In Search of the First Super-Predators of the Mesozoic, from Antarctica to Nevada

Presenter: Dr. Jean-Philippe Blouet

What if the blue whale wasn't the largest creature to have ever lived on Earth? Could the resurrection of ecosystems after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction have allowed ichthyosaurs to become the ultimate predators on our planet? With a team of fellow geologists, and in collaboration with the University of Bonn and the Museum of Los Angeles, I set out in search of the first ichthyosaurs. Join me for hikes covering hundreds of kilometers across the tundra on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, where face-to-face encounters with polar bears alternate with the discovery of fantastic fossils. We will then leave the Arctic for the heat of the Nevada desert. Between rattlesnakes and flash floods, the geological wonders of the Triassic are also well guarded there!

Biographie of Dr. Jean-Philippe BLOUET

I am an exploration geologist with international experience in the oil industry, academic research, and entrepreneurship, I share my passion for the history of life on Earth by organizing fossil exhibitions and naturalistic exploration trips. I began my career at TotalEnergies, then shifted my expertise from prospecting methane reservoirs to modeling greenhouse gas emissions as a lecturer at the University. My passion for fossils has led me to organize numerous paleontological expeditions worldwide, building an extensive network in the museum and academic realms. The enthusiasm of a cultured audience for the odyssey of life on Earth has driven me to arrange small-group journeys, combining human, cultural, and scientific adventure. The skull is the holotype of the ichthyosaurus Cymbospondylus youngorum, hosted at the Nat. His. Museum of LA. It has been found in the Middle Triassic of Nevada (ca 244 ma), This animal was the largest creature that ever lived on Earth in its time. I will explain how ichthyosaurs evolved into super predators after the Permian-Triassic crisis, and why we went to search for new skeletons in Spitsbergen and Nevada.

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