Announcement of SVP symposium, October 2006 The start of the radiation of Neoceti - unraveling the early history of Neoceti, including the transition from Archaeoceti and the origin of modern lineages. This symposium will be presented as part of 66th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, October 18-21, 2006; at Marriott Ottawa/The Crowne Plaza Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We expect it will be held on the morning of Wednesday 18th (to be confirmed and posted on SVP website). Conveners: R Ewan Fordyce, Mark D Uhen. Background. Cetacean research has advanced enormously in the last 2 decades, marked by many contributions on origins and initial radiation of Archaeoceti, and on the Neogene history of Neoceti - "modern" whales and dolphins. Research is moving towards "closing the gap" between these bottom-up and top-down approaches, identifying and interpreting issues involved with the origin and initial radiation of the Neoceti in latest Eocene and Oligocene times. We expect the proposed symposium to interest vertebrate paleontologists, marine mammalogists and molecular phylogeneticists. The symposium will consider at least 3 broad aspects: a) Contributions based around fossils of early Neoceti, desirably in the range late/latest Eocene to Oligocene/Miocene boundary (Priabonian to basal Aquitanian). We seek topics of broader importance, rather than routine reports of, for example, new records of species in well-known groups. b) Contributions on later archaeocetes that deal with transition from Archaeoceti to Neoceti. More-basal groups such as protocetids and pakicetids might be considered if they explicitly address key issues within the Neoceti, but later basilosaurids and dorudontids are likely to be more revealing. c) Molecular studies, studies on younger fossils, and anatomical studies on extant mammals that explicitly elucidate the early history of Neoceti. This aspect would embrace "evo-devo" issues. We have discussed the symposium with some colleagues active in cetacean research, including some of those who will receive this mailing, and have many expressions of interest. Potential contributions include presentations on: significant new taxa including early records of crown-taxa; evolution of functional systems (teeth, filter-feeding, ears, vertebrae); regional faunas; reassessments of phylogeny; and patterns of diversity over time. We particularly encourage appropriate contributions from marine mammal biologists. Please forward this to colleagues who may be interested. If you anticipate contributing, and have not yet contacted the conveners, please email both of us: ewan.fordyce@stonebow.otago.ac.nz AND uhen@umich.edu outlining your proposed contribution. If you have already discussed a contribution, and find that it changes direction, please keep us up to date. Proposals for posters and platform contributions will be considered formally at the usual time of abstract submission, as outlined on http://www.vertpaleo.org/meetings/index.html. -- Mark D. Uhen Phone: 248-645-3253 Curator of Paleontology and Zoology Fax : 248-645-3050 Cranbrook Institute of Science Email: uhen@umich.edu 39221 Woodward Avenue PO Box 801 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48303-0801