Meet a Scientist: Weird and Wonderful Dicynodont Tusks

Dicynodonts are a weird and wonderful group of mammalian ancestors famous for being the first group to evolve tusks. This session takes a deep dive into dicynodont tusk fossils...and all the amazing biological information preserved inside. Join us as we look at 240 million-year-old dicynodont tusks and "thin-sections" under a microscope to uncover how these creatures lived and grew.

Presenters include Megan Whitney, Field Museum Researcher and Assistant Professor, Loyola University Chicago; Kara Mia Ehler, Lab Technician, Loyola University Chicago.

During Meet a Scientist, you can find them in the Grainger Science Hub. They'll discuss their work and share real items from the museum’s collection of nearly 40 million objects. From collections care to field work, and dinosaurs to ecology, there’s a world of science to explore.

Visit the Science Hub on select weekdays for an up-close look at what our researchers do every day.