7th Triennial Mosasaur Meeting
A global perspective on Mesozoic marine amniotes
Centre Céramique/Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht
Maastricht, the Netherlands
September 12-15, 2024
FIRST CIRCULAR
Dear colleagues and friends –
We are pleased to inform you that we shall be organising the 7th Triennial Mosasaur Meeting at the Centre Céramique and Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, the Netherlands, from September 12 to 15, 2024.
The first Mosasaur Meeting took place in Maastricht (May 2004) and has since run triennially (2007 – Hays, Kansas; 2010 – Paris, France; 2013 – Dallas, Texas; 2016 – Uppsala, Sweden; 2019 – Drumheller, Canada). These symposia have been unique in bringing together scholars, MSc and PhD students and non-professional palaeontologists, within an informal forum dedicated to these amazing extinct reptiles.
For the 5th Mosasaur Meeting (Uppsala, 2016), the decision was made to expand the event to encompass a global perspective of Mesozoic marine amniote evolution, including sauropterygians, ichthyopterygians, crocodylians and turtles, and this has since been common practice. We wish to foster an integration of knowledge, approaches and data amongst specialist researchers and thus instigate collaborations that will advance the field.
The 7th Mosasaur Meeting will be co-hosted by Maastricht University (UM – Maastricht Science Programme, MSP), Natuurmonumenten, the Oertijdmuseum (Boxtel) and Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden).
Key dates
- Preliminary registration – January 29, 2024
- Final registration and abstract deadline – May 6, 2024
- Registration desk – September 12 (evening) and 13 (morning), 2024
- Start of meeting (opening address and presentations) – September 13, 2024
- Fieldwork – September 15, 2024
Preliminary schedule and meeting details
- Icebreaker reception – September 12, 2024 (evening – venue: Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, De Bosquetplein 6, phone: 00-31-(0)43-350 5490)
- Oral presentations and poster session – September 13 and 14, 2024 (Centre Céramique, Maastricht-Wyck)
- Symposium dinner – September 14, 2024 (evening)
- Fieldtrip by coach to type Maastrichtian and Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary – September 15, 2024
Meeting location
The meeting will be held both at the Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht (registration, icebreaker) and Centre Céramique (Maastricht-Wyck). Both locations are within walking distance from the city centre (and most hotels) and the railway station – they are about 15 minutes’ walk apart. Registration, coffee/tea breaks, oral presentations and poster session will take place at Centre Céramique (souterrain). Further details will be posted on this meeting website in due course.
Reception
The icebreaker party is scheduled at the Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht (De Bosquetplein 6) for September 12, 2024, starting at 18.30 and ending at 21.00. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Sessions
Please note that the schedule below is tentative and subject to change; a detailed programme of talks and posters will be provided once all abstracts are in.
September 13, 2024 (venue: Centre Céramique)
- 8.30 – registration desk open (entire day)
- 10.00 – welcome speech and introductory notes
- 10.30 – start of oral presentations (for now, no parallel sessions are planned)
- 12.30 – lunch break
- 14.00 – oral presentations and coffee break
- 17.00 – end of day 1
September 14, 2024 (venue: Centre Céramique)
- 9.00 – poster session
- 12.00 – lunch break
- 13.30 – oral presentations and coffee break
- 17.00 – end of day 2
- 19.30 – conference dinner
September 15, 2024 (venue: Centre Céramique)
- 10.00 – start of excursion (by coach – assemble at Plein 1992, Centre Céramique; packed lunch and refreshments)
- 17.00 – end of meeting
Fieldtrip
On September 15, 2024, a coach will take registered participants to the former ENCI quarry, where we shall visit the Gulpen and Maastricht formations, with limited opportunities to sample and collect. Lunch break in the field, to be followed by a visit to the underground galleries with a spectacular Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary section. More details will follow soon.
Presentations
Oral presentations will be approximately 20 minutes in length (including questions), depending on the number of abstracts submitted; speakers should provide a Power Point file well in advance of their talk. More details will be posted on this conference website soon.
Posters
At Centre Céramique space will be available for posters, to be displayed for the duration of the meeting. Posters should not exceed 90 × 120 cm (landscape or portrait). Materials for attaching posters will be available, but please bring personal equipment should you have special requirements. Please also be sure to indicate if you are requesting a poster or an oral presentation when you register; see details below.
Abstracts
The deadline for abstract submission is May 6, 2024. An abstract volume will be compiled and made available to all participants; following the meeting, this will also become accessible as a downloadable PDF. Abstracts should not be longer than four pages (A4 size), including title, author(s), affiliations, main body of text and references. Abstracts should be provided as Microsoft Word format, single spaced, 11 point Times New Roman font, and may include up to two illustrations. Abstracts should be submitted by email to John Jagt (john.jagt@maastricht.nl).
Pre-registration
Please fill in the pre-registration form, before January 29, 2024, if you wish to attend this celebratory meeting.
Registration and payment
The deadline of final registration is May 6, 2024.
Costs: student rate is 200 euro; professionals pay 250 euros.
The registration fee includes attendance to the meeting, icebreaker reception and conference dinner, plus abstract volume. There will be an additional 50 euros fee for the field trip, to cover coach rental and packed lunch/refreshments.
Those of you who fill in and submit the pre-registration form will be supplied with detailed information on how to pay for the meeting (bank account etc.)
We look forward to seeing you in Maastricht!
Travel and accommodations
Details on flights train and bus/coach services, as well as on hotel accommodation [all participants are expected to take care of their hotel bookings themselves] will follow soon. We are negotiating reduced room rates at one of the hotels.
Questions
Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by email: museum@maastricht.nl
7th Triennial Mosasaur Meeting – A global perspective on Mesozoic marine amniotes
By filling in the form below, you express the wish to attend the 7th Triennial Mosasaur Meeting – A global perspective on Mesozoic marine amniotes at Centre Céramique/Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, from September 12 to 15, 2024