DinoBite: Joshua Lively, Ph.D.
Saturday, January 25, 2:30 - 2:55 p.m.
Mosasaurs: From Lizards to Leviathans in 30 Million Years
During the hothouse climate of the Cretaceous, a group of lizards known as mosasaurs took the dive into a marine lifestyle. Across 30 million years, they filled a number of ecological niches, with some being the apex predators in their marine environment. They ultimately peaked in diversity just before their extinction 66 million years ago. Come learn about our growing understanding of their origins, diversification, and the roles they played during their relatively short history.
About the Speaker
Joshua Lively, Ph.D., is the Curator of Paleontology at the Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah. His main research interest is the spatial and temporal change in ecosystems – both freshwater and marine – during the Late Cretaceous, or last 34 million years of the Age of Dinosaurs. Lively’s specialties include turtles and mosasaurs, as both groups are well represented in the fossil record. He has spent the last 15 years conducting fieldwork in Utah and beyond.