Welcome to Palaeobiology at Uppsala University
Palaeobiology is the study of the origin and evolution of the Earth´s Biosphere during its
4.500.000.000 year history. The subject is an integral part of both biology and geology.
| Research Activities |
Education | Recent Highlights |
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 Research Individual research groups and more . Publications Publications of the programme since 2003 . Seminar Series Current research within the programme . See also:  Palaeobiology
ResearchSpotlight The
GEOISLANDS-projectGeotourism on Central Baltic Islands  on Cambrian Stratigraphy  |
Main Education page all courses and additional information . Master programme General information page of the University Hot direct links: Undergraduate
courses Course descriptions and information . Master
coursesPalaeobiology's Master courses taught in English! . Course
materialspdf-files of lectures and exercises |
Dinosaurs from New Mexcio, a seminar by Dr R. Sullivan. 25 April, 2012. [more info] The 2nd Wiman Meeting  Uppsala, 17-18 November 2011 New Series: field trip pictures and localities on an interactive map! Join us on Facebook  Fossil of the month  |
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| Palaeobiology Research Spotlight |
Brachiopods
"leveled-up"
in
the
lower
Cambrian
March 2012 Brachiopods are
usually thought to contribute
little to the tiering complexity from the Palaeozoic to the Recent,
mainly due to the fact that their modern representatives live primarily
in lower tiers. In a recent issue of
Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology , H.
Wang, L.
Holmer and collegues describe the first and oldest record of varied
levels of secondary tiering in minute brachiopods attached around the
branched fronds of the algae-like Malongitubus
kuangshanensis. The new material is part of the famous
Chengjiang fauna (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3) of the Heilinpu
Formation, southern China. The brachiopods can be assigned to the
acrotretoid brachiopods and are described as the new genus and species Kuangshanotreta malungensis. This
is the first report on the occurrence of acrotretoid brachiopods in the
lower Cambrian muddy deposits from southern China. The
acrotretoid/algae association represents both, the first and oldest
evidence into the enigmatic paleoecology of the diverse acrotretoid
linguliformean stock that comprises an important component of the
Cambrian evolutionary fauna, and sheds light on medium-high levels of
secondary tiering Cambrian soft substrate suspension-feeding
communities. |
| Fossils
from the cold - Palaeobiology expedition to
Antarctica October 2011 The Swedish
Polar Research Secretariat
, in collaboration with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), is
conducting a one month expedition to Antarctica. Goal of the expedition
is to find well preserved Cambrian fossils in order to improve our
understanding of the early diversification of life during the very
beginning of the Phanerozoic. The expedition is led by Uppsala
scientist Lars
Holmer and scheduled for October 26 to November 30, 2011. All
participants will be based at the U.S.
McMurdo station from where they will be flown to the
premises in Churchill Mountains where a tent camp will be set up.Further information can be obtained from the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. [in English / på
svenska ] Video footage from the ongoing expedition: [flight to Antarctica ] [camp at
Mt Erebus ] |
Aragonite
preservation
in
Ordovician–Silurian
brachiopods
September 2011 In
this month's issue of Geology , former programme scientist U.
Balthasar and
his collegues (including L.E.
Holmer) describe the implications of the discovery of well
preserved trimerellid brachiopods from Gotland, Canada and Kazakhstan. The discovery of common occurrence of
relic aragonite in their shells extends the known range of aragonite
preservation by more than 130 million years. Together with associated
hypercalcifying taxa of putatively original aragonite or high-magnesium
calcite composition and considerations of the temperature dependence of
aragonite and calcite precipitation, suggest that the evolution of
aragonite biomineralization might have presented an adaptive advantage
in shallow marine tropical waters of calcite seas. [see also official
press release (Swedish only) at Uppsala University's homepage] |
Battle scars on an
ancient sea monster
May
2011
Healed bite wounds on the fossilised jaw of an ichthyosaur from Australia provides rare evidence of an aggressive encounter that took place 120 million years ago. At this time the Australian continent was close to the southern polar circle and covered by a freezing inland sea. Positioning of the tooth marks indicate an attack from below but their size and spacing do not match any potential predators or prey. Rather, they are most consistent with another adult ichthyosaur, suggesting that the injuries were sustained during combat over food, mates or territory. Facial biting is a common social interaction in animals today and is often directed towards restraining the opponents jaws. The report, co-authored by Benjamin Kear (Palaeobiology Programme), will appear next month in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica (available in advance online ).[see also official press release (English version) and online articles by National Geographic and ScienceNews ] |
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Dinosaurs Down Under
February
2011
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