Paleontology

Paleontology is the biological part of Geology which is the study of the Earth. Paleontologists are scientists that try to unravel and understand the complexity of the fossil record as it records the history and development of life. A four year undergraduate program followed by a M.Sc is the minimum requirment for becoming a paleontologist. Students planning to enter a career in paleontology will take geology, stratigraphy, biology, and sedimentology.

Paleontologists of British Columbia and Canada

Joseph Tyrell(1858-1957)- Worked for the Geological Survey of Canada. In 1884 he discovered the first skull of the Albertosaurus in Alberta's Badlands.

Barnum Brown(1873-1963)- Worked for the American Museum of Natural History. During his lifetime he discovered eight previously unknown species of Dinosaurs. At Deer River, Alberta he discovered and named the remains of ankylosaurs, anchiceratops and leptoceratops.

Charles Doolittle Walcott(1850-1927) - Worked for the Smithsonian Institute. In 1909 he discovered fossils of a number of soft-bodied animals in the Burgess Shale area, located in the Canadian Rockies.

Charles Hazelius Sternberg(1850-1943)- Collected dinosaur fossils for many museums in Alberta and other parts of Canada and New Mexico.

Alfred R.C.Selwyn(1824-1902)- Second Director to Geological Survey of Canada.

George M. Dawson(1849-1901)- Third Director to Geological Survey of Canada. Collected carboniferous plants.

Richard G. McConnell(1857-1942)- Deputy Minister of Mines from 1914 to 1921.

Joseph F. Whiteaves(1835-1909)- Paleontologist for the GSC. He collected and studied fossils from across Canada and specialized in Mesoszoic paleontology.

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