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IGA Lecture: Dr. Patrick Orr (UCD School of Geological Sciences)
21 January, 2015 @ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM GMT
Putting flesh on bone: what the fossil record can reveal about the history of life on Earth.
It is with great pleasure that we can announce the details of the IGA New Year Lecture.
The talk will be by internationally renowned palaeontologist Dr. Patrick (Paddy) Orr, who is based at the UCD School of Geological Sciences and who has worked with many of the biggest names in preservation palaeontology, including dinosaur specialists. The talk will feature the latest incredible discoveries on the real (i.e., actual) colour of dinosaurs – and that’s just part of it! Do not miss this talk.
It will be held between 18:30 and 19:30 in the Synge Theatre in the Arts Block of Trinity College Dublin on Wednesday, January 21st; nibbles start at 18:00 and there will be time for questions up to 20:00.
See you there.
Abstract:
The fragments of shell that litter the seashore are a poor record of the complexity and diversity of marine environments, yet such information is the norm in the fossil record. This bias challenges palaeobiologists’ attempts to reconstruct the history of life on Earth. Fortuitously, under certain environmental conditions more than the ‘bones shells and teeth’ can be preserved. These examples allow more comprehensive analysis of the biology, ecology and evolution of extinct animals, including topics as diverse as the ecology of 520 million year old marine communities, the color of the feathers of 100 million year dinosaurs, and the last meal of a blood sucking 46 million year old insect.