EVOLUTION, DEVELOPMENT, ECOLOGY

AND PHYSIOLOGY OF EXTINCT AMMONOIDS

Dr. Amane Tajika

JSPS Overseas Research Fellow

American Museum of Natural History

Sunday, May 19, 2019           2:00 P.M.            Room 319

American Museum of Natural History         New York City 

For more than 350 million years, the Ammonoidea were abundant in the world’s oceans. Until their demise in the K/Pg mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous, they were the most dominant cephalopod group in the marine realm. Their high abundance, geological longevity, high speciation rate, and world-wide distribution make them ideal model organisms to test evolutionary hypotheses, as well as offer key insights into the paleontological disciplines of biostratigraphy, biogeography and paleoecology. Extensive paleontological research has answered many questions about ammonoids, though many remain. This talk will address what we do know about these extinct organisms - including origins, ecological roles, habitat, locomotion, evolutionary trends, physiology and anatomy. Dr. Tajika will also discuss the differences between ammonoids and nautiloids, and explore why ammonoids became extinct while nautiloids survived the K/Pg mass extinction event, and will also identify the animals that exploited their ecological niche after the Cretaceous.

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N.Y.P.S. MEETING DATES FOR THE YEAR

These are the meeting dates of the New York Paleontological Society for the 2018-2019 season. We meet at 2:00 P.M. in room 319 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (79th Street and Central Park West), unless otherwise specified. Our Annual Party will be held at the NYU Tandon (Polytechnic) School of Engineering in Brooklyn, N.Y. Due to changes in the museum’s schedule, the above dates may change (usually very unlikely), so check your Newsletter or the monthly meeting notice on this website.

September 16,2018	**December 1 or 8, 2018	March 17, 2019
*October 7, 2018	January 20,  2019	***April 14, 2019
November 18, 2018	February 17, 2019	May 19, 2019
NOTE: All the above dates are third Sundays of their respective months, except for October and April. *   Our October meeting is on the first Sunday, October 7. According to the Museum, The room is not available on the second or third Sundays. ** Our Annual Party (a Saturday) - date to be finalized! *** Our April meeting is on Sunday, April 14. .