Cutting Edge Lectures in Science: From Embryos to Adults: The Life and Times of a Dinosaur

A presentation by Dr. Robert Reisz (Professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at the University of Toronto at Mississauga)

Dinosaurs have undergone a remarkable renaissance in recent decades. Far from being sluggish reptilian monsters doomed to extinction, new discoveries and new methods of scientific investigation have revealed dinosaurs as complex, highly active animals capable of sophisticated behaviors and as one of the most diverse and successful groups of land creatures in the history of life on Earth.

My research team has studied in detail the anatomy and life history of
Massospondylus, a dinosaur that lived in what is today southern Africa some 200 million years ago. Although not as visually striking or as large as certain other dinosaurs, Massospondylus is unique among all dinosaurs in being known from many excellently preserved skulls and skeletons. These remains, along with the remarkable discovery of nests of this dinosaur — some containing eggs with preserved unhatched embryos — has allowed us to reconstruct the life and times of this dinosaur in minute
detail from an embryo all the way to a full adult, a feat unmatched in
previous dinosaur research. As such, the tale of Massospondylus serves as a case study for the ways science can now bring ancient animals and
environments back to life.

Free, everyone welcome. Seating is limited. No reservations necessary. The conference is followed by a reception.