The name Chubutolithes was proposed by Ihering (1922) for an unknown type of fossil occurring in Eocene continental rocks of Patagonia, Argentina. Bown and Ratcliffe (1988) demonstrated that Chubutolithes is a trace fossil; specifically, it is the fossil nest of a mud-dauber. The latter authors also suggested that Chubutolithes was constructed by an insect belonging to the hymenopteran family Sphecidae, and coined the specific name C. gaimanensis for the unusual trace fossil. Comparison with a Recent nest of the mud-dauber Auplopus (Pompilidae; Figure 1.1) suggests that Auplopus is a much more likely candidate as the architect of Chubutolithes than are any sphecid mud-daubers.

Pollen extraction from sediments of the arid Southwest often involves a variety of problems, including low concentration and poor preservation of pollen, but particularly the complexing of soil particles and evaporites such as calcium carbonate (calcite) and calcium sulfate (gypsum) with the pollen. The low pollen concentration and particle complexing problems are overcome by extraction of a larger volume of sediment (normally 350–450 cc) than is typical for lakes and bogs of temperate regions. Dilute HCl dissolves the most common evaporite, calcium carbonate, and coarser silicates are then removed by sieving or swirling (Funkhauser and Evitt, 1959), thus concentrating finer silts, clays, clay-sized particles, and pollen. The finer silicates are subsequently removed by HF treatment. However, if the calcium ions are not removed completely, prior to the HF treatment, a precipitate of calcium fluoride forms which obscures pollen in the sample.

We have been processing organic-rich shale from the Carboniferous Luocheng Formation, Peoples Republic of China, for microcrinoids and microgastropods. Initial attempts to disaggregate the shale using standard techniques (e.g., chlorine bleach, Quaternary-O, paint thinner, Stoddard's solution) proved futile. Nothing worked on the mixed organic/clay matrix in which the fossils were entombed. One particularly frustrating evening, a television commercial, in which a large hair clog in a clear plastic drain pipe was dissolved, inspired us to purchase and try some drain cleaner for processing our samples. After reading numerous drain-cleaner labels, we selected Liquid-plumr® because it contained one of the strongest concentrations of sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide easily available. We are not necessarily recommending Liquid-plumr® over other brands; however, some drain cleaners are nothing more than concentrated sulfuric acid, so careful scrutiny of the labels is recommended.

The Milwaukee Public Museum has recently completed the computerized curation of its Cambrian and Devonian invertebrate fossil collections. This notice is intended to alert the paleontological community of the availability of these collections for study. The curation was supported by the Biological Research Resources Program of the National Science Foundation. The Cambrian and Devonian collections have approximately 87,000 specimens from 1,977 localities. Isolated specimens were counted directly, but counts of multiple specimens on slabs are conservative. Thus, the number of specimens represents a minimum number of fossils and more careful counting of material on slabs will increase the total.

During a long and productive career in paleontology, Rousseau H. Flower (1913-1988) described and figured more than 400 taxa. The bulk of the very significant fossil collection that Rousseau worked with remains at the NMBM&MR in Socorro. Material from these collections continues to be in demand by paleontologists and efforts at the NMBM&MR are intended to make described material available. Every effort is being made to return material Rousseau borrowed from other institutions. The NMBM&MR is also concerned that the results of Rousseau's studies concerned with NMBM&MR collections be preserved in manner as coherent as possible. This is the first notice of transfer of NMBM&MR specimens; material listed herein is now reposited at the Smithsonian Institution. The material listed here was published in 1964 as part of NMBM&MR Memoir 12, The Nautiloid Order Ellesmeroceratida (Cephalopoda). Because of the nature of the collections, the process of identifying described material and checking data against the published record and our internal catalog is difficult and time consuming. In addition, Memoir 12 dealt with a great deal of material. Therefore, the transfer of the remainder of the fossils described in Memoir 12 will be noted at a later date.

Vidal and Ford (1985) described a rich, well-preserved acritarch biota from the late Proterozoic Chuar Group in northern Arizona. The biota includes Chuaria circularis (Walcott) Vidal and Ford, whose diagnosis was emended. A SEM micrograph of a specimen supposedly deriving from the Kwagunt Formation of the Chuar Group was included (Vidal and Ford, 1985, p. 357). However, the figured specimen derives from the Late Proterozoic Eleonore Bay Group in east Greenland (Vidal, 1979, Pl. 4, a, b) and was erroneously included as a consequence of an inadvertent replacement of films during the preparation of paper prints for publication. The author of this note alone bears responsibility for this regrettable mistake.

Antiquatonia sulcata Cooper was described from the Lower Permian Coyote Butte limestone of central Oregon (Cooper, 1957, p. 35, Pl. 5C, figs. 18–22). The name sulcata, however, was previously applied by J. Sowerby (1822, p. 17, Pl. 319, fig. 2) to Productus sulcatus from the Upper Visean of Great Britain, revised by Muir-Wood (1928). The British species has now been considered to be congeneric with Antiquatonia Miloradovich (Sarytcheva and Sokolyskaya, 1952, p. 148; Muir-Wood and Cooper, 1960, p. 271; Litvihovich, 1962, p. 250; Zakowa, 1988, p. 57). The two forms are sufficiently different in external features to be separated as two species under Antiquatonia. Antiquatonia sulcata of Cooper consequently becomes a later homonym of A. sulcata (Sowerby). The author has been kindly asked (G. A. Cooper, personal commun.) to offer a replacement name, Antiquatonia cooperi, for Cooper's A. sulcata (non Sowerby). Description and comparison of the Oregon species and its holotype has been provided by Cooper (1957, p. 35).