Back to Basics in Palaeontology

Dear Colleagues,

Paleontology, since its birth in 1822 by de Blainville, has never stopped to evolve, integrating all scientific approaches: from comparative anatomy, as was expected, at the very beginning, to geology and biology. This particular science, at the interface between geology and biology, is not an “exact science”, but tries to be as logical as possible by compiling all possibilities to retrieve information from the past. In the 18th and 19th centuries, geology and biology were used, and from the middle of the 20th century on, geochemistry, mathematics, 3D modeling, and other disciplines were also integrated.

This natural history science is always trying to make facelifts, always evolving according to discoveries of new materials or new approaches, but this old lady has a problem with her memory.

Since 1822, many papers have been written, sometimes on newspapers which are difficult to retrieve or on material which has since disappeared due to wars and other events.

In history, we say we do not learn from the past. In paleontology, we have the same problem: we forget what has already been discovered. The first researchers were like us, curious, with a more multidisciplinary approach, compiling all data they could find: they were naturalists.

Having time to study and publish, some of them would appear to be incredibly modern even now.

We invite all our colleagues to come back to their senses, and compare their material with other taxa, systematically unzooming from their own taxon and comparing it with other ones, or even considering it across its history.

In this Special Issue, we welcome contributions including, but not limited to, the following topics:

1. How did my fossil take part in the history of my taxon? Why does it differ from the others and what were its descendants, or why has it disappeared? All paleobiogeographical topics are welcome.
2. How does my taxon interact with other taxa? How it could survive ahead of the others? What was its paleoecology? Its fossil was a living organism, that breathed, fed, fought, bred, and rested. Where and how did it do all that, and with what coexisting organisms? Paleoecological topics are especially welcome.

Not to focus only on one taxon and on one site at a time: sometimes we lose sight of the fact that this fossil was a living organism. Not to have only one paragraph as the conclusion of our papers: this is the challenge we set to you.

Dr. Hua Stephane
Guest Editor

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• fundamentals
• natural history
• multidisciplinarity
• first hand bibliography
• actualism