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.