Triassic amphipod: Rosagammarus McMenamin, Zapata and Hussey, 2013 is a decapod tail (Luning Formation, Nevada, USA). [see publication here]

    • A new genus and species of ?parthenogenic anostracan (Crustacea, Branchiopoda, ?Thamnocephalidae) from the Cretaceous Koonwarra Fossil Beds in Australia. [see publication here]

    • Silicification of trilobites and biofilm from the Cambrian Weeks Formation, Utah: Evidence for microbial mediation of silicification. [see publication here]

    • Almatium gusevi from the Madygen Formation, Kyrgyzstan. [in revision]

For a list of possible student projects, see the Opportunities for Students page.

Paleontology careers

    The field of paleontology is not one with many job opportunities. But, there are always job opportunities for dedicated, motivated paleontologists. A career in paleontology usually requires an advanced degree—either a Ph.D or an M.S. Research paleontologists often get jobs as museum curators, collection managers or as professors. There are other opportunities to use paleontological expertise in the fields of education, conservation, national parks service, and the energy industry.