Re: 10.000 essential terms but no fossil groups

From
Date
To Jacques Vernier and other Paleonetters:

The _Dictionary of Earth Sciences_ omits paleontologic terms because they
are so numerous, and because many of the terms can be found in a biologic
dictionary. But the AGI _Glossary of Geology_ (my edition is an old one,
1966) includes many paleontologic terms. Others have at least a few,
including _Dictionary of Geological Terms_ (Rice, 1949), _Glossary of
Selected Geologic Terms_ (Stokes and Varnes, 1955), and _A Dictionary of
Geology_ (Challinor, 1967). All of these include "ammonite" or "ammonoid,"
but only the AGI glossary includes "chitinozoan" and "suture."

I agree that it is disconcerting for "ammonite" to be missing from the
_Dictionary of Earth Sciences_ (1997), probably the most commonly used
geologic dictionary among undergraduates. Jacques, would you like to
circulate an electronic petition to present to McGraw-Hill? I'll be the
second to sign.


Andrew K. Rindsberg                     Telephone (205) 349-2852
Curator, Paleontological Collection     Telefax (205) 349-2861
Geological Survey of Alabama            <arindsberg@ogb.gsa.tuscaloosa.al.us>
P.O. Box O
Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-9780, USA