Founded in 1940, the society now has more than 2,300 members representing professionals, students, artists, preparators, and others interested in VP. The society is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes. The object of the society is to advance the science of vertebrate paleontology and to serve the common interests and facilitate the cooperation of all persons concerned with the history, evolution, comparative anatomy, and taxonomy of vertebrate animals, as well as field occurrence, collection, and study of fossil vertebrates and the stratigraphy of the beds in which they are found. The society is also concerned with the conservation and preservation of fossil sites.