Education

M.S. University of California, Riverside, 1988
B.S. University of California, Riverside, 1978

Research Interests and Responsibilities

Museum Specialist, with an emphasis on research, provide assistance to the permanent and visiting scientists.  I work primarily with William DiMichele aiding him in is research goals of understanding the history and evolution of plant community structure through time.  Our “laboratory” is the Upper Paleozoic (Pennsylvanian and Permian 320- 250 mybp) depositional basins in the northern hemisphere.  This is a time when the earth from a warm period into a glacial event and back to a warmer interval.  North America was moving north ward across the equatorial belt.  The interest is to understand how changing latitude and global climate affected or how the plant communities responded to these changes.

Publications support: The documentation of the data – the fossils themselves – requires that they be photographed for several reasons, the most important of which is for publications not only for other researches but for inclusion in books for students and the public at large. Presently the vast majority of this work is done with digital photography.  Where micro-structures are present and important to the understanding of the nature of the plants images of these features are obtained using a scanning electron microscope.  Graphics to illustrate scientific facts and interpretations play a very important roll in presenting data in a variety of different ways the goal being to clarify complex data sets or in the case of illustrations clarify photographs – which may not show the important features clearly.

Collection Management and Conservation: A collection that has no associated data – such at where, when, who, and why it was collected makes the collection almost useless to the research scientist.  So the data about each specimen is put in a searchable database. The museum specialist is also intimately involved with unpacking specimens when they come in from the field.  This is where the fist rough identifications are made and numbers which tie the specimens to field notes and the associated data are attached to the specimens. This is also when the specimens are evaluated for special conservation needs.  When exhibits are in the planning and construction state there is great reliance on the museum technician to prepare specimens for inclusion in an exhibit
Field Work – Obviously none of the above could be possible with out bringing new specimens into the collections.  This is important because scientific thoughts and approaches evolve and new material must be collected by means and with new data to answer these questions.  Field work is by far and way the most interesting part of my responsibilities.

Research Links

Pella Lycopod Tree 
A block of rock weighing in at 16.5 tons which contained part of the crown of a Lycopod tree was obtained by the National Museum of Natural History in 2005.  It is my responsibility to reduce the weight of this block to less than 4 tons so that it can be move from out side into an exhibit hall.

Professional Societies

• Botanical Society of America
• Geological Society of America
• International Organization of Palaeobotany
• Society for Sedimentary Geology
• Paleontological Society
• Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Awards

• Remey and Remy Paleobotanical Paper of the Year 2005 award, Botanical Society of America.

Professional Service

• Session Chairman Annual Meetings, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 1984-1991
• Morris F. Skinner Award Nominating Committee, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. 1988-1990
• Auction Committee and Auctioneer, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Annual Meetings 1987-Present
• Auction Committee and Auctioneer, Paleobotanical Section, Biological Society of America. 1998-present
• Membership Committee, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. 1988-1989.
• Paleobiology: Editorial assistant 2001 – 2002

Field Work

• Pleistocene coral reefs, Barbados
• Miocene vertebrates, Siwaliks,  Pakistan
• Cenozoic Mammals western USA (California, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming).
• Cenozoic plants Ecuador, South America.
• Early Cenozoic Mammals, northern China.
• Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic animals and plants James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula.
• Early Permian vertebrates USA (New Mexico and Texas).
• Late Carboniferous and Early Permian plants USA (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming).
• Early Permian plants Mengkarang Formation; Sumatra, Indonesia

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Publications

Museum and Field - Technical papers

Chaney, D. S.,1981. RTV-700 Molding Compound. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology News Bulletin 122:58—59.

Chaney, D. S.,1985. Hot Glue Gun. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology News Bulletin 134:57.

Chaney, D. S.,1985. PMC-724 Urethane Elastomer (Molding Compound). Society of Vertebrate Paleontology News Bulletin 134:57-58.

Chaney, D. S., l986. Sodium Polytungstate, A Safe Heavy Liquid. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology News Bulletin 137:52-53.

Chaney, D. S. 1988. Techniques Used in Collecting Fossil Vertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula. in; Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. eds. R. M. Feldmann and M. O. Woodburne. Geological Society of America Memoir 169:21-24.

Chaney, D. S. 1989. Hand-Held Mechanical Preparation Tools. in: Paleontological Techniques. eds. R. M. Feldmann, R. E. Chapman, and J. T. Hannibal. Paleontological Society Special Publication 4:192-209.

Chaney, D. S. 1989. Mold Making with Room Temperature Vulcanizing Rubber. in: Paleontological Techniques. eds. R. M. Feldxnann, R. E. Chapman, and J. T, Hannibal. Paleontological Society Special Publication 4:289-309.

Chaney, D. S., and Mark Goodwin, 1989. R.T.V. Silicone Rubber Compounds Used for Molding Fossil Vertebrate Specimens: A Comparison. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 9:471-473.

Chaney, D. S., K. Rafferty, and F. Grady. 1989. Mold Dikes: Cardboard A Time Saver. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology News Bulletin 146:75-76.

Fitzgerald, G. R., D. S. Chaney, and K. M. Shepard, 1992. Storage System For Large Objects Using Form-Fitted Support Pallets and Pallet Racking. in: Workbook for the Storage of Natural History Collections. eds. Carolyn L. Rose and Amparo R. de Torres. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. Washington, D.C. pages 91-94.

Chaney. D. S. 1992. Encapsulating Supports for Large Three Dimensional fragile Specimens. in: Workbook for the Storage of Natural History Collections. eds. Carolyn L. Rose and Amparo R. de Torres. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. Washington, D.C. pages 95-98.

Goodwin, M. B. and D. S. Chaney. 1994. Molding and Casting: Techniques and Materials, in: Vertebrate Paleontology Techniques vol. I: Methods of Obtaining and Preparing Information.eds P. Luggi and P. May Springer-Verlag. Pages 235-271

Shelton, Sally Y. and D. S. Chaney. 1994. Polymeric Adhesives and Consolidants Recommended for the Conservation of Fossil Vertebrates. in: Vertebrate Paleontology Techniques vol. I: Methods of Obtaining and Preparing Information. eds P. Luggi and P. May. Springer-Verlag. pages 35-45.

Paleobotany

DiMichele, W. A., C. F. Eble, and D. S. Chaney. 1996.  A Drowned Lycopsid Forest above the Mahoning Coal (Conemaugh Group, Upper Pennsylvanian) in Eastern Ohio, U.S.A.  International Journal of Coal Geology. 31:249-276.

DiMichele, W. A. Chaney, D. S., Dixon, W.H., Nelson, W. J., and Hook, R. W. 2000.  An Early Permian Coastal Flora from the Central Basin Platform of Gaines County, West Texas.  Palaios 15:524-534

DiMichele, W. A. Mamay, S. H., Chaney, D. S., Hook, R. W., and Nelson, J. W. 2001.  An Early Permian Flora with Late Permian and Mesozoic Affinities from North-Central Texas.  Journal of Paleontology 75:449-460.

DiMichele, William A., Hans Kerp, and Dan Chaney. 2004.  Tropical floras of the Late Pennsylvanian-Early Permian transition: Carrizo Arroyo in context.  in. Lucas, S. G. and Zeigler, K. E. Eds. Carboniferous-Permian Transition at Carrizo Arroyo, Central New Mexico.  New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulleten 25:105-110.

DiMichele, William A., Robert W.Hook, W. John Nelson, and Dan S. Chaney 2004. An Unusual Middle Permain Flora from the Blaine Formation (Pease River Group: Leonardian-Guadalupian Series) of King County, West Texas.  Journal of Paleontology 78:765-782.

DiMichele, W.A., Van Konijnenburg-Van Cittert, J.H.A., Looy, C.V., and Chaney, D.S.  2005.  Equisetites from the Early Permian of North-Central Texas.  in Lucas and Zeigler (eds) The Nonmarine Permian. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 30:56-59.

DiMichele, W.A., Tabor, N.J., and Chaney, D.S. 2005.  Outcrop-scale Environmental Heterogeneity and Vegetational Complexity in the Permo-Carboniferous Markley Formation of North Central Texas.  in Lucas and Zeigler (eds) The Nonmarine Permian. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 30:60-66.

DiMichele, W.A., Kerp, H., Krings, M., and Chaney, D.S.  2005 The Permian Peltasperm Radiation: Evidence from the Southwestern United States. in Lucas and Zeigler (eds) The Nonmarine Permian. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 30:67-79

Waveren, I. M. van, F. Hasibuan, Suyoko, Makmur, P.L. de Boer, D. Chaney, K. Ueno, M. Booi, E.P.A. Iskandar, Ch. I. King, J.H.V.M. de Leeuw, J.H.A. van Konijnenburg-van Cittert. 2005. Taphonomy, palaeobotany and sedimentology of the Mengkarang Formation (Early Permian, Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia. in Lucas and Zeigler (eds) The Nonmarine Permian. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 30:333-341.

DiMichele, W. A. and Chaney, D.S. 2005.  Pennsylvanian-Permian fossil floras from the Cutler Group, Cañon del Cobre and Arroyo del Agua areas, in northern New Mexico.  in Lucas, Zeigler, and Speilmann (eds) The Permian of Central New Mexico.  New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 31:27-33.

DiMichele, William A., Tabor, Neil J., Chaney, Dan.S., and Nelson, W. John, 2006. From wetlands to wet spots: Environmental tracking and the Carboniferous elements in Early Permain tropical floras.  In Greb, S. F. and  DiMichele, W.A., Wetlands trough time:  Geological Society of America Special Paper 399, p. 223-248.

Chaney, Dan S. and William A. DiMichele 2006. Paleobotany in the redbeds (Clear Fork Group – Early Permian) of north central Texas.  XV International Congress on Carboniferous and Permian Stratigraphy.    Th. E. Wong (ed)Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Invertebrate Paleontology

Hannibal, J.T., S.G. Lucas, A. J. Lerner, and D. S. Chaney. 2005. An eurypterid (Adelophthalmus sp.) from a plant-rich lacustrine facies of Upper Pennsylvanian strata in El Cobre Canyon. in Lucas, Zeigler, and Speilmann (eds) The Permian of Central New Mexico.  New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 31:34-38.

Vertebrate Paleontology

Case, J. A., M. O. Woodburne, and D. S. Chaney. 1987. A Gigantic Phororhacoid(?) Bird from Antarctica. Journal of Paleontology 61:1280-1284.

Case, J. A., M. O. Woodburne, and D. S. Chaney. 1988. A New Genus of Polydolopid Marsupial from Antarctica. in; Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. eds. R. H. Feldmann and M. O. Woodburne. Geological Society of America Memoir 169:505-522.

Woodburne, M. O., J. A. Case, and D. S. Chaney. 1988. New Fossil Vertebrates from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the United States 1987 Review 22(5):4-5.

Korth, W. W. and D. S. Chaney. 1999. A New Subfamily of Geomyoid Rodents (Mammalia) and a Possible Origin of Geomyidea.  Journal of Paleontology 73:1191-1200.

Judd A. Case, James E. Martin, Dan S. Chaney, Marcelo Reguero, Sergio A. Marenssi, Sergio M. Santillana, and Micheal O. Woodburne., 2000,  The First Duck-Billed Dinosaur (Family Hadrosauridae) From Antarctica. Journal of Vertrbrate Paleontology. 20:612-614.

McKinney, Kevin C., D. S. Chaney, T. E. Williamson, and R. H. Tedford. 2002  “Report upon the Extinct Vertebrata Obtained in New Mexico by Parties of the Expedition of 1874,” by Edward D. Cope – A Digital Archive with Multimedia Annotations.  United States Geological Survey  Open file Report 02-270 Version 1.0  Compact Disk.

Albright, B. Michele O. Woodburne, Judd A. Case, and Dan S. Chaney. 2003. A Leatherback Sea turtle from the Eocene of Antarctica: Implications for  the antiquity of Gigantothermy in Dermochelyidae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23:945-949.

Chaney, D.S., Sues, H.-D., and DiMichele, W.A. 2005. A juvenile skeleton of the nectridean amphibian Diplocaulus and associated flora and fauna from the Mitchell Creek Flats locality (upper Waggoner Ranch Formation; Early Permian), Baylor County, North-Central Texas, USA.  in Lucas and Zeigler (eds) The Nonmarine Permian. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 30:39-47.

Geochemical

Chaney, Dan S. and Stephen L. Bolivar. 1978. Uranium Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance of the Ekalaka NTMS Quadrangle, Montana. GJBI-55(78) Open File Report of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM. v+71 pp.4 maps.

Book Review

Chaney, D. S.1986. Bones for Barnum Brown. Adventures of a Dinosaur Hunter. by Roland T. Bird. Book Review. Journal of Earth Sciences History 5(2)178.