home  |  join us  |  register  |  site map  |  contact us       
Dr. Alton Dooley

Professional Titles

  • Assistant Curator of Paleontology, Virginia Museum of Natural History
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Geology, Radford University
  • Adjunct Instructor of Geology, Virginia Western Community College
  • Research Associate, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Education

  • Ph.D. in Geology, Louisiana State University, 1991-1998
  • BA in Geology, Carleton College,  1987-1999

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Curator of Paleontology, Virginia Museum of Natural History
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Geology, Radford University
  • Adjunct Instructor of Geology, Virginia Western Community College
  • Adjunct Instructor of Geology, Ferrum College
  • Instructor, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University
  • Teacher, Jackson High School, Jackson, Louisiana
  • Research Assistant, Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science
  • Lab Assistant, Department of Geology, Carleton College
  • Planetarium Operator, Science Museum of Western Virginia
  • Volunteer, Smithsonian Institution
  • Volunteer, Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo

Research Interests

  • Evolution and distribution of whales since the early Miocene
  • Fauna and paleoenvironment of the Carmel Church Quarry
  • Marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Miocene Virginia
  • Earth science and evolution education

Recent Professional Service

  • Member, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
  • Member, Paleontological Society
  • Member, National Association of Geoscience Teachers
  • Member, Sigma Xi

Selected Publications

  • Dooley, A. C. Jr., 2007. Barstovian (middle Miocene) Land Mammals from the Carmel Church Quarry, Caroline County, Virginia. Jeffersoniana, No. 18, 17 p.
  • Dooley, A. C. Jr., 2005. A new species of Squalodon (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Middle Miocene of eastern North America. Virginia Museum of Natural History Memoir 8, 43 p.
  • Dooley, A. C. Jr., 2005. Miocene vertebrate fossils from the Potomac River, Westmoreland County, Virginia. in Ward, L. W. and Dooley, A. C. Jr., eds. Geology and Paleontology of the Stratford Hall Plantation and Westmoreland State Park. Virginia Museum of Natural History Guidebook No. 5, p. 23-42.
  • Dooley, A. C, Jr., Fraser, N. C.. and Luo, Z.-X., 2004. The earliest known member of the rorqual-gray whale clade (Mammalia, Cetacea). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24(2):453-463.
  • Dooley, A. C. Jr., 2003. A review of the eastern North American Squalodontidae (Mammalia: Cetacea). Jeffersoniana, No. 11, 26 p.
  • Dooley, A. C. Jr., 2002. Vertebrate fossils from the Potomac River, Westmoreland County, Virginia. in Rohr, L. B., Lewis, M. E., and Ward, L. W., eds. Stratford Hall Plantation and Westmoreland State Park. Physical and Cultural Geography, Geology, and Paleontology. Virginia Museum of Natural History Guidebook No. 3, p. 41-61.
  • Fraser, N. C. and Dooley, A. C., Jr., 2002. Archaic baleen whales. In W. F. Perrin, B. Wursig, and H. G M. Thewissen, eds., Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Academic Press, pp 73-75.
  • Dooley, A. C., Jr., 2000.  Double-headed  ribs in a Miocene whale. Jeffersoniana, No.8., 8 p.


Member Login 
Exhibits
Education
Calendar of Events
Online Museum Store
Research and Collections
Museum Information
Planning Your Visit
Join Us!


Information meeting for upcoming SW Piedmont Master Naturalist training course is July 15.


Save Paper - Download your 2008 Summer Camps schedule (pdf)


Sign up Today for VMNH Field Trip Adventures


Visit VMNH research, education blogs.
Join Us  |  Sign Up for ENews  |  Language Translations  |  WeatherBug  |  Survey  |  Contact Us
21 Starling Avenue, Martinsville VA 24112