What’s Wrong with Sue?

The San Bernardino County Museum’s guest lecture series continues on Wednesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. when Dr. Elizabeth Rega speaks on “Paleopathology of the Tyrannosaurus rex called Sue.” The talk is structured for a general audience and is open to the public at no charge.

Elizabeth Rega is an assistant professor of anatomy at Western University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pomona, California. She earned her Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Chicago.

She will discuss the life history of Tyrannosaurus rex as determined from studies of one of the most complete fossils of the species ever recovered. “Sue,” now at the Field Museum in Chicago, died around 67 million years ago at the estimated age of 28 years. Her fossil remains tell the story of broken bones, infectious lesions, and arthritis. Was Sue accident-prone? How does the gigantic size of some dinosaurs relate to their life history? Put on your forensic investigation hat and find out what - if anything - was wrong with Sue.

The museum’s guest lecture series has been organized to bring regional historians, scientists, and specialists to the museum to discuss research of particular interest to inland Southern California. Upcoming speakers on fourth Wednesday evenings in 2005 include Sally McGill on the paleoseismology of the San Andreas Fault (January 26); Don Lofgren on fossils from the Goler Formation (February 23); Jonathon Corbridge on GIS for museums (March 23); John Rotenberry on ornithology (April 27), Richard Minnich on fire ecology (May 25), and Michael Lerch on archaeology (June 22). All guest lectures start at 7:30 p.m. and all are free to the public.

The San Bernardino County 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 www.sbcountymuseum.org or call (909) 307-2669 / TDD/TTY: (909) 792-1462.