FUTURE OF PALEONTOLOGY — CUSHMAN 321 



struct the life of earlier ages, so that it may become real to many 

 interested, but nonscientific, persons to whom otherwise the fossil 

 record would be an unopened book. 



Paleoecology is a fairly new word, but it stands for what should be 

 an excellent field for the well-trained paleontologist of the future. 

 The study of the environment in which the fossil animals and plants 

 lived and their relationships to one another and to their surroundings 

 is a fascinating one. The student of paleoecology must have a broad 

 knowledge of the ecology of living plants and animals before he can 

 begin to grasp the relationships of those of the past. It will be a 

 test of the imagination, under control of what is already known, to 

 make these fossil animals and plants live again in their own environ- 

 ment, to explain their structural adaptations and their interrelation- 

 ships with one another. This will give to the future worker data for 

 the explanation of the rapid extinction of species, and even whole 

 faunas, and the appearance of others to take their places. The many 

 unusual forms, so unlike those of today, may be found to be equally 

 well fitted to special conditions very unlike our own. 



The study of environmental conditions will probably help to explain 

 the great migrations of animals that have taken place in past geologic 

 ages whose paths are only obscure as yet. The future collections of 

 Africa and Asia will undoubtedly give us detailed information of the 

 path of migration of those elements of the Miocene and Recent faunas 

 of Australia that are so closely allied to those of the Eocene of the 

 Paris Basin and to the Oligocene of the Gulf Coastal region of the 

 United States, to cite a single example. 



From a study of these migrations and distributions, decided aid 

 should be given toward the study of paleogeography. Knowledge 

 of the distribution of animals and plants is of great value in deter- 

 mining the distribution of land and water areas in past ages. When 

 the ecologic factors are better known, it will be possible to give more 

 definitely the depth of water and relative direction of shore lines 

 from any particular area, and the distribution of fossil pelagic for- 

 aminifera may give a clue to the extent and direction of ocean currents 

 of the past. 



In the field where paleontology has been most useful, that of an 

 aid to the stratigraphic geologist, the future will add much in detail 

 to what is already known. More cooperative work will be done to 

 give illustrated works of entire faunas of key beds so that all the 

 elements of the fauna will appear in a single volume or a series of 

 volumes instead of having the information scattered as it is today. 

 Such a series would be of inestimable value to the geologist as well 

 as the paleontologist, and it is not too early to plan for the cooperative 

 effort to produce such works. It will take the earnest and combined 

 efforts of many workers to make possible such standard works, but 



