HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INVERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY IN ARGENTINA: 1835–1957

Desarrollo histórico de la Paleontología de Invertebrados en la Argentina: 1835–1957

Resumen

Contributions to fossil invertebrates of Argentina began with the collections of d’Orbigny and  Darwin and the publications by Forbes and Sowerby. These were continued with the collections of Stelzner and Bodenbender and the  studies of Kayser, Gottsche, Behrendsen, Tornquist, and Steuer. Between 1890 and 1930, studies were conducted by foreign expeditions of Nordenskjöld, Skottsberg, and Hatcher to southern Patagonia and of Weaver to west-central Argentina, and those done from the 
La Plata Museum by Hauthal and Burckhardt. Studies on Triassic and Tertiary fauna began in the late 1920s. Also during this period, a series of biostratigraphic studies commenced, initially by the División de Minas, Geología e Hidrología, and later from Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales. These studies were done, among others, by Groeber, Keidel, Bonarelli, Wichmann, Windhausen, Feruglio, and Piatnitzky. In 1937, with the studies of Harrington, a national paleontological school was born. Works on Paleozoic faunas by Harrington and  Kobayashi, and then by Leanza and Rusconi, duplicated in ca. 10 years all previous production on the subject. In the 30s and 40s, Frenguelli studied insects, Upper Paleozoic continental mollusks, and siliceous microorganisms. Between 1936 and 1947, the number of titles dedicated to invertebrates doubled that of the previous decade. The subsequent period had numerous contributions by Rusconi, mainly on trilobites and graptolites. The diversity  of  studied invertebrates  increased  significantly,  and  studies  on  foraminifera began.  The foundation  of  the  Argentine Paleontological Association in 1955 and the publication of Ameghiniana from 1957 onwards, were instrumental to the continuity of researches on the matter.