Canadian Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology
Final Circular
7th Annual Conference, May 10th-13th, 2019
(Meeting logo courtesy of Robin Sissons)
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CONFERENCE VENUE
The 2019 meeting of the Canadian Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology will be hosted by the
Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum (PJCDM), located just off scenic Highway 43 in Wembley,
Alberta and within a 20-minute drive of the city of Grande Prairie. The PJCDM is a young
museum in the beautiful and historic Peace Region, having opened its doors in 2015. The
galleries are rich in interactive displays, and showcase the unique Cretaceous fossil fauna of
the Grande Prairie area. Social events associated with the meeting will be held in the museum,
while technical sessions will be held at Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC), a community
institution located just west of downtown Grande Prairie. Both GPRC and the PJCDM have
attracted attention for their striking and innovative architecture.
The PJCDM is notable for its proximity to the Pipestone Creek Bonebed, which contains the
disarticulated remains of hundreds if not thousands of individuals of the ceratopsian dinosaur
Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai alongside occasional fossils of other taxa including the
dromaeosaurid theropod Boreonykus certekorum. Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai is the iconic fossil
vertebrate of the Grande Prairie area, and makes a proud appearance in the CSVP 2019
meeting logo.
Grande Prairie is a vibrant, friendly northern city with a wide range of options for lodging,
dining and recreation. Noteworthy attractions include Muskoseepi Park, the Grant Berg
Gallery and Grande Prairie Art Gallery, the Grande Prairie Live Theatre, and the history-
focused Grande Prairie Museum. Centre 2000, on the northeast edge of the park, provides
tourist information and contains some additional museum-style displays.
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LOCAL(ISH) ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
• Lisa Buckley, Director, Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre:
• Derek Larson, Assistant Curator, Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum:
• Aaron LeBlanc, NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences,
University of Alberta: [email protected]
• Rich McCrea, Adjunct Researcher, Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre:
• Corwin Sullivan, Philip J. Currie Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, Department of
Biological Sciences, University of Alberta and Curator, Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum:
• Matthew Vavrek, Cutbank Palaeontological Consulting: [email protected]
REGISTRATION
Advance registration is now closed, but you will still be able to register on-site for the
conference (including the icebreaker, banquet and field trip). The icebreaker and banquet are
included in the cost of registration, whereas the charge for the field trip will be $20 for
students and $30 for non-students.
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE (includes program with abstracts, welcome reception,
banquet, refreshments at breaks)
• Professional/postdoctoral member: $150
• Graduate student member: $100
• Undergraduate student member: $50
• Non-member or nonvoting member: $175
• Junior non-member or non-voting member: free registration
Note that the conference fees are independent of your membership dues. You must renew your
CSVP membership dues annually. See https://csvp.ca/membership/ for membership details.
Conference attendees who have not paid their membership dues for 2019 will be asked to pay
on-site (or register at the non-member rate of $175).
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
The deadline for abstract submission has passed. The abstract volume has been published as a
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special issue in Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology (VAMP) and can be
downloaded here:
https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.php/VAMP/article/view/29349
Printed copies of the abstract volume will also be distributed to all conference attendees.
TECHNICAL SESSIONS
Talks will presented in room L106 at GPRC, which is equipped with a PC and projector. To
facilitate timely transitions between talks, presenters are strongly encouraged to use the
meeting room PC rather than their own laptops. Talks must be uploaded as Powerpoint or
PDF files prior to the beginning of the technical session in which they are to be presented.
Speakers are encouraged to limit their talks to 12 minutes, leaving 3 minutes for questions.
Posters will be presented in room L104 at GPRC. Adhesive putty will be supplied, to allow
presenters to attach posters of any reasonable size to the walls of the room. A limited number
of fine poster boards that are 4’ wide and 5’ high will be available on a first-come, first-served
basis, along with tacks, to presenters who wish to make use of them. Tacking a poster of
standard 5’ x 3’ dimensions to two poster boards placed next to each other will probably
prove to be a workable approach.
STUDENT AWARDS
The deadline to apply for student awards has passed.
FIELD TRIP
The CSVP 2019 field trip will take place on Monday, May 13, and will be a day trip to the Six
Peaks Dinosaur Track Site near Hudson’s Hope, BC. The Six Peaks Dinosaur Track Site is one
of the world's largest and most diverse vertebrate track sites, with 12 vertebrate ichnotaxa
that have been recognized to date. Approximately 1200 footprints have been revealed
through excavating 750 m2 of multiple track surfaces in 2016. This site contains the youngest
record of sauropod tracks from Canada and one of the highest-latitude occurrences of this
group in the world. Small to large theropod tracks and trackways are common, as are those of
small to large ornithopods. Avian tracks, although uncommon, are present at the site as well.
To date, Tetrapodosaurus borealis, described by C. M. Sternberg from the original Gething
Formation track sites of the Peace River Canyon, has not yet been recognized at the Six Peaks
Site. The track surfaces are within the Gaylard Member of the Gething Formation (Lower
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Cretaceous: Aptian). The site is located in the Carbon Creek Basin, west of the W. A. C. Bennett
Dam which formed the Williston Lake Reservoir a few kilometres to the north.
The trip will be led by Rich McCrea and Lisa Buckley. The cost for the field trip will be $20 for
students and $30 for non-students, as indicated above. We will be travelling by coach, and will
depart from outside the Podollan Inn and Spa at 8:30 a.m. Estimated time of return of the
coach to the Podollan is 10:00 p.m. Meals will not be provided, but participants will have the
opportunity to purchase a fast food lunch (“to go”, please) during a quick stop en route to Six
Peaks and supper during a more leisurely stop on the way back. Because the last part of the
drive to Six Peaks is on a forestry road used by logging trucks, all participants must travel by
coach for safety reasons rather than accompanying the trip in their own vehicles. If you have
previously indicated interest in the field trip, you’ll be asked to pay the fee (if you still wish to
participate) when you arrive at the registration desk. If you haven’t indicated interest, it’s still
not too late, as a number of spots on the coach are still not spoken for.
Note that May weather in the Peace Region can be less than fully predictable, and an
alternative field trip will be arranged to suit the conditions if the drive to Hudson’s Hope is
looking treacherous. At the time of writing, however, the forecast suggests cautious optimism
is warranted.
COLLECTIONS VISITS
If you wish to access the collections at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum after the meeting,
it’s still not too late to contact assistant curator Derek Larson ([email protected]) to
arrange your visit. Please note that the collections are closed on weekends. The museum is not
accessible by public transit, and there are no hotels within walking distance, but Derek may be
able to help you arrange to commute with museum staff if you are staying in Wembley or
Grande Prairie and do not have a vehicle.
If you are interested in visiting Alberta’s other major fossil collections while in the province,
the appropriate people to contact are Brandon Strilisky ([email protected]) at the
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller and Howard Gibbins
([email protected]) at the University of Alberta Laboratory for Vertebrate Paleontology in
Edmonton.
ACCOMMODATIONS, RESTAURANTS AND TRANSPORTATION
There are a number of options for accommodations for CSVP 2019, for which you will need to
make your own arrangements. Hotels in central Grande Prairie include the following:
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• Podollan Inn and Spa* (https://www.podollanhotels.com/grande-prairie-inn-spa)
• Holiday Inn and Suites (https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/grande-
prairie/yquab/hoteldetail)
• Sandman Hotel (https://www.sandmanhotels.com/locations/alberta/grande-
prairie/hotels/grande-prairie-grp)
• Pomeroy Hotel (https://www.pomeroyhotel.com/grande-prairie/)
• Service Plus Inn and Suites (http://serviceplusinns.com/grande-prairie-hotels/)
• Encore Suites by Service Plus Inns (http://encoresuites.ca/)
• Paradise Inn and Conference Centre (http://www.paradiseinngrandeprairie.com/)
*The Podollan Inn and Spa, located close to the GPRC campus, is the preferred meeting hotel
for CSVP 2019. A block of 30 rooms has been set aside for CSVP attendees at $129/night for
single occupancy or $139/night for double occupancy. To receive these special rates, be sure
to mention CSVP when you book.
Numerous restaurants are located within a ~10 minute walk of the GPRC campus, including
The Keg, The Den, The Canadian Brewhouse, Tokyo Ichiban, and several fast food options.
Most of these are located west of GPRC, across 108 St. (Highway 43). Many additional dining
spots can be found in downtown Grande Prairie, a ~20 minute walk east of campus along 100
Ave.
Parking is unrestricted at GPRC in May and free at the PJCDM year-round. Attendees may
desire to bring or rent their own transportation; however, the hotels nearest GPRC are
walkable from campus in 10-20 minutes, and public buses and taxi services are available
within the city of Grande Prairie. Vehicle rental options at the Grande Prairie Airport include
Avis, Budget, Enterprise and National (see http://grandeprairieairport.com/transportation-
parking/transportation/car-rentals/).
Free round trip bus transportation will be provided to the PJCDM on Friday, May 10 for the
icebreaker and on Sunday, May 12 for the banquet. On May 10, buses will depart the Podollan
Inn and Spa for the PJCDM at 6:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., and on May 12 buses will depart Lot C at
GPRC at 5:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. On both days, return trips from the PJCDM will depart at 9:15
p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
MEDIA
A small film crew led by Brandy Yanchyk will be at CSVP to shoot footage for an upcoming
second series of Dino Trails, a TELUS Originals show on palaeontology in Alberta and B.C.
However, individual CSVP attendees will only be filmed if they first give permission and sign a
release form.
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If you’d like to contact Brandy you can reach her through https://brandyyanchyk.com/.
THE CSVP HOCKEY JERSEY RETURNS!
CSVP 2019 marks the 3-year anniversary of the release of our society hockey jersey. In a spirit
of solemn commemoration, and in response to popular demand, we will be selling a NEW
CSVP jersey at this year’s meeting. A limited number of the 2019 jerseys will be for sale in
small, medium, and large at $40 (tax included) at the meeting. Please note that we will not be
making online sales or taking holds. You must purchase your jersey with cash or cheque on-
site. Show your Canadian pride at CSVP or SVP Team Canada Night with this new design!
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LOCATION OF PHILIP J. CURRIE DINOSAUR MUSEUM, WEMBLEY, AB
GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB (blue pin, GPRC; orange pin, Podollan; green pin, Holiday Inn)
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GPRC CAMPUS (main building in purple; technical sessions in L wing)
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PJCDM (reception in galleries; banquet in “Dine-O-Saur” restaurant)
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CSVP 2019 Schedule
Time Fri, May 10 Saturday, May 11 Sunday, May 12 Mon, May 13
9:00-9: 15 am Introduction
Day Trip to Six Peaks
(8:30 a.m. to ~10:00 p.m.; separate cost
applies)
9:15-9:30 am Larson and Brink Dececchi et al.
9:30-9:45 am Mallon et al. Powers and Currie
9:45-10:00 am Rhodes and Currie Bourque et al. 10:00-10:15 am LeBlanc Stranger-Galey et al.
10:15-10:30 am Cullen et al. Currie et al.
10:30-10:45 am COFFEE BREAK COFFEE BREAK
10:45-11:00 am 11:00-11:15 am Arbour et al. Campbell et al.
11:15-11:30 am Drysdale et al. Gilbert et al.
11:30-11:45 am Dyer et al. Street et al.
11:45-noon Ormay et al. Strong et al.
12:00-12:15 pm Vernygora Voris et al.
12:15-12:30 pm Wang et al. Sullivan et al.
12:30-2:00 pm LUNCH LUNCH
2:00-2:15 pm Reynolds and Seymour Bamforth and Gilbert
2:15-2:30 pm Bruner Koppelhus et al. 2:30-2:45 pm Brown Brink
2:45-3:00 pm Lowi-Merry et al. Chochinov et al.
3:00-3:15 pm Hamilton et al. Vice and Sullivan
3:15-3:30 pm van der Reest et al. *Funston
3:30-5:00 pm POSTER SESSION CSVP GENERAL
MEETING
5:00 pm-6:00pm
6:00-7:00 pm
Transit to PJCDM
7:00-8:00 pm
ICEBREAKER
(PJCDM Galleries)
BANQUET1 (PJCDM Restaurant)
8:00-9:00 pm
KEYNOTE (GPRC L106)
9:00 pm
10:00 pm
1Please make us aware of any dietary restrictions at [email protected] if you haven’t done so already.
*Robert Lynn Carroll Prize talk
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SATURDAY, MAY 11
Oral Presentation Session 1 (Moderator: Corwin Sullivan) 9:15- Larson and Brink– A small theropod tooth assemblage from the St. Mary River Formation of southern
Alberta: implications for identifying isolated theropod teeth
9:30- Mallon et al.– The early history of dinosaur hunting in Canada (1874–1889)
9:45- Rhodes and Currie– Revisiting the evolution of maniraptoran pelvic musculature
10:00- LeBlanc– Abandoning Tomes’ “bone of attachment”: a new model for tooth attachment tissue
evolution
10:15- Cullen et al.– Macroevolutionary patterns of theropod gigantism as revealed through osteohistology
and growth curve reconstruction
Oral Presentation Session 2 (Moderator: Ilaria Paparella) 11:00- Arbour et al.– A Maastrichtian-aged leptoceratopsid from the Sustut River, northern BC, and
potential for new vertebrate fossil discoveries in the Sustut Basin
11:15- Drysdale et al.– Histological analysis of the hadrosaur Prosaurolophus maximus and implications for
the timing of crest growth, sexual maturity, and body size
11:30- Dyer et al.– Histopathology of a pachycephalosaur frontoparietal dome
11:45- Ormay et al.– A brief history of Grande Prairie area Palaeontology
12:00- Vernygora– FreqMorph: model of morphological evolution with empirical character state
frequencies
12:15- Wang et al.– Osteological correlates indicate the existence of uncinate processes in fossil archosaurs
Oral Presentation Session 3 (Moderator: Annie McIntosh) 2:00- Reynolds and Seymour– Faunal composition and turnover during the Late Pleistocene of Medicine
Hat, Alberta
2:15- Bruner– Update to the Fossil Fish Type Catalogue of the University of Alberta Laboratory for
Vertebrate Paleontology
2:30- Brown– The morphology, frequency, and ontogeny of sociosexual agonistic behaviour in
Tyrannosauridae
2:45- Lowi-Merry et al.– Ecomorphology of flight in the avian sternum
3:00- Hamilton et al.– Structure and articular relationships of the partially ossified sternum in hadrosaurid
dinosaurs
3:15- van der Reest et al.– Vertebrate Remains from the Late Cretaceous Brazeau Formation of the Alberta
Foothills
Poster Session 1- Bamforth– The Triceratops ‘Baby Book’: An Update on Juvenile Ceratopsians from the Frenchman
Formation of Saskatchewan, Canada
2- Dudgeon et al.– Confirmation of the choristoderan neomorphic ossification and its developmental and
functional origin
3- Kubiak– An Isotopic Investigation of BC Pleistocene Megafauna Ecology
4- Landry et al.– Testing for ecological differences among Pleistocene and modern Yukon gray wolves
(Canis lupus) using dental microwear and stable isotope analysis
5- Li and Reisz– The Early Cretaceous Ankylosaur Liaoningosaurus from the Western Liaoning, China:
Progresses and Problems
6- McIntosh– Geometric morphometric analysis of the pedal claw of Confuciusornis sanctus and its
implications for diet and behavior
7- Murray et al.– Oldest known freshwater paracanthopterygian fish (Teleostei: Acanthomorpha) from the
Maastrichtian of Alberta, Canada
8- Sissons et al.– Embryonic and hatchling ankylosaurs from the Campanian of Bayan Mandahu (Inner
Mongolia, People’s Republic of China) and Hermiin Tsav (Mongolia)
9- St Jean and Caldwell– Systematics of tethysaurine mosasauroids
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10- Strong and Caldwell– A new species of plioplatecarpine mosasaur (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the
Late Cretaceous of Morocco, with a re-evaluation of the problematic taxon “Platecarpus” ptychodon
11- Termes– Sourcing and radiocarbon dating mammoths (Mammuthus sp.) of British Columbia
12- Wyenberg-Henzler– Ontogenetic Niche Shifts in Megaherbivorous Dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous of
North America
13- Ormay et al.– A brief history of Grande Prairie area Palaeontology
SUNDAY, MAY 12
Oral Presentation Session 1 (Moderator: Oksana Vernygora) 9:15- Dececchi et al.– Is it better to be the tortoise or the hare?: Using hindlimb metrics, energetics and
biomechanics to determine niche differentiation between theropod clades
9:30- Powers and Currie– Discrete variation in maxillae of eudromaeosaur dinosaurs and its relation to
trends in snout morphology
9:45- Bourque et al.– Latest Cretaceous Climate Proxies Using Carbon and Hydrogen Isotopes From Plant
Wax-Lipids
10:00- Stranger-Galey et al.– Tracking Dinosaurs: using modern technology to engage with prehistory
10:15- Currie et al.– Anatomy and relationships of Sinosaurus triassicus (Theropoda, Coelophysoidea) from
the Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan, China
Oral Presentation Session 2 (Moderator: Mark Powers) 11:00- Campbell et al.– A new elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) from the non-marine Dinosaur
Park Formation of southern Alberta
11:15- Gilbert et al.– Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of a Marine Reptile Bonebed from Southwestern
Saskatchewan, Canada: Utility of Sedimentology and Sequence Stratigraphy for Reconstructing
Dynamic Ecosystems
11:30- Street et al.– A young juvenile elasmosaur skull from the Upper Cretaceous Bearpaw Formation of
Saskatchewan
11:45- Strong et al.– Cranial ontogeny of Thamnophis radix (Serpentes: Colubroidea) provides novel
insights into snake skull evolution
12:00- Voris et al.– New juvenile specimens of Gorgosaurus libratus provide insight into the cranial
ontogeny of albertosaurine tyrannosaurids
12:15- Sullivan et al.– A juvenile lambeosaurine dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Wapiti Formation of
northern Alberta
Oral Presentation Session 3 (Moderator: Derek Larson) 2:00- Bamforth and Gilbert– Campanian Conundrum: Large-scale Spatial Diversity Patterns Elucidate
Judith River and Dinosaur Park Formation Equivalents in Saskatchewan, Canada
2:15- Koppelhus et al.– Rare, non-marine deposits during the deposition of the Bearpaw Formation:
Interpreting the palaeoenvironment of the DC bonebed (Wapiti Formation) using palynology and
palaeobotany
2:30- Brink– Novel tooth pathologies in Tyrannosaurus rex
2:45- Chochinov et al.– Influences of diet on the Olfactory Bulbs of New World Leaf Nosed Bats
3:00- Vice and Sullivan– Ontogenetic change in humeri of the ceratopsian dinosaur Pachyrhinosaurus
lakustai
3:15- Funston– Stunted growth and mixed-age flocks in avimimids (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria)