New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Rousseau Flower (1922-1988) is well known for his many contributions to the taxonomy of nautiloid cephalopods (Paleocephalopoda) and to the stratigraphy of the lower Paleozoic in New Mexico and elsewhere. Dr. Flower was a senior paleontologist at the then-New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources (NMBMMR) and professor of paleontology at New Mexico Tech from 1951 through 1988. During his professional career he acquired an extensive collection of invertebrate fossils including cephalopods, trilobites, brachiopods, and corals from New Mexico of Natural History and Science (NMNNH&S) received the bulk of Flower’s collection along with the rest of the NMBMMR paleontology collection in 1994. These collections include more than 600 fossils identified and cataloged by Dr. Flower, including almost 300 type specimens. The type and many illustrated specimens have been re-curated and re-cataloged, and added to the NMMNH&S database (www.nmfossils.org), and are available for study by the scientific community for the first time in nearly two decades.

Many of Flower’s type and figured specimens are organized taxonomically and occupy 23 24x 29” steel drawers for easy access. Uncatalogued specimens are loosely arranged in stratigraphic order and occupy approximately 530 18x24” trays in another 24 cabinets, with another ~3 cubic yards of specimens still packed in boxes. The uncatalogued specimens include thousands of fossils from dozens of localities in Paleozoic strata across southern New Mexico and West Texas. Those interested in studying these fossils are encouraged to contact the first author.