Our Upcoming Speaker
Note: Since October 2022, we have returned to in-person meetings at the Birmingham Zoo using a hybrid Zoom-In Person format with the in-person meeting at the Lodge at the Birmingham Zoo

Title: "Deep-diving Adaptations of Aquatic Sauropsids, Inferences from the Alabama Fossil Record"

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Speaker: Mike Burns, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology, Jacksonville State University​​​

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Abstract:

Fewer than 1% of extant sauropsid species are aquatic, including marine iguanas, sea snakes, sea turtles, and saltwater crocodiles. However, the fossil record reveals a far greater diversity of aquatic reptiles, offering key insights into their anatomical adaptations. These adaptations are particularly relevant to understanding the broader physiological challenges of diving in vertebrates, especially sauropsids. Here, we’ll examine two notable examples from the Alabama fossil record: mosasaurs and leatherback sea turtles. Recent evidence indicates that mosasaurs possessed ventrally caudally directed (hypocercal) tail fins, a morphology likely influenced by their reliance on lungs for respiration and the biomechanical constraints of caudal propulsion. Additionally, histological data suggest that vertebral fusion in the mosasaur tail resulted from normal developmental processes rather than pathology. Leatherback sea turtles exhibit a unique shell structure composed of loosely interlocking ossicles, enabling shell compression during deep dives. This specialized adaptation allows them to access deeper marine environments unavailable to other sea turtles. Together, these examples illustrate the diverse evolutionary solutions aquatic reptiles have developed to overcome the challenges of diving.

About the Speaker: 

Originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Dr. Burns earned his BS in Geology (2007), with a minor in Biology, from Dickinson College. He completed his MSc (2010) and PhD (2015) in Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta under Dr. Philip J. Currie. His graduate research focused on the growth, development, and bone histology of tetrapods, particularly armored dinosaurs. Dr. Burns has contributed to over 50 scientific publications and has participated in the collection of dinosaur specimens across the United States, Canada, and Mongolia. He has also traveled to study dinosaur collections in collections throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.

(https://www.jsu.edu/biology/faculty/burns/index.html)

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