“Dinosaur Train” host and paleontologist Scott Sampson will examine “Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent” in a talk at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History on Thursday, March 4.
Sampson will speak at 5:30 p.m. at the museum, located at 170 Whitney Ave. The talk is open to the public free of charge.
A research curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History, Sampson is the primary scientific consultant and on-air host of Discovery Channel’s “Dinosaur Planet” and the PBS series “Dinosaur Train.”
Sampson will discuss some of the latest ideas and controversies about dinosaurs, and will explore questions such as: How were so many giant animals able to co-exist on the “lost continent” known as Laramidia? Why were most of these dinosaurs adorned with bizarre bony features such as horns, crests, domes or spikes? How did the predatory giant Tyrannosaurus rex ultimately evolve, and what factors may have led to the great extinction of dinosaurs at the close of the Mesozoic Era?
Following the presentation, Sampson will sign copies of his recent book, “Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life.” The book, which covers the topics addressed in the talk, is the first comprehensive review of dinosaur paleontology for a general audience in more than two decades.
