In-person Lect.: Feathers, Flight, & Fossils: Evolution of Birds from Dinosaurs

Presenter: Peter Makovicky, Ph.D., Professor of Paleontology, University of Minnesota
Link to Presenter: https://cse.umn.edu/esci/peter-makovicky

Full Title of Lecture: Feathers, Flight, & Fossils: Current Perspectives on the Evolution of Birds from Dinosaurs

Summary: Over the last 50 years, the hypothesis that birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs has gained traction as ever more relevant fossils have come to light. Some of these preserve plumage and other hallmark traits of birds. These fossils have helped us distinguish between the origins of feathers, flight, and birds as distinct evolutionary events. But the accumulation of fossils have also shown that the evolution of these traits was not a stepwise assembly of the avian bodyplan, but rather represents a more complicated series of events. Early birds and their relatives have a remarkable diversity of feather types indicating a wide range of potential functions and flight likely evolved more than once among small feathered dinosaurs. Come hear about the most recent discoveries and research on the origins and evolution of birds.

Biography: Peter Makovicky is a professor in the Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota. He has conducted fieldwork on four continents and described more than 15 new dinosaur species from the US, China, Mongolia, Argentina, and Antarctica. His research covers topics such as the evolutionary history of theropod dinosaurs including birds, frill shape and evolution in horned dinosaurs, growth and scaling in dinosaur evolution, trace fossils, and biochronology. He is currently focused on understanding how dinosaur evolution and distributions were shaped by major geological events.

General Info: GSM lectures/seminars with slide show presentations are free and open to the public. They are presented by leading professionals in their fields and are aimed at learners from high school to adult. A question-and-answer session follows each seminar. In-person lectures require no registration; just show up a few minutes early on the evening of the lecture. These lectures are eligible for 1 hour of Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit.

Except as noted, in-person lectures during the fall 2025 semester are Mondays at 7:00 PM CT on the University of Minnesota campus, Keller Hall, Room 3-230.

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