Current mood:

jubilant

Uppsala and beyond!
The Uppsala Early Vertebrates Conference is over and I can categorically state that it was one of the most rewarding weeks of my life, both in terms of friends made, sights seen and astounding scientific discoveries revealed. And all set in the stunning Uppsala University, halls which have felt the footfalls of scientific giants with names like Linneaus, Celsius and Angstrom.

Notable presentations include a transitional proto-flounder from the Eocene (the eye has only just started to migrate across the head), a new complete specimen of the fishapod Panderichthys (first time the back legs/fins preserved), the first comprehensive description of the skeleton of the Great White Shark and superlative specimens from Yunnan Province, China (complete sharks and the oldest ray-finned and tetrapodomorph fish).

I myself presented a new genus and species of Devonian ray-finned fish from the famous Gogo Formation of Western Australia.

As this year marks the tricentennial of Linneaus's birthday I could not leave without paying homage to the man who gave us our binomial method of classifying life. First to his tomb at the grand Uppsala Cathedral, then a look at his life and times at his restored residence.

Now am in Stockholm, it is 8:20pm and I am all alone in the Geology collections building of the Natuhistoriska Riksmuseet with tens of thousands of fossils ranging from anomalocarids to glyptodonts. I intend to spend the night here...