ANN ARBOR – The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History is hosting a public lecture on Thursday titled “On the Trail of an Ice Age Mastodon.”
Daniel Fisher, professor of paleontology and curator of the U-M Museum of Paleontology, will take a trip back in time to focus on the life of the Buesching mastodon, whose giant cast skeleton is displayed in the museum’s atrium.
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According to a release, his lecture “will reveal the story of one male’s struggles and victories, from adolescence to the mating-season battle that ultimately claimed his life.”
Paleontologists rely on subtle clues found on skeletons to understand how extinct animals once lived. In the Buesching mastadon’s case, U-M researchers were able to determine its growth and behavior based on the mineralized layers of its tusks, according to a release.
The event will kick off at 6 p.m. with a public reception at the museum, followed by the lecture at 7 p.m. Those interested in attending the reception are asked to register here.
The event is the museum’s annual William R. Farrand Memorial Lecture, created in honor of longtime U-M professor and former director of the U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural History.
Can’t make it in person? The lecture will be livestreamed here.
The U-M Museum of Natural History is located in the Biological Sciences Building at 1105 N. University Ave.