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CONTACT: Susie Gonzalez
Oct. 17, 2005
Canadian Paleontologist to Discuss Dinosaur Evolution
at Trinity University
SAN ANTONIO - Scott Sampson, a renowned Canadian paleontologist who traces the interaction of ecology and evolution, will discuss his discoveries about dinosaurs during a visit to Trinity University. His lecture, titled "From Madagascar to West America: Tales from the World of Dinosaurs," will take place at the Stieren Theater at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14. It is free and open to the public.
Dr. Sampson has conducted fieldwork around the world including the unearthing of well-preserved dinosaur specimens in Madagascar and discoveries in North America. He is currently collecting Falcarius utahensis fossils in Utah. Fossils from this dinosaur - characterized by their size, shape, teeth, and claws - are the first documented examples in North America of the transition between dinosaurs that were primarily meat eaters and those who ate mostly plants.
Dr. Sampson holds a dual position at the University of Utah as assistant professor of geology and geophysics and as curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Utah Museum of Natural History. His 1993 doctoral dissertation at the University of Toronto examined the evolution of horned dinosaurs from western North America, including naming and describing two new species from Montana, Einiosaurus procurvicornis and Achelousaurus horneri. He spent a year at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and five years as assistant professor of anatomy at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine on Long Island. Dr. Sampson was the 2003 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Distinguished Speaker and host of "Dinosaur Planet," a recent series of four animated television shows on the Discovery Channel.
The lecture is sponsored by Trinity University's departments of geosciences and biology and the San Antonio Botanical Garden in conjunction with the Dinosaurs Tex exhibit on display through Dec. 4.
For more information on Dr. Sampson's visit to Trinity, contact the office of public relations at
(210) 999-8406.
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