CSI: Oligocene—Using Forensic Science to Uncover Clues to Prehistoric Mammals

Fossils are the signs of ancient life (bones, tracks, burrows, and even feces can become fossils), and while an animal’s behavior might not become a fossil, evidence of that behavior can. Today, forensic science can help interpret how animals interacted 30 million years ago—in a sense, CSI: Oligocene.

Central Washington University's Meaghan Wetherell, PhD, will present "From Bones to Behavior: Using Signs of Injury and Illness to Understand the Lives of Extinct Mammals," at 4:00 p.m., February 10, in Science 147.

The presentation will discuss how evidence of illness and injury can be used to piece together a picture of herd structure, lifespan, and defense mechanisms for a group of extinct mammals called oreodonts. In particular, Wetherell will cover the abundance of bite marks, infections, bone bruises, and fractures found on the cheekbones of one genus of oreodont, and how such injuries could relate to herd behavior. Oreodonts are extinct even-toed mammals most closely related to camels and pigs, but have no descendant species alive today.

Wetherell is currently the Associate Director of Research for the Institutional Effectiveness Department at CWU. She has a doctorate in paleontology from University of Oregon. Her current paleontological research interests include the convergent evolution of trunks across mammalian families, geographic convergence in sympatric artiodactyls, and spatial modelling of Pleistocene extinctions.

The Natural Science Seminar Series is co-sponsored by the CWU Department of Biological Sciences and the College of the Sciences.

Visitor parking passes are available to Ellensburg community members who would like to attend. Please contact the Biological Sciences Dept. at 963-2731 no later than noon on February 10 to make arrangements.

Media Contact: Valerie Chapman-Stockwell, Public Affairs, 509-963-1518, valeriec@cwu.edu
February 7, 2017

Image courtesy of The Fossils of the White River Badlands