Research
Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory: Overview
The Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory (VPL) is known worldwide as a major repository for unique scientific collections from the American Southwest. VPL was founded in 1948 by John A. Wilson, Emeritus Professor of Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. Today, VPL is the principal repository for vertebrate fossils collected from state and federal lands in Texas and contiguous areas, as well as for specimens collected elsewhere using state and federal funds.
The fossil vertebrate holdings of VPL rank among the seven largest in North America. Most of its specimens were collected by faculty, staff, and students from The University of Texas at Austin. Current VPL holdings also include several important collections made over the last two centuries by other Texas universities and research organizations. These were transferred to VPL by legislative mandate and under agreements with those organizations, to insure the continued maintenance and accessibility of research and teaching specimens that have provided the foundation for many published studies on Texas geology and paleontology, and on the evolution of vertebrates.
General strengths of the VPL collection are in its holdings from Early Permian terrestrial sediments, Late Triassic terrestrial sediments, Late Cretaceous marine and terrestrial sediments, Tertiary terrestrial sediments, and rich Quaternary cave deposits. VPL holdings also include representative vertebrate samples from other parts of the world that date back to the Ordovician, and casts of important specimens held in other museums. A large collection of Recent vertebrate osteological specimens plus an extensive scientific library augments our vertebrate fossil research and teaching collections.
The Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory also sponsors one of the largest professional training programs in the world, in close association with the Department of Geological Sciences, the School of Biological Sciences, the Department of Anthropology, and the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory. As of August 2000, sixty-eight students have received Masters and Doctoral degrees under the direct supervision of VPL faculty-curators. Hundreds of other students have conducted graduate research in our collections with the guidance of VPL professional staff. Thousands of undergraduates have been introduced to fossils with our teaching collection, and an active field program involves students at all levels. Professional researchers from around the world have visited VPL to conduct research on its specimens.
The Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory plays a major role in public outreach and education. Its holdings are on display in the Texas Memorial Museum, the Witte Museum, the Museum of Texas Tech University, Big Bend National Park, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History, the Minneapolis Museum of Natural History, and many others. The VPL professional staff provides advice on the identification and management of fossils and fossil localities to federal, state and Indian agencies, to corporations and private environmental agencies, and to private individuals.
Another role for the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory has been in technology development and informatics. In particular, through its involvement with the UT High Resolution X-ray Computed Topography Facility, VPL is fostering the application of exciting new technologies like CT scanning and sophisticated 3-D imaging software to the morphology of fossil and Recent vertebrates.
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