Plesiosaur – an ancient extinct aquatic reptile
Plesiosaurs are extinct aquatic reptiles that thrived throughout the Jurassic period, which was140 million years ago. Although they resemble and lived at the same time as dinosaurs, they are not classified as dinosaurs.
The largest complete plesiosaur fossil ever found, at 7 metres long, belongs to Dublin’s Natural History Museum. The fossil, Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni, was discovered in Northern England in 1848. The visit will provide Dr O’Keefe with his first opportunity to study the giant specimen.
Dr O’Keefe’s talk will focus on the repeated evolution of different plesiosaur body shapes. Animals with large heads and short necks were once thought to be closely related, but recent research has shown that this morphotype actually evolved repeatedly. Driven by selection for larger prey size, a large set of specialised adaptations evolve in concert, resulting in large, carnivorous animals that look the same but are not related. Dr O'Keefe will also discuss his recent field work in Africa and the research stemming from it.
The talk will take place on March 16th at 1pm in the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science. For further information contact Dr Gareth Dyke at gareth.dyke@ucd.ie or (01) 7162195.
