Fossils of Tasmania: A Deep Time Journey Through Prehistory (David Hocking)

Thursday 7th November
7.15 pm for a 7.30 pm start

UTAS Sandy Bay Campus in the Law Building Seminar Room (Room 132)
Modern Tasmania is home to some of the world’s most engaging animals, including rare birds and reptiles, platypus and echidnas, and of course the iconic Tasmanian devil. However, this diversity is only a fraction of the range of extraordinary creatures that have called this island home over the course of Geological Time.
In this presentation, Dr David Hocking will present the history of Tasmanian palaeontology as recorded in the collections of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. We will learn about the how this region has changed over time and what plants and animals have called Tasmania home across the eons. We will also get a sneak-peek into the research work currently being undertaken on Tasmanian fossils at TMAG using a new suite of digital tools that are revealing new secrets hidden within these ancient bones.
Dr David Hocking is an expert on the evolution of Australian and Southern Ocean marine mammals. His work combines traditional palaeontology and natural history with cutting-edge technology to better understand how animals work and why they behave like they do. Beyond the water’s edge, his work extends to exploring behaviour and biomechanics in snakes, wombats, devils and Australia’s extinct marsupial megafauna. He completed his PhD at Monash University and is currently the Senior Curator of Vertebrate Zoology and Palaeontology at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
If you think that the club is a good fit for you and you would like to regularly attend events then we ask you sign up as a member (https://tasfieldnats.org.au/member)

Tasmanian Field Nats meetings are in the University’s Law Building room 132 at the Sandy Bay Campus.

We use the rear entrance to the building and access is easy – from the corner of Grosvenor St and Alexander St (see red star and arrows on map) walk down the laneway on the northern side of the Law Building and enter via the sliding doors at the back of the building. There should be plenty of parking available close by along Grosvenor St just past View St or on Dobson Road which is one-way down (see green squares). Sometimes sports practice is taking a lot of the parking along Grosvenor Crescent by the oval. Bring a torch if you are worried about the footpaths.

On entry into the lower foyer please enter your name and phone number on the meeting attendance sheet. Access will be from 7.15pm.

Hope to see you there!