Vertebrate evolution conference

[Brian Metscher]

"MAJOR EVENTS IN EARLY VERTEBRATE EVOLUTION - PALAEONTLOGY, 
PHYLOGENY, AND DEVELOPMENT"

Dear All,

There's still time to register for this conference, which will be taking

place at the Natural History Museum, London, 8-9 April 1999. Featuring a
strong international field of speakers, the meeting will explore the
emerging links between palaeontology and developmental biology, and
their impact on the understanding of vertebrate origins and
diversification.

SPEAKERS:

PER E. AHLBERG, Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
London, UK:
"Introduction: what can we offer each other?"

WILLY E. BEMIS, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, USA:

Title to be announced (evolution of basal actinopterygians).

JENNY A. CLACK, University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge,
UK:
"Sensory changes at the fish-tetrapod transition."

RICHARD CLOUTIER, Departement de Biologie, Universite du Quebec a
Rimouski, Quebec, Canada:
Development of the axial and appendicular skeleton in the Late Devonian
tristichopterid Eusthenopteron foordi: evolutionary constraints on basal
tetrapods.

MICHAEL I. COATES, Biology Department, University College London, UK:
"A chondrichthyan perspective on the origin of jawed vertebrates."

PHIL DONOGHUE, School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK:
"Contentious characters, conodont affinity, and skeletal evolution
amongst the chordates."

PETER L. FOREY, Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
London, UK:
"Braincase ossification patterns in fishes: are there phylogenetic
and/or
developmental constraints?"

HENRY E. GEE, 'Nature' magazine, London, UK:
"The Origin of Chordates: Conflict and Controversies"

DANIEL GOUJET, Laboratoire de Paleontologie, Museum National d'Histoire
Naturelle, Paris, France:
"Placoderms and basal gnathostome apomorphies."

JAMES HANKEN, Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic
Biology, University of Colorado, USA:
"Testing hypotheses of developmental constraint: evolution of
morphological novelty in miniaturized vertebrates."

S. BLAIR HEDGES, Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University,
USA:
"Molecular evidence for the early history of vertebrates."

J.RICHARD HINCHLIFFE, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of
Wales, Aberystwyth, UK:
"Evolution and the development of skeletal pattern in the limbs of
amphibia (especially urodeles): is there a tetrapod developmental
bauplan?"

REBECCA HITCHIN, Department of Geology, Bristol University, UK:
"Diversification of the actinopterygians through the Permo-Triassic."

LINDA Z. HOLLAND, Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution
of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, USA:
"Tales from amphioxus: How the vertebrate body plan evolved."

PETER W.H. HOLLAND, School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University
of Reading, UK:
"The origins of neural crest patterning."

PHILIPPE JANVIER, Laboratoire de Paleontologie, Museum National
d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France:
"Ostracoderms and the shaping of gnathostome characters."

RICHARD P.S. JEFFERIES, Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History
Museum, London, UK:
"Fossil evidence on the early history of the chordate nervous system and
sense organs."

JEAN JOSS, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University,
Sydney, Australia:
"Lungfish Paired Fins"

JON MALLATT, Department of Zoology, Washington State University, USA:
"The relationships of lampreys to hagfishes, and the origin of jaws."

JOHN G. MAISEY, Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum
of Natural History, New York, USA:
"Endocranial morphology in some Paleozoic chondrichyans".

BRIAN. D. METSCHER, Department of Biology, University of South Dakota,
USA:
"Developmental aspects of the evolution of the teleost tail."

AXEL MEYER, Department of  Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany:
"Molecular data on the phylogenetic relationships among living
vertebrates"

R. GLENN NORTHCUTT, Department of Neurosciences, University of
California, San Diego, USA:
"The role of neural crest and neurogenic placodes in the orgin of
vertebrates."

JOHN H. POSTLETHWAIT, ANGEL AMORES, ALLAN FORCE, SUSAN BASSHAM and
YI-LIN YAN, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, USA:
"Evolution of the vertebrate genome: A perspective from zebrafish,
lamprey, and Oikopleura."

MARK A. PURNELL, Department of Geology, University of Leicester, UK:
"Scenarios, Selection, and the Ecology of Early Vertebrates."

IVAN J. SANSOM, School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK:
"The Ordovician radiation of vertebrates."

HANS-PETER SCHULTZE, Institut fuer Palaeontologie, Museum fuer
Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin, Germany:
"Dialipina and the primitive characters of basal actinopterygians."

MOYA M. SMITH, Department of Anatomy, United Medical and Dental Schools,
Guy's Hospital, London, UK:
"Evolution of the vertebrate dentition: phylogenetic pattern and
developmental models."

M.PAUL SMITH, School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK:
"The Cambrian origin of vertebrates."

MARK V. H. WILSON, Department of Zoology, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Alberta T6G ZE9, Canada:
Title to be announced (origin and homology of paired appendages).

XIAOBO YU, Department of Biological Sciences, Kean University, Union,
NJ, USA:
"Psarolepis: how stem taxa and different coding strategies affect
osteichtyan phylogenies."

ZHU MIN, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology,
Beijing, China:
"Basal taxa and phylogeny of osteichthyans."

In addition to the spoken papers, the meeting will feature over 30
posters on a wide range of topics.

FOR A BOOKING FORM AND FURTHER DETAILS, PLEASE E-MAIL PER AHLBERG,
<pea at nhm.ac.uk>

Jacqualine Pagani, Ph.D.
45596 Cottonwood St.
Meckling, SD 57044
(605) 624-2961
japagani at dtgnet.com