Photo by A restoration of the extinct whale Phiomicetus, named by paleontologists earlier this year, preying upon a sawfish. Robert W. Boessenecker via Wikimedia under CC By-SA 4.0. A restoration of the extinct whale Phiomicetus, named by paleontologists earlier this year, preying upon a sawfish. Robert W. Boessenecker via Wikimedia under CC By-SA 4.0
Dr. Mark D. Uhen will outline the origin of whales from their terrestrial ancestors, the artiodacyls. He will show how the behavior and anatomy of these disparate mammals changed from terrestrial omnivores to fully aquatic carnivores. He will also show how the modern toothed and baleen whales originated from their ancient ancesotrs.
Dr. Uhen is a Professor of Geology at George Mason University, and Chair of the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences. Dr. Uhen’s research focuses on the origin and evolution of cetaceans (whales and dolphins), major evolutionary transitions in general, functional morphology, use of stratigraphic data in phylogenetic analysis, and theoretical aspects of diversification. He has published many papers in scientific journals, contributed chapters to edited books, co-authored a book on the evolution of whales, and presented at numerous scientific conferences. Dr. Uhen is also a Research Associate at the United States National Museum of Natural History, and the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Paleobiology Database.
This event will occur on Zoom. To receive the Zoom link, register for the event.
Natural History Society of Maryland’s Fossil Club is a group of novice and more experienced collectors who meet to exchange knowledge and help with fossil identification, discuss fossil locations, as well as other fossil related topics. Monthly meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month at the Natural History Society of Maryland. Due to COVID, NHSM is opening up this club meeting to all. Non-members are asked to donate $5. If you are a fossil enthusiast, please consider joining (https://www.marylandnature.org/club-membership/). NHSM membership is $25 for individuals, $35 for families. The Natural History Society of Maryland is a volunteer-led non-profit organization, so the fee you pay will go directly to support the programs, the nature collections, and the building that make this kind of nature education possible.
