Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology is the official journal of the Association of Australasian Palaeontologists

Association of Australasian Palaeontologists

The Association of Australasian Palaeontologists is a specialist group of the Geological Society of Australia for palaeontologists in Australia.-Publications:*Alcheringa - quarterly publication of the AAP...

. The journal is international in scope and publishes articles on all aspects of palaeontology and its ramifications into the earth and biological sciences, including: taxonomy

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

, biostratigraphy

Biostratigraphy

Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them. Usually the aim is correlation, demonstrating that a particular horizon in one geological section represents the same period...

, micropalaeontology, vertebrate palaeontology, palaeobotany, palynology

Palynology

Palynology is the science that studies contemporary and fossil palynomorphs, including pollen, spores, orbicules, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, chitinozoans and scolecodonts, together with particulate organic matter and kerogen found in sedimentary rocks and sediments...

, palaeobiology, palaeoanatomy, palaeoecology, biostratinomy

Biostratinomy

Biostratinomy is the study of the processes that take place after an organism dies but before its final burial. It is considered to be a subsection of the science of taphonomy, along with necrology and diagenesis...

, biogeography

Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...

, chronobiology

Chronobiology

Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines periodic phenomena in living organisms and their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. These cycles are known as biological rhythms. Chronobiology comes from the ancient Greek χρόνος , and biology, which pertains to the study, or science,...

, biogeochemistry

Biogeochemistry

Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment...

 and palichnology. The journal was established in 1975 and is currently published as four issues per year. Alcheringa is derived from the Arrernte language of the Arrernte

Arrernte people

The Arrernte people , known in English as the Aranda or Arunta, are those Indigenous Australians who are the original custodians of Arrernte lands in the central area of Australia around Mparntwe or Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The Arrernte tribe has lived there for more than 20,000 years...

 aboriginal people of the Alice Springs

Alice Springs, Northern Territory

Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...

 area of central Australia

Central Australia

Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...

. Alcheringa (also spelt altjeringa) is the popularized English version of an Arunta expression that means 'in the beginning' or 'from all eternity'. Alcheringa is also the name given to a 2.7-2.8 billion year old stromatolite

Stromatolite

Stromatolites or stromatoliths are layered accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria ....

 from the Pilbara region of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, and symbolizes the antiquity of life and its record in sedimentary rocks. An image of the stromatolite is illustrated on the cover of the journal.