CALVERT MARINE MUSEUM

P.O. Box 97 - 14200 Solomons Island Road

Solomons, MD 20688

Traci Cimini - 410-326-2042 x62

Traci.Cimini@calvertcountymd.gov

CMM-PR-18-05

February 20, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  ~ Also include in community calendars

Whale Evolution in the Peruvian Desert

Join us to learn more about the evolution of whales in the Peruvian Desert on Saturday, March 3 at 2:30 p.m. in the Harms Galley. Dr. Olivier Lambert, paleontologist and fossil expert from Belgium, will present: “Eocene to Pliocene deposits from the Pisco Basin (southern coast of Peru): a unique source of fossils to investigate major transitions in whale evolution.” FREE and open to the public.

Olivier Lambert is a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels. For the last 16 years, his research focused on different aspects (systematics, evolution, and functional anatomy) of the adaptation of marine mammals, especially whales, to the marine environment. In addition to dolphins from the Neogene of the North Sea, international collaborations resulted in the study of different groups of extinct cetaceans from Africa and the Americas. His main fieldwork activities target fossil localities from Belgium and Peru.

For more information, contact Dr. Stephen Godfrey at 410-326-2042, ext. 28 or email Stephen.Godfrey@calvertcountymd.gov.

Photo attached: Life-restoration of a Miocene epoch sperm whale by CMM artist, Tim Scheirer, © CMM

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The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $9.00 for adults, $7.00 for seniors, military with valid I.D. and AAA members, and $4.00 for children ages 5 - 12; children under 5 and museum members are always admitted free. For more information about the museum, upcoming events, or membership, visit the website at www.calvertmarinemuseum.com or call 410-326-2042. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.