Conference announcement:

MAJOR EVENTS IN EARLY VERTEBRATE EVOLUTION - PHYLOGENY, PALAEONTOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT

Natural History Museum, London, England, 8-9 APRIL 1999. Convenor: Dr P.E. Ahlberg

Our understanding of the origin and early evolution of vertebrates is advancing rapidly, not only due to new fossil discoveries and phylogenetic analyses, but also to discoveries in developmental genetics. This conference, sponsored by the Systematics Association and the Natural History Museum, will bring together leading workers from palaeontology, developmental biology and comparative anatomy to address the major questions in this field. The story of vertebrate origins is the story of how the various vertebrate body plans, and the developmental cascades which generate them, were assembled by evolution. General problems include recognising homologous structures and gene expression patterns between groups and understanding the steps by which major morphological transformations were accomplished. Specific topics to be addressed by the meeting include the origin, patterning and early evolution of jaws, appendages and mineralised tissues, as well as the early diversification of vertebrates. The meeting will be held at London's Natural History Museum, one of the foremost centres in the world for systematic and evolutionary research. All speakers are invited, but there will be an OPEN POSTER SESSION allowing non-speaking delegates to present their work.

PROVISIONAL SPEAKER LIST:

P.E. Ahlberg, W.E. Bemis, J.A. Clack, R. Cloutier, M.I. Coates, P. Donoghue, P.L. Forey, H.E. Gee, J. Hanken, B. Hedges, J.R. Hinchliffe, R. Hitchin, N. Holder, L.Z. Holland, P.W.H. Holland, P. Janvier, R.P.S. Jefferies, J. Joss, J. Mallatt, J.G. Maisey, B.D. Metscher, A. Meyer, R.G. Northcutt, M.A. Purnell, I.J. Sansom, H.-P. Schultze, M.M. Smith, M.P. Smith., Zhu Min

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION FILL IN THE FORM AND RETURN TO:

Dr Per Ahlberg Department of Palaeontology The Natural History Museum Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD, UK e-mail: p.ahlberg@nhm.ac.uk; phone: (UK) 171 938 9528; fax: (UK) 171 938 9277

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