WGA In-Person Speaker Luncheon ~ Russell Hawley, Tate Geological Museum ~ Topic: "Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs"

Abstract: Wyoming has long been known for its wealth of dinosaur remains, and among its most famous fossils date from the end of the Cretaceous period. North America’s largest carnivorous dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus, was found in Wyoming, and the first dinosaur found in Wyoming, the horned Triceratops, dates from the Late Cretaceous as well. This presentation will highlight some of Wyoming’s more interesting Late Cretaceous dinosaur species, and touch on how anatomists, palaeontologists and artists can work together to reconstruct the appearance of the living animal. Finally, we’ll have a look at how the study of sediments and plant fossils can provide clues about the landscape and flora of the dinosaurs’ environment, and allow us to visualize the world in which they lived.  

Bio: Russell J. Hawley is the Education Specialist at the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College in Wyoming, where he gives tours and produces artwork for museum displays. He also contributes a palæontology question and answer column to the museum newsletter. Russell has worked at the museum since 1997 and has been digging up fossils in Wyoming since 1990. He illustrated Islands in the Cosmos: the Evolution of Life on Land by Palæontologist Dr. Dale Russell. His one-man art show, ‘A Thousand Unnamed Worlds,’ was on display for a year at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne.