Assembling 400 million years of the fish tree of life

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• Dr Sam Giles
• Friday 13 March 2020, 13:40-14:15
• Tilley Lecture Theatre, Department of Earth Sciences, Downing Street.

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Animals with backbones (vertebrates) have an evolutionary history of nearly half a billion years, with fossils instrumental in understanding how the group became so hugely successful. However, the double barriers of geological time and fossil preservation has led to a poor understanding of the early history and evolution of ray-fins. Many of the major innovations in vertebrate evolution are internal, and therefore largely inaccessible. By using x-ray tomography (CT scanning), it is possible to ‘virtually’ cut through specimens to build up a picture of the fossil’s internal anatomy, opening a window into the evolution of the skull and brain. Comparing these structures between key living and extinct ray-fins allows for major events to be put into context, shedding new light on innovations and evolutionary relationships.

This talk is part of the Sedgwick Club talks series.

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