February 19, 2004
For release: IMMEDIATELY
Contact: Jennifer Reynolds, museum media
specialist, (909) 798-5048
Event date: Wednesday, February 25
Event place: REDLANDS
GUEST
LECTURE: PLATE TECTONICS AND THE EVOLUTION OF MAMMALS
"Molecules Decipher the Evolutionary Tree
of Placental Mammals" is the title of the guest lecture at the
San Bernardino County Museum on Wednesday, February 25, at 7:30
p.m. The talk, given by Dr. Mark Springer as part of the county
museum's guest lecture series, is offered at no charge.
More than 4,500
species of placental mammals are divided into 18 different orders.
Anatomists have developed an evolutionary tree showing relationships
among these groups over the last century and more. But recent
molecular studies based on DNA sequences analyzed from Dr. Springer's
laboratory suggest a new view of mammalian relationships that
challenges the long-standing paradigms based on anatomy. Molecular
and geologic information, taken together, suggest that plate tectonics
played a role in splitting the major mammalian groups more than
100 million years ago.
Mark S. Springer is professor and chair
of the Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside.
He is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution
and the Associate Editor of Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Dr. Springer is the author of more than 80 scientific publications
including numerous articles in the journals Science, Nature,
and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
He earned his B.S. in Biology from Cal Poly Pomona and his M.S.
in Geology and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California,
Riverside.
The San Bernardino County Museum's free
guest lecture series was organized to bring experts in cultural
and natural history to the museum to share their research with
the public. The museum is at the California Street exit from Interstate
10 in Redlands. Parking is free, and the facility is handicapped-accessible.
For more information, visit http://www.sbcountymuseum.org/
or call (909) 307-2669 / TDD/TTY: (909) 792-1462.
|