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SUMMARY:A view across rifting events: Late Cretaceous continental faunas o
 f Eastern Africa and Madagascar - Patrick O'Connor\, University of Ohio
DTSTART:20220203T150000Z
DTEND:20220203T160000Z
UID:TALK168320@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Oscar Branson
DESCRIPTION:Relatively little is known about the diversity of continental 
 biotas from vast regions of the southern hemisphere during the later stage
 s of the Mesozoic Era\, particularly by comparison with Laurasian ecosyste
 ms during this interval. Such sampling disparity limits our ability to add
 ress global phenomena impacting ecosystems approaching the K-Pg boundary\,
  not to mention preventing a clearer understanding of clade level dynamics
  (e.g.\, diversification\, extinction\, etc.) in major vertebrate groups s
 uch as nonavian and avian dinosaurs\, mammals\, etc. Intensified recent fi
 eld efforts in seldom or completely unexplored southern continent regions 
 are beginning to address these sampling biases and allow for a basic asses
 sment of those vertebrate clades present in different regions\, while simu
 ltaneously highlighting a range of anatomical specializations not even pre
 dicted based on what is currently known from the fossil record. The semina
 r will provide an overview of two ongoing projects focused on sampling Lat
 e Cretaceous paleoenvironments and their vertebrate denizens from continen
 tal sequences in present day Madagascar and eastern Africa. A ‘report fr
 om the field’ approach will highlight recent discoveries of nonavian and
  avian dinosaurs\, crocodyliforms\, and other backboned animals that are h
 elping to write the next chapter in late Mesozoic vertebrate paleontology\
 , while setting the stage for future research in both field and laboratory
  settings.
LOCATION:Department of Earth Sciences\, Tilley Lecture Theatre
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