November 19 2024 – 14h: international seminar Palevoprim n° 55
Speaker
Maxime Lasseron
Postdoctorant, ATER Palevoprim
Topic
Gulliver’s Mesozoic Travels, or when the tiny overturns the monumental
On the importance of vertebrate microremains in palaeontology
Ecosystems, even the simplest ones, are made up of a multitude of species of all sizes, from the smallest bacteria to elephants and blue whales. Yet it is often the large animals, particularly the large vertebrates, that attract the most attention. The same applies to ecosystems of the past. And yet, while the great dinosaurs, mammoths and other representatives of the human lineage fascinate and captivate, it is equally essential to recognise the importance of the teeming world of small vertebrates that evolved alongside them, who were also full-fledged components of these palaeocommunities.
The study of these small vertebrates, through their evolutionary and palaeobiogeographical history, and ecological dynamics, is essential to obtain a more accurate representation of ancient ecosystems. The Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of Morocco and France have yielded a large number of remarkable animals. Some are among the earliest representatives of major modern groups, while others are the last survivors of taxa on the brink of extinction. Others, finally, invite us to reconsider palaeobiogeographical hypotheses that have long been accepted.
Thus, despite their small size, these frogs, lizards, dwarf crocodiles and small mammals have the potential to shake up the foundations of scenarios established by the study of their larger neighbours. By presenting the main results of my work, I will attempt to show that these microremains of fossil vertebrates, although tiny, hold a number of keys likely to reshape our vision of extinct worlds, and offer precious windows onto little-known geological periods.
Place
Room 410, 3rd floor, North wing, Build. B35, university of Poitiers.