Click for Larger Image Now available, "The Geological and Paleontological Contributions of William "Bill" Cobban" by Neal Larson and Neal Landman 2007. Bill Cobban is one of the most prolific and dedicated researchers of the Western Interior Seaway. His career, which spans over six decades, over 300 published papers, dozens of named genera and species and genera and species named in his honor is awe inspiring. The Journal of Paleontological Sciences salutes this great man of science.

Welcome to the Summer 2007 edition of the Journal of Paleontological Sciences! The staff of our embryonic journal and the board of directors of the AAPS would like to thank all of the many scientists and associates who have sent encouraging letters of support for this project. Since our January 7th inaugural launch, our website has had over 3500 unique visitors and thousands of page views. We have had national press coverage in two major scientific magazines and several major news outlets (TV, radio, newspapers). Our website address has been added to links pages on several independent websites. Clearly, people have been talking about us.

Click For Larger Image Image AAPS.P.07.0011

From "How to Make a Fossil Part Two- Dinosaur Mummies and Other Soft Tissue", by Ken Carpenter: Sinosauropteryx prima showing the feather-like structures on the body and intestine (arrow). This specimen shows fossilization of feathers from a biofilm coat on the outside of the body, as well as phosphate mineralization from intestinal bacteria.

Another positive result of the journal's creation is that representatives of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) and AAPS have met for the first time since the 1990's. The meeting was very productive as the two groups began to try and identify areas where they agreed and disagreed and tried to find ways in which they could work together. The dialogue was very encouraging and constructive. The staff of the JPS is eager to roll up our sleeves, get to work and help in any way we can. There is still much work left to be done.

As you can see, we have made several changes to the website. One of the most significant changes includes removing the "25 year confidential" restriction on GPS coordinates and precise locality data. The information will still not be available to the general public, but this restriction has been replaced with a more flexible system where researchers may be given precise locality data so long as a qualified and approved research proposal is submitted to the title holder and the JPS. This does not guarantee access (that would be up to BOTH the land-owner and the title holder), but it does free up the information to be checked and cross checked by serious researchers. Another significant change is the posting of our new photographic and specimen registry. Neither of these databases are finished yet, as we still continue to try and find a database programmer willing to do the work within our limited budget. If anyone knows of a computer programmer willing to work with reasonable rates please have them contact George Winters. We have also added a new "Historical Papers" section to better reflect papers of a historical nature which fall somewhere in-between contributions and trade articles.

More changes are expected in the future as our young journal continues to evolve and improve. We hope you all enjoy our Summer issue of the JPS and hope you will continue to support our efforts. Look for our next update sometime in the middle of October.