Abstract:
This collection of papers was solicited from colleagues and students of G. Arthur Cooper as a Festchrift in recognition of his profound influence on the study of brachiopods and their biostratigraphic application to geologic problems, especially in the Paleozoic Era.
Dr. Cooper initiated a period of growth in both the research staff and the National Collections of Fossils that guided the Smithsonian Institution to its present position of leadership in paleontological research. His own superb studies of fossil and living brachiopods are unsurpassed in breadth and paleontological significance. Mainly through his efforts, the Smithsonian has acquired an outstanding reference collection of invertebrate fossils that is the envy of the scientific community.
