ABSTRACT Foraminifera are single-celled organisms with and without shells (tests). They have an abundant fossil record over the past 545 million years and presence in modern oceans. The art of forams is dominated by hand-drawn scientific illustrations to scanning electron microscopic images done over the past 455 years, providing vital knowledge about shelled forams. From 1665 to 1835, forams were assigned to micro-invertebrates rather than single-celled forms. With more than 75,000 publications and nearly 50,000 described species of forams, illustrations must number more than 200,000. The illustrations include a range from simple line drawings through shaded ink and pencil renderings, sometimes even colored, to photographs and scanning electron micrographs. Forams also appear in other art forms: The Pyramids at Giza in Egypt, hand-sized models, jewelry, flooring, stamps, coins, sculptures, and a Chinese Foraminiferal Sculpture Park. Foraminiferal art, although very abundant in many forms, has not caught the attention of many people outside of foraminiferology.

ABSTRACT Postage stamps are small works of art seen by people worldwide that can be used effectively in education. The first paleontological stamp was released by India in 1951. Since then, over 4000 stamps with fossils, paleontologists, museums, and collecting sites have been issued by almost 200 countries. Stamps that illustrate fossils or reconstructions are intrinsically interesting and popular with many of the millions of stamp collectors. All disciplines of paleontology are represented, but dinosaurs are by far the most common subject, although even bacteria appear on a few stamps. Most of the stamps were scientifically accurate at the time they were issued though some artists took artistic liberties to fashion unique stamps. Overall, the stamps are artistic and educational because their small sizes and low cost make them easily accessible for classroom activities, exhibits, and presentations. They cover topics such as biodiversity, geology, ecology, oceanography, and evolution, among others. Paleophilately has provided art, education, joy, and happiness to people worldwide.

Abstract This paper describes and illustrates the foraminifera from Moorea, French Polynesia. Moorea, a high volcanic island in the south-central Pacific Ocean, is situated east of the tropical marine diversity hotspot in the Coral Triangle. It is significant as a recipient and redistributor of biotas by equatorial currents. The region thus represents a key area and stepping stone for transpacific faunal exchange, yet the foraminiferal fauna of Moorea has not been documented completely. We have conducted a comprehensive island-wide survey on modern, shallow-water benthic foraminifera to document the diversity, structure and composition of faunal assemblages from barrier reef, fringing reef, lagoon and bay inlet, and marsh and mangrove habitats. Here we present a fully illustrated atlas of benthic foraminifera from these shallow water habitats on Moorea and document patterns of species richness and spatial distribution. A total of 515 taxa were recorded, a number that almost triples previous species counts. The foraminiferal species are systematically described and illustrated on 33 plates by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy images. Coral reef calcifiers face an uncertain future due to global warming, pollution and coastal development. Foraminifera are prolific producers of reef carbonates, contribute significantly to the reef carbonate budget and are excellent indicators of water quality and reef health. The taxa described in this atlas originate from samples collected in 1992 at depths between 1 and 40 meters and provide a baseline for future studies of environmental change. The large number of species identified also provides a means to assess similarities among biogeographic regions across the Pacific Ocean. This is the first complete survey and documentation of benthic reef foraminifera from Moorea, Society Islands.

ABSTRACT Natural history museums’ (NHMs) primary missions are to collect, curate, and research natural history objects (life, earth, human cultures, and other specimens), and to use them for public education and outreach. The museums have the potential to enhance lifelong science literacy in unique, direct ways based on the collections they house. Ever since 1683, NHMs have exhibited specimens and educated visitors. Now, thousands of NHMs operate across the globe in ~100 countries, but no two of them are alike. Each resembles the others in the primary missions but differs significantly in collection size and diversity, research efforts, staff size and tasks, styles, public displays, outreach, and education. NHMs are thus complicated businesses due to the wide variety of tasks, objectives, and audiences. Collections are the heart of a NHM, for everything depends on them. These collections are all biased for a number of reasons, but none of them could contain an example of every kind of natural history object. The big museums have the oldest and largest collections, while smaller NHMs have mostly local collections. Collections are further biased because only a small part of any of them can be exhibited; hence, specimens with certain attractive characteristics are selected for display and use in education and outreach. Many NHMs use replicas of specimens in occasional displays for a variety of reasons to enhance the visitor experience, chiefly to bring rare or fragile specimens to them. This is all normal and to be expected. The overall outreach aim of NHMs should be to encourage and provide lifelong learning for everyone. People who attend NHMs are mostly educated, and, in Europe and America, chiefly white and middle to upper class. Ethnic or economically disadvantaged groups commonly find NHMs unwelcoming, alienating, and largely irrelevant to their own lives; hence, they make up only a small portion of attendees. In addition, people with physical and mental limitations of mobility, size, sight, hearing, and understanding must be accommodated in NHMs. Museums need to engage these people and to develop programs and exhibits that they will find attractive because these populations will increase in the future. Exciting, stimulating, and engaging exhibits built around the collections of the NHMs can welcome all groups, if the culture and experiences of these people are understood. Sight, touch, sound, and smell are part of a more realistic exhibit and can reinforce the attractiveness of an exhibit. Real objects from the collections, displayed with imagination and creativity focused on the entire population served by the museum, can captivate and welcome people back again and encourage new visitors to attend. Technology should be adopted to complement, not replace, exhibits of actual specimens from the NHM. Perhaps the most important computer technology will be artificial intelligence (AI). This bodes well for the future in planning, organizing, and integrating all aspects of the complicated functioning of a NHM.

ABSTRACT The geology, stratigraphy, and paleontology of the Santa Ana Mountains of Southern California span 150 m.y. of subduction and 30 m.y. of transform faulting, producing complex geologic, stratigraphic, and paleontological settings. The mountains are bounded by the Elsinore fault zone on their east side, uplifting the mountains and tilting them westward, where sediments eroded from them were deposited in a variety of marine to terrestrial environments; most of these formations yield fossils so that a rich history of life can be reconstructed. The most recent geologic history includes the continued transform faulting with displacements of many kilometers northwesterly, juxtaposing separate blocks and biotas. The modern sediments are dominated by the Santa Ana River, which flows westerly at the northern end of the Santa Ana Mountains onto the coastal plain of Orange County. It is the primary aquifer supplying significant amounts of water to the residents. Humans have occupied the region for the last 12,000 yr, developing large, sophisticated populations, which, in the most recent years, have impacted the geology significantly. This field-trip guide starts north of the mountains in Ontario, California, and describes the Elsinore fault zone, the east side of the Santa Ana Mountains, and the ascent of the steep eastern side of those mountains. Extensive vistas of the geology to the east of the mountains can be seen from stops along the way. In the mountains themselves, the guide describes the granitoids of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic Bedford Canyon Formation, rocks of the Cretaceous Santiago Peak Volcanics, and overlying sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age. At Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, stops show the early Tertiary Silverado and Santiago formations preserving terrestrial environments that rest unconformably on the marine Cretaceous Williams Formation. On the west side of the mountains, stops at Cretaceous to Miocene conglomerates through mudstones reveal abundant marine mollusks, foraminifera, and vertebrate faunas among others, and a wide variety of sedimentary structures. Younger sediments, faults, and river courses occur along the final leg of the trip from the northern Santa Ana Mountains back to Ontario. Humans have interacted with the geology and its resources for possibly the last 12,000 yr, in ancient times utilizing rock resources and in modern times dealing with geological hazards in developmental and infrastructural construction.