Medusae on the Road

Getting Jelly out of Stone:
Presentation at Brandon University, February 11th

In about three weeks I will be travelling to Brandon University, to make a presentation as part of their Darwin Days events. I will be talking about the fossil record of jellyfish, and how it relates to modern ideas on the evolutionary relationships of the various medusan groups.  The presentation is at 3 pm, if you are in the Brandon area and interested in this subject.

When I had to come up with a title for the talk, I thought that Getting Jelly out of Stone: The Fossil Record and Evolution of Cnidarian Medusae seemed appropriate. The “out of stone” was with reference to the common saying that “it is like getting blood out of a stone,” since fossil jellyfish are so difficult to find and to interpret. It was only later that I realized that it might also be seen as a rather weak pun on the location for Yogi Bear. Oh well.

(the images are “negatives” of jellyfish on exhibit at the Vancouver Aquarium)

© Graham Young, 2011