2008 Woodie Awards
CSU hosts paleontologists
By: Wesley Taylor
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: News
California was once underwater and giant sea dragons with massive eyes roamed the seas.
This is not science fiction; it is science fact. Millions of years ago, earth looked quite a bit different than it does today.
The creature was the Ophthalmosaurus, a type of ichthyosaur. It used to roam prehistoric seas.
Topics like these were discussed at the California Paleontology conference held at California State University, Stanislaus April 19. The conference was the first of its kind at CSU Stanislaus and featured a keynote address about ichthyosaurs by University of California Davis professor Ryosuke Motani.
Motani was a last-minute replacement at the conference for Canadian paleontologist Scott Sampson, who is host of the "Dinosaur Planet" TV show. Sampson was unable to attend the event after his mother suffered a stroke.
Motani's presentation centered on marine reptiles and focused primarily on the ichthyosaur.
Items discussed included the creature's unusually large eyes in relation to the rest of its body, its unusual fish shape, and its ability to dive.
Ichthyosaurs were the first mammals to go back to the sea and evolve a fish shape, Motani said. Several physiological changes took place to allow the creatures to flourish in an underwater environment including large eyes to adapt to dark ocean environments, a fish shape to enable efficient cruising speed to help find prey, and spongy cortex bones to allow deep diving.
Many fossils of these and other ancient marine animals populate the area.
"In California, we are surrounded by very nice localities for marine reptiles," Motani said.
Motani's address kicked off the conference, which featured several presentations on diverse topics concerning paleontology.
Motani received his B.S. from the University of Tokyo in 1991 and his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1997. He also did his post doctoral fellowship at the University of California Berkeley in 1999.
The dean of the college of natural science, Roger McNeil, said it was the first scientific conference held in the new Nora and Hashem Naraghi Hall of Science.
The event was organized primarily by CSU Stanislaus professors Julie Sankey and Terry Jones.
"It's been a lot of fun to get ready," Sankey said.
Sankey hopes to host the event again in the near future.
This is not science fiction; it is science fact. Millions of years ago, earth looked quite a bit different than it does today.
The creature was the Ophthalmosaurus, a type of ichthyosaur. It used to roam prehistoric seas.
Topics like these were discussed at the California Paleontology conference held at California State University, Stanislaus April 19. The conference was the first of its kind at CSU Stanislaus and featured a keynote address about ichthyosaurs by University of California Davis professor Ryosuke Motani.
Motani was a last-minute replacement at the conference for Canadian paleontologist Scott Sampson, who is host of the "Dinosaur Planet" TV show. Sampson was unable to attend the event after his mother suffered a stroke.
Motani's presentation centered on marine reptiles and focused primarily on the ichthyosaur.
Items discussed included the creature's unusually large eyes in relation to the rest of its body, its unusual fish shape, and its ability to dive.
Ichthyosaurs were the first mammals to go back to the sea and evolve a fish shape, Motani said. Several physiological changes took place to allow the creatures to flourish in an underwater environment including large eyes to adapt to dark ocean environments, a fish shape to enable efficient cruising speed to help find prey, and spongy cortex bones to allow deep diving.
Many fossils of these and other ancient marine animals populate the area.
"In California, we are surrounded by very nice localities for marine reptiles," Motani said.
Motani's address kicked off the conference, which featured several presentations on diverse topics concerning paleontology.
Motani received his B.S. from the University of Tokyo in 1991 and his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1997. He also did his post doctoral fellowship at the University of California Berkeley in 1999.
The dean of the college of natural science, Roger McNeil, said it was the first scientific conference held in the new Nora and Hashem Naraghi Hall of Science.
The event was organized primarily by CSU Stanislaus professors Julie Sankey and Terry Jones.
"It's been a lot of fun to get ready," Sankey said.
Sankey hopes to host the event again in the near future.
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