Pennsylvanian marine/nearshore deposits

Like the Permian, the older Pennsylvanian period was an age ruled by primitive creatures, giant insects, and alien flora. Club mosses grew to the size of trees, dragonflies had bodies the size of baseball bats, and reptiles were getting their first foothold on the planet. Pennsylvanian research areas include localities rich in marine organisms such as brachiopods, bryozoans, trilobites, and crinoids, as well as remains of terrestrial life such as insects, plants, and vertebrates. Research of the Pennsylvanian material will shed light on climatic conditions 300 million years ago and explore the interactions between different organisms of the time. Some research topics are as follows:

Pennsylvanian plant assemblages

Brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids, trilobites, and invertebrates of the inland sea

Vertebrate remains from nearshore estuaries

Vertebrate trackways created by reptilian ancestors to mammals

Invertebrate burrows in the marine setting