Mikhail A. Fedonkin
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mikhail Aleksandrovich Fedonkin (born June 19, 1946) is an awarding winning paleontologist
specializing in documentation of the earliest animals' body fossils, tracks, and trails. He was the first to describe several fossils including Hiemalora
, Onega stepanovi
, and Nimbia occlusa
.
Fedonkin is fluent in English and Russian. He is also able to read Spanish, French and Slavonic languages.
, Russia
.
In 1969, Fedonkin presented a thesis titled "Biostratigraphy and paleontology of the Late Precambrian deposits of Kharaulakh Mountains, Northern Yakutia (Sakha)" to earn his MSc in Geology
from Moscow State University
. He went on to obtain a PhD
in Stratigraphy
\Paleontology
(1978) and a Doctorate of Science in Paleobiology
(1985) from the Geological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow
for his dissertations on "Precambrian fauna and trace fossils from the Russian Platform north" and "Non-skeletal fauna of the Vendian and its place in the evolution of metazoans", respectively.
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
, Moscow
.
Over his career he has completed field work in Australia
, Canada
, Norway
, Poland
, Russia
, Spain
and the United States
.
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
specializing in documentation of the earliest animals' body fossils, tracks, and trails. He was the first to describe several fossils including Hiemalora
Hiemalora
Hiemalora is a fossil of the Ediacaran biota, reaching around 3 cm in diameter, which superficially resembles a sea anemone. The genus has a sack-like body with faint radiating lines originally interpreted as tentacles, but discovery of a frond-like structure seemingly attached to some...
, Onega stepanovi
Onega (fossil)
Onega stepanovi is one of the lesser known fossil taxa from the Ediacaran Period. It was described by Mikhail A. Fedonkin in 1976and was placed in the Phylum Proarticulata in 1985....
, and Nimbia occlusa
Nimbia
Nimbia occlusa is a form of Ediacaran fossil shaped like a circular or oval disk, with a thick rim around the margin. Within the rim the fossil is usually flat, but may have a central nipple or dimple...
.
Fedonkin is fluent in English and Russian. He is also able to read Spanish, French and Slavonic languages.
Early life
Fedonkin was born in Orekhovo-Zuevo, Moscow RegionMoscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
In 1969, Fedonkin presented a thesis titled "Biostratigraphy and paleontology of the Late Precambrian deposits of Kharaulakh Mountains, Northern Yakutia (Sakha)" to earn his MSc in Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
from Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. He went on to obtain a PhD
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
\Paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
(1978) and a Doctorate of Science in Paleobiology
Paleobiology
Paleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology...
(1985) from the Geological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
for his dissertations on "Precambrian fauna and trace fossils from the Russian Platform north" and "Non-skeletal fauna of the Vendian and its place in the evolution of metazoans", respectively.
Career
In 1971, Dr. Fedonkin was a Junior Scientific Researcher at the Geological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow. In 1978, he became a Senior Scientific Researcher at the Paleontological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow. In 1985 he was promoted to be the Lead Scientific Researcher. Since 1992, Fedonkin has been the Head of the laboratory of Precambrian paleobiology at the Paleontological InstitutePaleontological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciencies
The Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow is among the world's largest paleontological institutes. An affiliate of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it includes collections from all over the former Soviet Union, as well as from other countries.- Museum :The Museum of...
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Over his career he has completed field work in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Awards
- 1997, awarded the Charles Doolittle Walcott MedalCharles Doolittle Walcott MedalCharles Doolittle Walcott Medal is an award presented by the National Academy of Sciences every five years to promote research and study in the fields of Precambrian and Cambrian life and history. The medal was established and endowed in 1934 by the Walcott Fund, a gift of Mary Vaux Walcott, in...
by the National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and... - 2000, awarded the Peter The Great Medal for the merits in the revival of science and economics in Russia by the International Academy of Science on Nature and Society.
Books
- 1981. White Sea Biota of the Vendian (Precambrian non-skeletal fauna of the Russian Platform north). Transactions of the Geological Institute, vol. 342. Moscow, Nauka, p. 1-100. (In Russian).
- 1983. Organic World of the Vendian. Moscow, VINITI, p. 1-128. (In Russian).
- 1987. Non-skeletal Fauna and Its Place in the Evolution of Metazoans. Transactions of the Paleontological Institute, vol. 226. Moscow, Nauka, p. 1-176. (In Russian).
Scientific publications
- Fedonkin M.A. 1976. Traces of the multicellullar animals from Valdai Series. Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, ser. geol., N 4, p. 128-132. (In Russian).
- Keller B.M. and Fedonkin M.A. 1977. New organic fossil finds in the Precambrian Valdai Series along the Syuz'ma River. Internat. Geol. Rev., 19(8), p. 924-930. (Translation of the previous paper).
- Fedonkin M.A. 1980. Early stages of evolution of Metazoa on the basis of the paleoichnological data. Zhurnal Obchei Biologii, N 2, c. 226-233. (In Russian, abstract in English).
- Fedonkin, M.A. 1990. Precambrian metazoans. In: Briggs, D.E.G. & Crowther, P.R., eds., Palaeobiology. A Synthesis. Blackwell Scientific Publ. Ltd., p. 17-24.
- Crimes T.P. and Fedonkin M.A. 1994. Evolution and dispersal of deepsea traces. Palaios, vol. 9, N 1, p. 74-83.
- Fedonkin M.A. 1996. Geobiological trends and events in the Precambrian biosphere. In: Walliser O.H. (ed.) Global Events and Event Stratigraphy in the Phanerozoic: Results of the International Interdisciplinary Cooperation in the IGCP-Project 216 "Global Biological Events in Earth History"). Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 89–112.
- Lipps J.H., Collins A.G. and Fedonkin M.A. 1998. Evolution of biological complexity: Evidence from geology, paleontology and molecular biology. In: Hoover R.B. (ed.) Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology. Proceedings of The International Society for Optical Engineering, vol. 3441, p. 138-148.
- Fedonkin, M.A. and Ivantsov A. Yu. 2001. Faunal succession in the Vendian (Terminal Proterozoic) deposits of the White Sea Region, north of the Russian Platform. North American Paleontological Convention, Berkeley, California. Abstracts. P. 50.