PALEONTOLOGY
Collections
The Lauer Foundation PSE collections focus on three main areas:
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Fossils from the area near Solnhofen, Germany, Jurassic Age
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Fossils from the Mazon Creek area of Illinois, Carboniferous Age
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Sharks from worldwide locations of any Age.
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The Solnhofen and Mazon Creek collections seek to represent the whole biota. The shark collections are intended to study the evolution of sharks and their relatives.
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The Foundation acquires scientifically important specimens, sometimes stepping in where a museum is unable to acquire the specimen. We adhere to responsible acquisition practices, requiring proper provenance for additions to the Foundation collections.
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The Foundation follows museum standards for curation including: assigning catalog numbers to each specimen, utilizing Specify Software, and storage of the collection in a museum grade, climate controlled environment.
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The Foundation prepares digital documentation of specimens in the collections with a special emphasis on ultraviolet (UV) analysis and documentation.
Foundation Lab Standards
The Foundation Lab contains most of the equipment required by researchers working with the collections including:
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A Zeiss microscope with articulated arm and photographic attachment is available. We also have microscopic UV capability.
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Photographic resources include high quality camera and lighting gear as well as a custom photographic stand and UV stand. Complete UV photographic capabilities are available.
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We encourage our fossil preparers to work under a microscope and use UV light to preserve scientifically important data such as soft tissue preservation. We discourage the use of surface treatments.
