Saturday with vertebrates of Mesozoic. Scientists from the Netherlands visited our venue

Dr Eric Mulder and Dr John Jagt of the Natural History Museum in Maastricht were guests at the seminar ‘Mesozoic mammals and birds’, held on 23 November 2024 at our University.

Dr Eric Mulder presented the evolution of the mammalian skull at length. He revealed, for example, why, from a cladistic point of view, humans belong to the muscid fish. He also presented a talk by Dick Mol on the search for mammoth fossils. Dr John Jagt, in turn, talked about birds, similar in many respects to modern birds, but living at the end of the ‘dinosaur era’.

The invited guests have not only worked at universities, but also in public and private museums. So they have a slightly different perspective on science and its polarisation than just the ‘university’ one. The talks they gave dealt broadly with palaeobiology and vertebrate evolution. The scientists relied mostly on their own experiences.

Maastricht from where they came is the place where sediments of the last Cretaceous floor are being uncovered. ‘The ones in Opole are slightly older, but it is hard not to compare the finds from the two areas,’ emphasised Dr Mateusz Antczak from the UO’s Institute of Biology. ‘At the same time, for our students and other enthusiasts of palaeobiology, it is a rare opportunity to ask questions to a person who studies, inter alia, the famous marine reptiles: the Mozasaurs.

During and after the talks, there was also the opportunity to ask questions or consult one’s own findings. Among the participants were not only academics, but also students from the University of Opole.

‘In my opinion, the lectures were interesting and professionally prepared,’ assessed Dr Mateusz Antczak. ‘I was surprised that people showed up with material that they wanted to discuss with a group of scientists on occasion. This is a big plus! No one was afraid to ask questions either, and this always pleases the speaker, as it shows interest.

The seminar was funded by the Institute of Biology.

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