We are pleased to announce a School Seminar by Professor Emily Rayfield on the topic of: What can X-rays, biomechanics and developmental biology tell us about the origin of mammals?
Abstract:
The origin of mammals involved major transformations of the skull, including the evolutionary repurposing of jaw bones into the middle ear and the expansion of the brain. Although these changes are well documented in the fossil record, how early mammalian jaws and ears functioned and why these innovations were favoured remains poorly understood. Reconstructing function and behaviour in extinct animals is challenging, but because biological systems obey physical laws, biomechanics provides a powerful framework for linking form to performance. Furthermore, in all living mammals, the jaw bones transition into the ear during development, providing a natural model for investigating mechanisms that may have shaped evolutionary change. This seminar discusses our recent research combining fossils, biomechanics, and developmental biology, to better understand the origin, evolution and function of mammalian feeding, hearing, jaws and ears.