PUBLIC LECTURE: Milk, egg, but no custard! The first synapsid egg and the origin of mammalness
| When: | Thursday, 21 May 2026 - Thursday, 21 May 2026 |
| Where: | Origins Centre Braamfontein Campus West |
| Start time: | 18:00 |
| Enquiries: | iman.benjamin@wits.ac.za |
| RSVP: | N/A |
| Cost: | R40/R70 |
Milk, egg, but no custard! The first synapsid egg and the origin of mammalness by Prof Julien Benoit.
For two hundred years, palaeontologists have looked for mammalian ancestors' fossilized eggs, but they remained elusive. It took great efforts and almost 20 years for Julien Benoit and his colleagues to find, identify and describe the first egg of a pre-mammalian synapsid from the Karoo. This talk will explore the implications for the origins of viviparity and milk production in the mammalian lineage.
Julien Benoit is an Associate Professor at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits University. He studies the evolution of therapsids from the Karoo, the origin of mammals and how they developed their defining traits, such as hair, lactation and endothermy using innovative approaches and 3D imaging.
Tickets: R40/R70 on or at the door. In person only.
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