Vertebrate Paleontology is the study of fossil fishes, sharks, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals — animals with internal skeletons including a backbone composed of a series of vertebrae. The IMNH collection holds over 50,000 cataloged specimens of fossil vertebrates, ranging in size from the tiny teeth of bats, shrews, and rodents, to giant ground sloths and mammoths. Our collections are primarily from Idaho and the Intermountain West. They include representatives of every class of fossil vertebrates, but fossil mammals from the Cenozoic (the last 65 million years) form the bulk of the collections.
The Vertebrate Paleontology section explores, excavates, records, prepares, conserves, and researches the fossil resources in the collection at IMNH. In addition to working with private, university, and municipal agencies, IMNH is an official repository for specimens collected from State, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Forest (NFSL), and Department of Energy (DOE) lands throughout Idaho and adjacent states.
Collection Highlights
The IMNH strives to provide opportunities for hands-on experience in all aspects pertaining to museums and collections, such as preservation, record-keeping, and administrative requirements for object curation; archaeological and paleontological specimen identification and description; exhibit design and implementation; marketing; and educational/public outreach. We have been incredibly fortunate to have so many amazing students over the years interested in learning about and assisting with projects and tasks necessary to preserve and maintain our collections, and in participating in public outreach and education. Whether they be workstudy students, career path interns, employees hired on to work on federal collections, and even volunteers, all of them have been hard-working and dedicated to our mission. We couldn't accomplish all that we do without them!
Kestrel Huelet
Kestrel Huelet is an undergraduate in Geology at ISU. She has worked various terms with the IMNH since 2021, focusing on preparing fossil material in the vertebrate paleontology collections, one of the many things she is really good at! She loves public outreach, so we aim to expand her experiences into that arena soon!
Gary McGaughey
Gary McGaughey is a PhD student in Biology and has been part of the museum family since 2023. He is a graduate assistant in our Earth Sciences Division, and helps with anything and everything as the need arises, from collections work, to exhibit fabrication, to public outreach. We are fortunate to have him!
