On Friday, October 8th, a fossil turtle, a fish, and various crustaceans were donated to the Alabama Museum of Natural History collection by UA Museums’ Research Associate, Mr. George Martin. George found all specimens himself in Alabama and prepared them by removing the surrounding rock and stabilizing the fossils using a specialized resin as needed. The 40 cm (16”) long turtle specimen in particular took George countless hours to prepare and is now ready to be studied in more detail. The museum is very grateful for this generous donation!
The specimens were donated during the OLLI course “Ancient Life in Alabama” taught this Fall by Dr. Bill Deutsch and George Martin, after a tour in the paleontology collections in Mary Harmon Bryant Hall.
New specimens like these help to spur research on Alabama’s very rich prehistory. A part of new fossils added to the museum each year collection have been collected and are donated by avocational paleontologists, who collect and study fossil as a hobby.