HMNH Evolution Matters Lecture Series with Javier Ortega-Hernández

Wonderful Cambrian Beasts

Javier Ortega-Hernández, Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology

Earth is home to a vast diversity of organisms that collectively define the modern biosphere. How did this diversity come to be? Javier Ortega-Hernández will discuss his approach to answering this question by studying organisms that lived more than half a billion years ago in the Cambrian Period (541–485 million years ago). By focusing on the earliest-known animals—some of the most versatile to ever exist—Ortega-Hernández aims to reconstruct the early evolutionary history of major animal groups and contribute to our understanding of Earth’s biodiversity.

The Evolution Matters Lecture Series is supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.

To register visit the HMNH events page.