Are you looking for activities around campus on football Saturdays? Stop by the Science Exploration Series in the Jordan Hall of Science! This event is free and open to the public.
Prior to the Temple game, Matthew Ravosa, professor of biological sciences, will be giving a talk called, "Feeding, Function and Fossils: Why Mammal Skulls are my BFFs."
Among animals with backbones, mammals are noteworthy for placing a greater emphasis on the oral processing of their highly variable diets. This imparts a distinctive signature on the skull, teeth and jaws which can be used to unravel the dietary and feeding behaviors of extinct mammals. To this end, recent and ongoing experimental research in the Ravosa lab will be discussed regarding the development, function and evolution of the mammalian skull and feeding apparatus, focusing in particular on how such work can illuminate our understanding of fossil remains.