Invertebrate Paleontology

The collections of the Yale Peabody Museum’s Division of Invertebrate Paleontology are among the largest in North America in geographic, stratigraphic, and taxonomic representation. There are an estimated 4.5 million specimens arranged in both stratigraphic and systematic collections, including more than 25,000 type specimens and over 1,500 holotypes (the basis of new species descriptions). The Division’s collections can be traced to the early history of Yale University and gained international stature with the establishment of the Peabody Museum in 1866. Yale’s first invertebrate paleontologist, Charles E. Beecher, developed one of the earliest classifications for trilobites and brachiopods. In the early 20th century, holdings grew enormously under Charles Schuchert and Carl O. Dunbar, who built a regional stratigraphic collection for teaching and exhibition, and later Karl M. Waage, who amassed a sizable collection from the deposits of the Western Interior Seaway. More recently we have received the world's largest collection of eurypterids (sea scorpions). Currently, the Division is known for pioneering work in the processes of fossilization, notably exceptionally preserved fossils. We also focus on microfossil research, particularly as it relates to climate, diversity, and ocean ecosystems through geologic time.