We have just received from the printer a new publication put out by the
Academy of Natural Sciences -- A STUDY OF FOSSIL VERTEBRATE TYPES IN
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA (ANSP Special Publication
no. 16).  We hope this information will be of interest to a wide range
of people, so we are forwarding this to various interdisciplinary groups.

It is a whole new approach to the traditional "catalog" of type
specimens, written for an interdisciplinary audience.  We have
recognized that more and more researchers, students, and various
professionals outside of paleontology draw upon the important data
contained in the Academy's collections, so this study was conducted
with all of these groups in mind.

The main focus is of course paleontology, systematics and taxonomy.  But
it also covers history, curation, conservation, and library science.
Accordingly, it is directed to the problems and concerns met by
researchers, students, curators, collection managers, historians, and
librarians.  Here is a summary:

434 pages, including a 60-page bibliography with 1,300 citations completely
spelled out, and a 32-page index.

This is a unique study of the type specimens in the vertebrate paleontology
collection at the oldest natural science museum in North America.  The
Academy's 400+ types were described between 1822 and 1994.  Most are from
the beginnings of vertebrate paleontology in North America, including taxa
described by Richard Harlan, Joseph Leidy, and Edward Drinker Cope, to name
a few.

PART 1 places the fossil material in historical context with an overview
of vertebrate paleontology at the Academy (1812-present), collectors and
localities.

PART 2 contains extensively annotated entries describing the type
status, inventory, literature citations, and conservation information for
each lot.  This part is arranged by major systematic group: fishes,
amphbians, reptiles, birds, terrestrial mammals, marine mammals, and
ichnofossils.  There are also complete separate guides to the systematic
arrangement of the species as well as their stratigraphic and geographic
provenance.

Entries include such notables as: The first North American dinosaurs,
^Deinodon^, ^Troodon^, ^Trachodon^, and ^Paleoscincus^, described by Leidy
in 1856; ^Hadrosaurus foulkii^ Leidy 1859; and ^Dryptosaurus aquilunguis^
(Cope) 1866.  Also included are the first-described remains from such
famous paleontological localities as the White River badlands and Bridger
Basin, and important Pleistocene sites like Big Bone Lick, Kentucky; Port
Kennedy Cave, Pennsylvania; Burnet Cave, New Mexico; and early collections
from the Atlantic Coastal Plain.  Many early specimens were once part of
the historical collections of the American Philosophical Society, now at
the Academy.

PART 3 documents the interpretive methods used in the study of sometimes-
problematic historical fossil material.  It touches on various applications
of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature to specific problems
met during the study of the Academy's types.  Bibliographical problems
are also discussed.

For more information about this publication or the collections in the
Academy, please contact either
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 Ted Daeschler, Collection Manager --  Office  (215) 299-1133
 Earle E. Spamer                   --  Office  (215) 299-1148
 Academy of Natural Sciences
 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway        Academy FAX  (215) 299-1028
 Philadelphia, PA  19103-1195
 U.S.A.
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