Abstract
Benjamin P. Kear [[email protected]], The Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvagen 16, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.
THE FIRST issue of Alcheringa was published in 1975, and carried an inaugural mission statement from the then Chief Editor Bruce Runnegar (Runnegar Citation1975, p. 1): ‘to publicise the many excellently preserved fossils and sequences of fossils from Australasia and neighbouring regions’. This focus has since expanded to encompass an impressive portfolio of contributions covering all aspects of palaeontology from Australasia and beyond. Nonetheless, providing a venue for publishing rigorous peer-reviewed research and presenting the unique and often globally significant Australasian fossil record remain the fundamental roles of Alcheringa today.
Likewise, Australasian Palaeontologists (AAP), which is a specialist group (www.australasianpalaeontologists.org) of the Geological Society of Australia (www.gsa.org.au), was formed in 1974 to ‘promote palaeontology, organise specialist meetings, and to publish Alcheringa’ (Runnegar Citation1975, p. 2) for the benefit of both scientists and society. Accordingly, in 2000 AAP instigated their premier Australasian palaeontological symposium Palaeo Down Under (PDU), which was held in Orange, New South Wales (Laurie Citation2002), and then as PDU2 in Adelaide, South Australia in 2016 (Laurie et al. Citation2016). Following a hiatus caused by the COVID pandemic, PDU3 was subsequently run in Perth, Western Australia from 10–14 July 2023 (), and has now been established as a quadrennial conference series showcasing excellence in palaeontological research, outreach and education (www.australasianpalaeontologists.org/pdu3). Opportunities for ideas-sharing, collaborative networking, learning and training programmes involving professionals, students and citizen scientists are facilitated through accompanying workshops, meet-ups and virtual/in-person social events. Integrating support for museums and geoheritage initiatives via public seminars, collections tours and field excursions is also critical to ensure the long-term protection and sustainable development of fossil resources. Lastly, PDU welcomes all nationalities, cultures, ages, genders and abilities to embrace diversity across the international palaeontological community.
Figure 1. The PDU3 conference logo designed by Nellie Pease (University of Queensland) to represent the rich fossil record of Western Australia.
In keeping with these AAP core objectives, this thematic issue of Alcheringa entitled ‘Palaeontology from Australasia and beyond’ brings together some of the latest studies on Australasian fossils including papers presented at PDU3. The introductory special feature is a compilation of PDU3 peer-reviewed abstracts (Martin et al. Citation2024) that summarizes the spectrum of current research, and accompanies articles that investigate a range of organisms from microbes to mammals and time periods from the Neoproterozoic to Neogene. AAP and the Editorial Board of Alcheringa extend our sincere thanks to all of the participants and contributors, and look forward to promoting future palaeontology from Australasia and beyond at PDU4!
References
- Laurie, J.R., 2002. Palaeo Down Under Conference: Papers from the Conference Held at Kinross-Walaroi School, Orange, New South Wales, July 2000. Association of Australasian Palaeontologists, Sydney, 188 pp.
- Laurie, J.R., Kruse, P.D., García-Bellido, D.C. & Holmes, J.D., 2016. Palaeo Down Under 2, Adelaide, July 2016. Geological Society of Australia Abstracts 117, 1–88.
- Martin, S.K., Archer, M., Allen, H.J., Badea, D.D., Beidatsch, E., Betts, M.J., Blake, M., Boan, P.C., Botha, T., Brock, G.A., Brosnan, L., Castle-Jones, J., Cramb, J., De Pietri, V.L., Donaldson, S., Dowding, E.M., Duncan, R., Elson, A.L., Farman, R.M., Fergusen, M.A., Fjeld, A., Flannery, D., Frauenfelder, T.G., Gorter, J.D., Gray, M., Gray, N., Haines, P., Hart, L.J., Herbert, E.B., Holland, B.E., Holmes, J.D., Holmer, L., Hood, A.V.S., Ippolitov, A.P., Janis, C.M., Kear, B.P., Kelly, S., Kitchener, J.L., Laurie, J.R., Leahey, L.G., Long, J., Mantle, D., Martin, D., McB, Mays, C., McCurry, M.R., McGoldrick, P., Mensforth, C.L., Meyerkort, R.D., Nielsen-Smith, C.A., Nel, R., Newman-Martin, J., Oh, Y., Paterson, J.R., Pears, J., Poropat, S.F., Reid, C.M., Pamela Reid, R., Richter Stretton, S.A., Robertson, B., Ryan, H.E., Salisbury, S.W., Satterthwait, D., Schmidt, M., Schroeder, N.I., Shukla, Y., Slodownik, M., Smith, P.M., Stephenson, N.P., Surprenant, R.L., Thorn, K.M., Travouillon, K.J., Trinajstic, K., Tripp, M., Vakil, V., Weldon, E.A., White, J., Willink, R.J., Wise, G.L., Woltz, C.R., Young, G., Zhang, Z., Zhen, Y.Y. & Ziegler, T., 2024. Palaeontology from Australasia and beyond: Abstracts from Palaeo Down Under 3, Perth, Western Australia, July 2023. Alcheringa 48, 193–242.
- Runnegar, B., 1975. The message of Alcheringa. Alcheringa 1, 1–2.