Members of Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences are shining new light on an enduring mystery—one that is millions of years in the making.
A team of paleontologists led by Professor Cathryn Newton has increased scientists’ understanding of whether Devonian marine faunas, whose fossils are lodged in a unit of bedrock in Central New York known as the Hamilton Group, were stable for millions of years before succumbing to waves of extinctions.
Drawing on 15 years of quantitative analysis with fellow professor Jim Brower (who died in 2018), Newton has continued to probe the structure of these ancient fossil communities, among the most renowned on Earth.
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Image: Prof. Newton's scholarly work involves studies of modern and ancient biodiversity, including the quantitative dynamics of ancient and modern mass extinction. (Credit: Syracuse University)