KAROO NEWS - Thirty-nine international delegates from 10 different countries are coming to the Gem of the Karoo to present papers at the 22nd conference of the Palaeontological Society of Southern Africa (PSSA) from 8 to 13 September.
The 2024 PSSA Conference, the largest yet, has attracted more than 150 delegates - a huge boost for Graaff-Reinet.
Because of the international significance of the South African fossil record, the 39 international delegates from Australia, Argentina, Brazil, France, Great Britain, Japan, Russia, Spain, Sweden and USA will be presenting papers at the meeting.
Hosted by the newly established Karoo Origins Fossil Centre in Graaff-Reinet and the University of the Witwatersrand, the six-day conference will take place at the South African College for Tourism.
Wealth of knowledge
"Because this conference is being held in Graaff-Reinet, surrounded by rocks of the Karoo Supergroup, it provides an ideal opportunity to run a special symposium showcasing the enormous fossil heritage of the Karoo," says organiser, Prof Bruce Rubidge.
"This meeting has attracted several international researchers working on fossils from Karoo-aged rocks around the world to present papers, as well as all the local scientists and students working on this part of the South African fossil record."
The PSSA, the professional umbrella society for palaeontologists of Southern Africa, hosts a conference every second year, drawing scientists working on the fossil record of Southern Africa and Africa.
Rubidge says this meeting provides an avenue for palaeontologists to present their most recent research discoveries, to brainstorm new ideas, and build future collaborations.
The conference will host four symposia, 'Hominin evolution' in honour of Dr Bob Brain, 'Karoo palaeontology', 'Devonian to carboniferous life' and 'General palaeontology'.
A short field excursion will also be undertaken to iconic Karoo fossil localities around Graaff-Reinet.
Keynote speaker
Keynote speaker, Prof Christian Sidor, is professor of biology at the University of Washington, curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, and adjunct associate professor of earth and space science at the University of Washington in Seattle.
As an entertaining and accomplished speaker, Sidor has presented many invited lectures at conferences around the world.
Sidor is also giving a lecture at the tourism college on 10 September and this lecture is already fully booked. The title of his talk is 'Antarctica before dinosaurs: Triassic fossils from the bottom of the world and their South African connection'.
Professor Rubidge biography
Professor Bruce Rubidge has been living in Graaff-Reinet since 2020 and has been active in setting up Karoo Origins - the Fossil Centre to house the Rubidge Collection of fossils which was amassed in the 1930s through the efforts of his grandfather Dr Sidney Rubidge. Rubidge was previously director of the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand for three decades and also the first director of the DSI/NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences in South Africa. He is currently Distinguished Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand. Rubidge has undertaken extensive fieldwork on the remarkable Karoo-aged fossil record in different countries, and researched their significance in understanding mammal origins, and application in stratigraphy. He has published more than 200 research papers, written several books, and successfully supervised more than 40 postgraduate students.
Being passionate to expose the palaeoheritage of South Africa to the public, he has set up fossil exhibits at museums in different centres. His most recent venture is the Karoo Origins palaeontological exhibition and research centre which will be open to the public early next year.
Dinogorgon Rubidgei, the predator fossil found by Dr Sidney Rubidge in 1934 on his farm Wellwood near Graaff-Reinet. They roamed the Karoo about 255 million years ago.
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