Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas

Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas
Name	Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas
Established	1980
Location	Bogotá, Colombia
Type	Research institute
Director	Dr. Alejandro Ruiz

Contents

Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas is a Colombian research institute dedicated to the study of paleontology, vertebrate paleobiology, paleoecology and stratigraphy, rooted in collaborations with international museums and universities. The center coordinates fieldwork across Páramo de Sumapaz, Tatacoa Desert, La Guajira, and the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, and partners with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, American Museum of Natural History, Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Universidad de los Andes to curate collections and publish in journals like Nature, Science and Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Historia

The institute originated from expeditions in the 1970s led by teams from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Instituto Colombiano de Cultura, and international researchers affiliated with University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, University of Kansas and Universidad de Antioquia, culminating in formal foundation in 1980 under patronage from the Ministry of Culture (Colombia), Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación and private benefactors. During the 1980s and 1990s, collaborations with field programs from Smithsonian Institution, Royal Ontario Museum, Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont and Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales expanded stratigraphic surveys across the Cretaceous and Neogene outcrops, producing type descriptions cited alongside work by José R. Vicente, Rodrigo Cadena, Mario Costa, Alexander von Humboldt-related expeditions and comparative studies referenced in monographs by Paul Sereno and Fernando Novas.

The governance structure includes a scientific council with representatives from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad del Valle, Smithsonian Institution and members of the Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, with advisory links to the Ministry of Culture (Colombia), Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible and international partners like National Geographic Society, Welch Foundation, Gates Foundation and the European Research Council. Administrative divisions are organized into departments for vertebrate paleontology, invertebrate paleontology, paleobotany, paleoichnology and conservation, staffed by researchers who previously trained at University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, University of Buenos Aires and Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Collections include holotypes and paratypes from expeditions that produced taxa named in collaboration with researchers from Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History, Museo Javeriano de Historia Natural and Museo Geológico José Royo y Gómez, with specimens displayed in permanent exhibits alongside loans from Natural History Museum, London, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio and touring exhibits coordinated with Museo del Oro (Bogotá). Exhibits emphasize regional faunas from the Cretaceous of La Guajira, the Paleogene of Tolima Department, and the Pleistocene megafauna of Altiplano Cundiboyacense, incorporating casts, skeleton mounts and interactive displays developed with curators from Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Chile), Museo de La Plata and educational designers from Smithsonian Institution.

Research programs have documented new taxa alongside collaborative projects with Universidad de los Andes, Universidad del Valle, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History and international teams from University of Oxford, University of Copenhagen and Peking University, producing peer-reviewed papers in Nature, Science, Paleobiology and Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Active projects include stratigraphic correlation of Cretaceous units with colleagues at Servicio Geológico Colombiano, isotopic paleoenvironmental reconstructions with labs at Universidad de Barcelona and ancient DNA attempts in collaboration with Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and University College London. Conservation paleontology and taphonomy studies connect with the Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi, museums such as Royal Ontario Museum and field programs that have involved researchers like Paul Sereno, Rodrigo O. Araujo and Julio Lacerda.

Outreach includes school programs coordinated with the Ministerio de Educación Nacional (Colombia), traveling exhibits in partnership with Museo del Oro (Bogotá), public lectures featuring visiting scholars from Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, American Museum of Natural History and university seminars at Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Universidad de los Andes. The center publishes field guides and bilingual materials with publishers affiliated to Universidad Nacional de Colombia Press, organizes training workshops for curators from Museo de La Plata, Museo del Oro (Bogotá), Museo de Historia Natural de Lima and runs citizen science programs modeled after initiatives by National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution.

Facilities include preparation laboratories equipped with microprep tools borrowed through exchanges with Royal Tyrrell Museum and Smithsonian Institution, a scanning electron microscopy suite shared with Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and stable isotope and geochronology access via collaborations with Geological Survey of Canada, Servicio Geológico Colombiano and Universidad de Barcelona. The center maintains field stations in Tatacoa Desert, La Guajira and Páramo de Sumapaz with logistical support from Red Colombiana de Reservas Científicas, and coordinates specimen conservation using protocols developed with Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Chile), Royal Ontario Museum and the International Council of Museums.

Category:Paleontological research institutes