Fossil Invertebrate Collection With an estimated 1,000,000 specimens, including approximately 18,500 type specimens, the Fossil Invertebrate collection constitutes a national resource that is ranked third in the size of its holdings and third among the most significant and useful collections of its kind in North America. The collection emphasizes invertebrate material from the Paleozoic of the North American mid-continent. It spans all the geological periods from Precambrian through Cenozoic with all fossilized invertebrate phyla represented. The bulk of the collection came to the Museum beginning in 1965 with the transfer of the University of Chicago’s Walker Museum collections. Since then, with the hiring of Eugene Richardson in 1964 as curator, the collection eventually expanded until the early 1980s to include material from the world-famous Mazon Creek, Illinois area. Gordon Baird, who was assistant curator, also collected during the 1970s a significant number of Mazon Creek fossils. To date, the Mazon Creek portion of the collection remains the best curated and is the definitive resource for the study of its biota. Volumetrically, it occupies 10 percent of the entire collection and is currently the only part of the collection that is in a database. Continued growth of the collection occurred with the addition of the problematic Ordovician receptaculids as a result of the research of Dr. Matt Nitecki. Dr. Nitecki served as curator of Fossil Invertebrates beginning in 1976, and presently holds the position of curator emeritus. Other notable historic collections include those of: James Hall Eugene Richardson Anton Schrammen Stuart Weller William Gurley In addition, other significant components of the collection include Paleozoic echinoderms Ordovician through Devonian corals, brachiopods and trilobites Devonian Falls of the Ohio fauna Silurian Chicago regional fauna Visits to the collection by scientific researchers are strongly encouraged. Loans of collection material may be made only to individuals affiliated with reputable scientific institutions. Visits and loans are arranged through the Collections Manager. Contact Information Charlene Fricker Collections Manager 312/665-7631 cfricker@fieldmuseum.org Scott Lidgard Associate Curator 312/665-7625 slidgard@fieldmuseum.org Peter Wagner Associate Curator 312/665-7634 pwagner@fieldmuseum.org Mailing Address Department of Geology The Field Museum 1400 S Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605 Other Geology Department Collections: Paleontology | Fossil Amphibians and Reptiles |Fossil Fishes | Fossil Invertebrates |Fossil Mammals | Fossil Plants | Physical Geology