February 19, 2004

For release: IMMEDIATELY

Contact: Jennifer Reynolds, museum media specialist, (909) 798-5048

Event date: Wednesday, February 25

Event place: REDLANDS

GUEST LECTURE: PLATE TECTONICS AND THE EVOLUTION OF MAMMALS

"Molecules Decipher the Evolutionary Tree of Placental Mammals" is the title of the guest lecture at the San Bernardino County Museum on Wednesday, February 25, at 7:30 p.m. The talk, given by Dr. Mark Springer as part of the county museum's guest lecture series, is offered at no charge.

More than 4,500 species of placental mammals are divided into 18 different orders. Anatomists have developed an evolutionary tree showing relationships among these groups over the last century and more. But recent molecular studies based on DNA sequences analyzed from Dr. Springer's laboratory suggest a new view of mammalian relationships that challenges the long-standing paradigms based on anatomy. Molecular and geologic information, taken together, suggest that plate tectonics played a role in splitting the major mammalian groups more than 100 million years ago.

Mark S. Springer is professor and chair of the Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside. He is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution and the Associate Editor of Molecular Biology and Evolution. Dr. Springer is the author of more than 80 scientific publications including numerous articles in the journals Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He earned his B.S. in Biology from Cal Poly Pomona and his M.S. in Geology and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, Riverside.

The San Bernardino County Museum's free guest lecture series was organized to bring experts in cultural and natural history to the museum to share their research with the public. The museum is at the California Street exit from Interstate 10 in Redlands. Parking is free, and the facility is handicapped-accessible. For more information, visit http://www.sbcountymuseum.org/ or call (909) 307-2669 / TDD/TTY: (909) 792-1462.