September 29, 1997
Contact: Louise Snider, 619/594-5204
Dinosaurs that nest like birds?
Two SDSU Alumni Return To Discuss Their Dinosaur Discoveries
in the Gobi Desert
In the trackless, sand-scorched hills of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, a team of scientists headed by Dr. Michael J. Novacek and Dr. Mark A. Norell have uncovered one of the world’s richest dinosaur fossil beds. It includes the fossil of a carnivorous dinosaur nesting on its eggs like a brooding bird, revealing for the first time how Earth’s most fearsome parents may have cared for their young.
On Tuesday, October 14, at 4 p.m. in Montezuma Hall at San Diego State University, Novacek and Norell will present the Distinguished Graduate Research Lecture, "Dinosaurs of the Gobi, Unearthing a Fossil Trove."
In this free, public slide-lecture, the scientists will discuss their discoveries and the implications for evolutionary linkages between birds and dinosaurs. The 80-million-year-old fossil of Oviraptor suggests that nesting behavior observed in birds today may have originated long before modern feathers and wings. And it offers further evidence for the argument that modern birds are direct descendents of the group of dinosaurs which includes Velociraptor, made famous in "Jurassic Park," and Tyrannosaurus rex.
The fossil site, called Ukhaa Tolgod, was discovered in 1993 by Demberelyn Dashzeveg of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, along with Novacek, Norell, and other colleagues. The eroded cliffs are the final resting place of an incredible number of complete skeletons of dinosaurs, mammals, and lizards from the late Cretaceous period. Scores of animals appear to have been suffocated and entombed there by huge sandstorms.
Novacek and Norell, who have received international attention for their discoveries, both earned master’s degrees in biology at SDSU. Novacek, who did his doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, is currently the senior vice president, provost of science, and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. His interests are in patterns of evolution and relationships among organisms.
He has led expeditions to Baja California, the Andes Mountains of Chile, and the Yemen Arab Republic, as well as Mongolia. The Gobi expeditions have been featured in newspapers worldwide, science journals, "National Geographic Magazine," and television programs, including NOVA. Novacek is a prolific author and frequent lecturer. His most recent book is "Dinosaurs from the Flaming Cliffs" (Anchor/Doubleday, 1996).
Norell, who earned his doctoral degree at Yale University, is the associate curator of vertebrate paleontology and chairman of the department at the American Museum of Natural History.
His current work is focused on the relationships among birds and their non-avian dinosaurian relatives. This work is rooted in the spectacular collections from the Gobi Desert, especially the dinosaur sitting on a nest of eggs. He also has participated in expeditions to Chile, Cuba, and West Africa. In addition to his scientific publications, Norell has written popular books and articles for both children and adults.
Novacek and Norell’s lecture at SDSU is sponsored by the Graduate Division and Research under the auspices of the University Research Council and is supported by Instructionally Related Activities funds.
Seating at the lecture is on a first-come, first-served basis. Free parking is available after 2 p.m. in "H" Lot, behind the Jack-in-the-Box on College Avenue,
For further information, call 619/594-1355.