This is me, conducting field work in Wyoming.

Patrick R. Getty

Department of Geosciences
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003

office: (413) 545 - 2286
lab: (413) 542 - 5052
fax: (413) 545-1200
email: prgetty@nsm.umass.edu
curriculum vitae: pdf file

Modern traces, such as this bird trackway, help paleontologists to interpret trace fossils.

INTERESTS AND RESEARCH

I am interested in the evolution of life on Earth as seen through the paleontological record, which contains both body and trace fossils. Body fossils, as their name implies, are the physical remains of an organism (e.g. bones, teeth, shells, wood, etc.), whereas trace fossils include footprints, trackways, burrows, coprolites, borings, and other non-body fossils. In particular I am interested in Ichnology, the study of traces. Body fossils and trace fossils are complimentary in that a thorough examination of both is useful in determining an organism's biology. For example, a skeleton of the dinosaur species Tyrannosaurus rex will tell us what the animal looked like and give the paleontologist a general idea of what it ate and how it moved, among other things. However, many questions can not be determined based on body fossils alone: In what environments did Tyrannosaurus live? Did it drag its tail? Did it live in packs? How fast could it move? What did it eat?

This footprint, made by an Early Jurassic theropod dinosaur, is known as Eubrontes giganteus. It is about 40 cm long.

These and other questions can be answered by examining the trace fossil record. Because dead animals are often transported by water before burial, a body fossil might be found in a totally different environment from the one in which it lived. However, trace fossils are very rarely transported and are often found where they are made. Thus, looking at tyrannosaur traces, especially footprints and trackways, will tell the paleontologist where tyrannosaurs lived. Footprints and trackways can also tell us whether tyrannosaurs lived in packs: multiple trackways going in the same direction is strong evidence for group behavior. Long, sinuous drag marks between footprints could tell the paleontologist whether tyrannosaurs dragged their tails. The distance between footprints can be used to determine the speed of the animal. We can tell that Tyrannosaurus was a carnivore based on the shape of its teeth, but what did it munch on for dinner? By examining tooth marks on bone as well as coprolites, a paleontologist can tell which animals were on a tyrannosaur's menu.

Climactichnites wilsoni, the trackway of an as yet unknown organism. Trackways shown above and in background are ~15 cm wide. Hopefully, with the diligence of Sherlock Holmes, I will answer the question: "who dun it?"

The complimentary nature of body and trace fossils is true for most, if not all, organisms. However, in certain places only one or the other portion of the paleontological record is preserved. In the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts (where I grew up) and Connecticut, Early Jurassic dinosaur footprints are found abundantly, but body fossils are exceedingly rare. Thus, most of our knowledge of the animals that inhabited the valley during the age of dinosaurs is based on trace fossils. This is true of many other areas also, including Cambrian deposit is in the Great Lakes region of the USA and Canada (as well as Missouri) where I am conducting my Master's thesis research on an unusual trackway called Climactichnites. The animal that made Climactichnites left no body fossils so interpretation of the trackway has remained controversial for years. Interpretation of fossil trackways and examination of trackways of living animals are necessary for a correct interpretation of the Climactichnites-producing animal's morphology, physiology, locomotion, and ecology.