The Giants Dinosaurs of Gondwana
On Monday night at the Northern
District Branch (7 pm, November 26) library audiences will have a unique opportunity to learn about the extraordinary dinosaurs that roamed the supercontinent of Gondwana in the southern hemisphere. David
Evans is the creator of the exhibit "Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana" which is currently on display at the Royal Ontario Museum, where he is Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology (he is also a professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at U of T).
The dinosaurs of the Southern Hemisphere are quite unlike those of the Northern Hemisphere, and Dr. Evans has played a major role in some of the most exciting recent discoveries about these creatures. In his talk, entitled Eggs, Nests and Baby Dinosaurs: New Discoveries
from South Africa, he will discuss just why these animals were so different. As he describes in an interview which you can read in its entirety at U of T News, it's all about the relationship between the evolution of the planet and the evolution of life:
"In the middle of dinosaurs reign, geological forces within the Earth
tore the supercontinent of Pangaea into northern and southern halves,
and the dinosaurs on the newly formed southern supercontinent of
Gondwana (which consisted of all of the southern continents today, plus
India) went in their own unique evolutionary directions…."
Exploring Evolution
is part of a science outreach
initiative from the University of Toronto. The project has been spearheaded by
professor Ray Jayawardhana, Canada Research Chair in Observational
Astrophysics, in his new role as the U of T President’s Senior Advisor on
Science Engagement. Here are the details for the final talk in the series, which appropriately focuses on the continued importance of the work of Charles Darwin:
Tuesday, December 4 (Concourse), 7-8 pm
Spencer Barrett, Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Genetics, U of T
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