American Paleontologist Newsletter
March 29, 2024
From 1992 to 2012, members of the Paleontological Research Institution received American Paleontologist magazine in the mail four times per year (see below). Most issues included a feature article, book reviews, a summary of recent paleontological research, regular columns by Peter Dodson (Dodson on Dinosaurs) and John Catalani (An Amateur’s Perspective), activities for children, and highlights from our fossil collections. It was a difficult decision to end American Paleontologist 12 years ago, but a perfect storm of declining advertising revenue and increased printing costs forced our hand. We have heard from our friends ever since that they miss AP, and we do too.
We are excited to share that we are going to try to bring back American Paleontologist as a quarterly electronic newsletter in this PDF format. This is an experiment and its success will ultimately depend upon us attaining enough new members to cover the increased staffing costs associated with producing this newsletter. If you are currently a PRI member (any level), you will automatically receive the American Paleontologist Newsletter in your email inbox every few months and you don’t need to do anything other than renew your membership annually. If you are not currently a member of PRI and would like to receive future issues of this newsletter, please become a member. Doing so not only supports the development of this newsletter, but also the broader mission of PRI (and did we mention discounts in our online store as well?).
The American Paleontologist Newsletter will share some DNA with the old print magazine, but we are also excited to take it in some new directions, some of which will evolve from issue to issue. We are especially excited to provide a greater space for avocational paleontologists and fossil clubs around the United States to share their viewpoints and activities. Our goal is to help build broader community in American paleontology, especially between avocational and professional paleontologists. We also want you to enjoy this newsletter even if you don’t consider yourself a paleontologist, but rather are just curious about what is going on in the world of fossils and the people who enjoy digging into the past. You are a welcomed part of this community as well!
The theme of community is championed in a new column called “The PaleoCommunity Organizer” by avocational paleontologist Asa Kaplan, who has contributed the first half of a two-part essay titled, “How Fossil Community Got Lost-and How We Get It Back, Part I.” Asa also provides an overview of their local fossil club, the Eastern Missouri Society for Paleontology. Asa noted:
It’s an honor for us St. Louisans to see the Eastern Missouri Society for Paleontology be the first avocational society (read: fossil club) profiled in this newsletter. PRI has long been a mainstay in bridging paleontology’s unique linkage between avocationals and academic professionals, and now more than ever, PRI’s increasingly astute strategic vision is worth getting on board with. We’ve missed American Paleontologist, and we’re excited to see the rewards that this new format brings to avocational and professional fossil folks everywhere.
We couldn’t agree more and hope that you will help us to make this endeavor successful and sustainable. Further, we would love to hear any feedback that you might have about this newsletter, including ideas for what you’d like to see in future issues. Please let us know at [email protected].
American Paleontologist Magazine (1992-2012)
American Paleontologist (ISSN 1066-8772) was a quarterly magazine for professionals, amateur paleontologists, and families interested in fossils and Earth's history. It began in 1992 as a membership newsletter, and later expanded to provide articles and other items of general interest. Each issue is themed, and past issues have covered such topics as mastodons, dinosaur eggs, living fossils, clams, crinoids, and fossil plants, to name just a few. AP included feature articles by invited authors, regular columns on dinosaurs, amateur paleontology, and science education, news in paleontology and of PRI and Museum of the Earth activities, and book reviews. Also, in each issue, families will found a four-page children's insert "Fossil Stuff" with an assortment of activities and information about the theme topic geared especially toward kids.
AP was historically available by single-issue purchase, subscription, as a membership benefit, or (mainly for libraries) free with subscription to Bulletins of American Paleontology. We are in the process of adding free, open-access pdf versions of all past issues of American Paleontologist to this website (see below).
Past Issues
Volume 1
Number 1 - November 1992 | Download (PDF | 2.3MB)
Number 2 - February 1993 | Download (PDF | 2.1MB)
Number 3 - May 1993 | Download (PDF | 1.5MB)
Number 4 - August 1993 | Download (PDF | 2.8MB)
Number 5 - November 1993 | Download (PDF | 2.1MB)
Volume 2
Number 1 - February 1994 | Download (PDF | 2.4MB)
Number 2 - May 1994 | Download (PDF | 2.2MB)
Number 3 - August 1994 | Download (PDF | 2.1MB)
Number 4 - November 1994 | Download (PDF | 2.1MB)
Volume 3
Number 1 - February 1995 | Download (PDF | 2.5MB)
Number 2 - May 1995 | Download (PDF | 2.9MB)
Number 3 - August 1995 | Download (PDF | 2.4MB)
Number 4 - November 1995 | Download (PDF | 2.2MB)
Volume 4
Number 1 - February 1996 | Download (PDF | 5.7MB)
Number 2 - May 1996 | Download (PDF | 5.8MB)
Number 3 - August 1996 | Download (PDF | 11.7MB)
Number 3 Insert | Download (PDF | 1.8MB)
Number 4 - November 1996 | Download (PDF | 6.6MB)
Volume 17
Number 1 - Spring 2009 | Download (PDF | 4.0MB)
Number 2 - Summer 2009 | Download (PDF | 4.3MB)
Number 3 - Fall 2009 | Download (PDF | 3.5MB)
Number 4 - Winter 2009 | Download (PDF | 3.8MB)
Volume 18
Number 1 - Spring 2010 | Download (PDF | 1.6MB)
Number 2 - Summer 2010 | Download (PDF | 3.6MB)
Number 3 - Fall 2010 | Download (PDF | 3.1MB)
Number 4 - Winter 2010 | Download (PDF | 3.9MB)