Paleontological Research Institution
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The Paleontological Research Institution, or PRI, is a paleontological organization in
Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...
, with a mission including both research and education. PRI is affiliated with
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, houses one of the largest fossil collections in North America, and publishes, among other things, the oldest journal of
paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
in the western hemisphere, ''
Bulletins of American Paleontology ''Bulletins of American Paleontology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Paleontological Research Institution and issued biannually that features monographs and dissertations in the field of paleontology and other related subje ...
''. PRI's facilities include the
Museum of the Earth The Museum of the Earth is a natural history museum located in Ithaca, New York. The museum was opened in 2003 as part of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), an independent organization pursuing research and education in the history o ...
, a natural history museum that houses some of PRI's collections for public viewing and educates visitors on the history of life on Earth, and, since 2013, the
Cayuga Nature Center The Cayuga Nature Center (CNC) is an educational institution addressing nature and environmental issues. It is located on the west side of Cayuga Lake in Tompkins County, New York. History CNC traces its history back to the Cayuga Preventorium, ...
, an educational venue with a focus on outdoor and environmental education.


History

PRI was founded in 1932 by
Gilbert Harris Gilbert Lloyd Harris (born June 18, 1984 in Manhattan, New York) is a former American football running back. After going undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft, Harris was out of football until he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2007. He played ...
, a professor of geology at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
from 1894 to 1934. Frustrated by the university's lack of assurance for the safety and perpetuation of his
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
collections and printing enterprise, ''
Bulletins of American Paleontology ''Bulletins of American Paleontology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Paleontological Research Institution and issued biannually that features monographs and dissertations in the field of paleontology and other related subje ...
'', Harris established PRI as a separate organization, unaffiliated with Cornell, to house his collection of fossils and continue to publish research. Beginning as a small building behind Harris' home in
Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...
, the institution served as a haven for Harris and others who wished to pursue research in
paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
. PRI was granted a provisional
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
by the New York State Board of Regents in 1933, and an absolute charter in 1936. Through various additions over the next two decades, the original building grew into a 20-room complex that housed the Institution's collections, library, laboratories, and offices. In 1968, under the then director Katherine Palmer, PRI relocated to its present facility on West Hill, along
Trumansburg Road Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several different ...
(N.Y. Rte. 96), which currently holds a collection of over 3 million specimens and a 50,000 volume research library. In 2003, PRI opened the
Museum of the Earth The Museum of the Earth is a natural history museum located in Ithaca, New York. The museum was opened in 2003 as part of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), an independent organization pursuing research and education in the history o ...
, an facility that showcases PRI's collections on a journey through 4.5 billion years of history. Attracting approximately 30,000 visitors a year, the museum's displays include fossils,
glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
,
coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...
aquaria, and the skeletons of a
right whale Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'': the North Atlantic right whale (''E. glacialis''), the North Pacific right whale (''E. japonica'') and the Southern right whale (''E. australis''). They are clas ...
and American mastodon. In 2004, PRI and Cornell University signed an agreement of formal affiliation. PRI remains an independent organization with recognized connections to the university. In 2013, the Cayuga Nature Center became part of PRI with the goal of educating the public about the
impact of climate change The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea level ...
on the fauna and flora of
Tompkins County Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...


Education

PRI's facilities at the Museum of the Earth and the Cayuga Nature Center provide opportunities for exploration-based, hands-on learning about the natural world and scientific process. PRI offers programs and opportunities for both students and teachers at the regional, state, and national levels to learn about a wide variety of topics, including
ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
,
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
,
Earth science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
, energy, and
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. The Education Department offers programs in six major areas: Interactive Programs and Events, Teacher Development, Global Change Education, Evolution Education, Earth Research Partnerships, and National Education Networks. The institution is also involved with several organizations that promote scientific education and literacy, including Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN), and the Western New York STEM Hub (WNY STEM). Two major online, open educational resources being developed by PRI include th
Digital Atlas of Ancient Life
(focused on
paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
) an
Earth@Home
(focused on
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
and other Earth sciences).


Collections

With over seven million specimens, PRI houses one of the ten largest collections of fossils and
Recent The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together ...
shells in the United States. Among them are over 16,000 type and figured specimens, also one of the ten largest such collections in the nation. The bulk of the collections consists of
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
, with strong points in western hemisphere
Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...
mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
,
Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
marine invertebrates of New York State, and Cenozoic
Benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...
foraminifera Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular Ectoplasm (cell biology), ectoplasm for catching food and ot ...
of the Gulf coastal plain and
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. PRI also houses notable collections of Recent mollusks,
Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
-
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
vertebrates of the
Newark series Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
,
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
vertebrates (particularly
mastodons A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
) of New York State, and fossil plants and fish. Many of PRI's specimens are especially valuable because they are from localities now destroyed or no longer available for study. In 1995,
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
's nonbotanical fossil and Recent mollusk collections were transferred to PRI on long-term loan.


Research

Research has been one of the core functions of the institution since its founding in 1932. Much of the current research done at PRI focuses on fossils and Recent mollusks of the Western hemisphere, in addition to
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
marine invertebrates and Pleistocene mastodons of New York State. Ongoing projects at PRI include Bivalve Assembling the Tree of Life (BivAToL), a venture to reconstruct the evolutionary origins of
bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
mollusks; the Conservation Paleobiology Workshop; the Mastodon Matrix Project, an effort to sift through the matrix recovered from around the Hyde Park Mastodon; and the Minute 319 Project, which uses samples of baseline benthic Mollusk communities to evaluate the impact of engineered pulse flows in the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
. PRI offers five research labs for both affiliated and visiting staff and students: the BioLab, a clean lab for microscope work; the PaleoLab, a dirty lab for rough processing of field collections, the WetLab for maintaining and studying living aquatic specimens, the PrepLab, a space for fine specimen preparation that also functions as an public exhibition at the Museum of the Earth, and the Amino Acid Racemization (AAR) geochronology lab, which provides equipment for amino acid dating. The AAR Lab at PRI is one of only three in the U.S. and six worldwide, and the only one to use an Agilent 6890
gas chromatography Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance, ...
(GC). Apart from the labs, PRI's research facilities also include the specimen collections and the William P.S. and Jeannine Ventress Library, a collection of approximately 60,000 books and serials. PRI also presents four awards annually to recognize excellence in the field of paleontology: the Katherine Palmer Award, the Gilbert Harris Award, the J. Thomas Dutro Jr. Student Award, and the John W. Wells Grants-in-Aid of Research.


Publications


''Bulletins of American Paleontology''

Founded by Gilbert Harris in 1895, ''Bulletins of American Paleontology'' is the oldest continuously published paleontological journal in the Western Hemisphere. Originally based at Cornell, the publication of ''Bulletins'' was taken over by PRI upon the institution's founding. It is issued biannually and is notable for its coverage of lengthier papers and dissertations that would otherwise be more difficult to publish.


''Palaeontographica Americana''

Established in 1916, the academic journal ''Palaeontographica Americana'' was originally published in a larger format than ''Bulletins of American Paleontology'' to allow for larger, more high-quality images. Publication of ''Palaeontographica Americana'' was officially discontinued in 2013.


''American Paleontologist''

Originating as a newsletter for members of PRI and the Museum of the Earth, ''American Paleontologist'' was a quarterly magazine designed to be accessible for everyone interested in fossils and the history of life. American Paleontologist was published in themed issues and featured articles by experts in paleontology and related fields, regular columns, book reviews, scientific and PRI-specific news, a museum calendar of events, and an insert geared towards children titled "Fossil Stuff". Publication of American Paleontologist was halted in 2012, following the release of volume 19.


The ''Teacher-Friendly Guide'' series

The ''Teacher-Friendly Guide'' series published by PRI provides information for grades 6–9 teachers and includes guides for
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
,
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
, and
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
in
bivalves Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
and
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
. Teacher-Friendly Guides to Earth Sciences cover six US regions (the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
, Southeast,
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
,
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, South Central, Northwest Central, and Southwest), each with their own book. * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Geology of the Northeastern US'' (2003) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Evolution Using Bivalves as a Model Organism'' (2011) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US'' (2014) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Western US'' (2014) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the South Central US'' (2015) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Northwest Central US'' (2015) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Southeastern US'' (2016) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Southwestern US'' (2016) * ''The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change'' (2017)


The ''Very Short Guide'' series

* ''Evolution & Creationism: A Very Short Guide, 2nd ed.'' (2009) * ''Climate Change - Past, Present, and Future: a Very Short Guide'' (2010) * ''The Science Beneath the Surface: A Very Short Guide to the Marcellus Shale'' (2013)


''Darwin@Cornell''

* ''Darwin@Cornell 2006: a Community Discusses Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design'' (2007) * ''Darwin@Cornell 2007: a Community Discusses Evolution and Human Nature'' (2007) * ''Darwin@Cornell 2008: a Community Discusses Evolution and The Environment'' (2008)


Other

* ''Fossil Shells of the Tertiary Formations of North America (1832-1837).'' (1963) * ''Neogene Mollusks from Northwestern Ecuador'' (1964) * ''Catalogue of the Reigen Collection of Mazatlan Mollusca in the British Museum'' (1967) * ''Recent Molluscs of the Gulf of Mexico and Pleistocene and Pliocene Species from the Gulf States'' (1971) * ''Pleiocene Fossils of South Carolina, Containing Descriptions and Figures of the Polyparia, Echinodermata and Mollusca'' (1974) * ''Timothy Abbott Conrad, with Particular Reference to his Work in Alabama One Hundred Years Ago'' (1977) * ''Memoires sur les Fossiles des Environs de Paris'' (1978) * ''Genera of the Bivalvia: a Systematic and Bibliographic Catalogue (revised and updated)'' (1980) * ''Papers on Neogene Mollusks'' (1993) * ''The G. D. Harris 1890 Manuscript on the Stratigraphy of Miocene and Pliocene Beds at Yorktown, Virginia'' (1993) * ''Devonian Paleontology of New York'' (1994) * ''Lasting Impressions: A Guide to Understanding Fossils in the Northeastern United States'' (1999) * ''New York State Natural History Survey 1836-1842'' (2000) * ''Geology of Seneca County, New York'' (2004) * ''A Leviathan of Our Own: the Tragic and Amazing Story of North Atlantic Right Whale #2030'' (2004) * ''The First 75 Years: a history of the Paleontological Research Institution'' (2007) * ''Ithaca is Gorges: A Guide to the Geology of the Ithaca Area, 4th ed.'' (2007) * ''Dinosaurs in Pop Culture'' (2007) * ''Charles Darwin: After the Origin'' (2009) * ''Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region: Its Flora, Fauna, Geology, and History'' (2009) * ''Cecil's Colossal Journey Through Time! Coloring & Activity Book'' (2010) * ''Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York'' (2014) * ''A Paleontological Life: The Personal Memoirs of Curt Teichert'' (2014) * ''Smith Woods: The Environmental History of an Old Growth Forest Remnant in Central New York State'' (2017)


References


External links

*
Museum of the EarthCayuga Nature Center
{{Authority control Cornell University Paleontological institutions and organizations Paleontology in New York (state) Non-profit organizations based in New York (state)