Our Meetings
Guests are always welcome to the meetings if you would like see what
we're all about. Meetings start at 7:00 pm and usually take place the
first Saturday of the month, unless there is a holiday, then it's on
the second Saturday of the month.
Located at the USF Behavioral Science Room #103.
After the speaker finishes we have a short break. Then we
draw for door prizes and some raffle items as well. We finish with
any final announcements.
Upcoming Meetings and Guest Speakers (2023-2024 season):
NOTE: All meetings are the first Saturday of the month at 7:00 pm
unless otherwise clearly noted.
Sept. 9 - Luis Torres, Jr., University of Florida
Saber Toothed Cats, Assassins of the Ice Age
Luis Torres is a born and raised South Florida native, who grew up
to have a strong appreciation for the natural world, for both the
present and the past. It was in this natural world that he discovered some
chalky, fossilized remains of marine invertebrates from
a past age. This discovery led him to pursue his curiosity and develop a love
for all things paleontology, invertebrate or otherwise.
Luis first attended Florida Atlantic University (FAU), where he obtained a
bachelor’s degree in biology. This was followed by working as a docent at the
Palm Beach Museum of Natural History and
as a FAU Lab Technician for a few years while he worked toward a
master’s degree in geological sciences which he finished in the
Summer of 2022. Luis is currently working on earning a PhD in
geological sciences at the University of Florida. His studies of invertebrate
paleontology alongside the Florida Museum of Natural
History are further developing his skills as both a scientist and science
communicator.
Saber Toothed Cats, Assassins of the Ice Age - Among the most
recognizable and renowned predators of the post-dinosaur era,
saber-toothed cats are known not only for their long, dagger-like
canine teeth, but for their brutal and unique hunting style that
allowed them to dispatch large prey with an efficiency not seen in
other felines. In Luis’ presentation we will talk about the many
different species of saber-toothed cats, where they evolved, how
they lived, and why we believe that their long, knife-like canines
that allowed them to dominate for millions of years, may have led
to their eventual downfall in the face of a rapidly changing world.
Don’t miss TBFC’s season opener!
Oct. 7 - Steven R. Manchester, Curator of Paleobotany,
Florida Museum of Natural History
"Why not Walnuts (& their
relatives over the past 50 million years)"
“Why not Walnuts?”, asks Dr. Steven Manchester. Dr. Steven will be
revisiting the topic of his PhD dissertation on the fossil history of
the walnut family from 40+ years ago. Many new fossils have been
found since then and there are lots of new ways of gleaning information from
them including by micro-CT scanning.
Dr, Steven’s discussion will address aspects of the history of the
changing distribution patterns of walnuts, hickory nuts, and their
close relatives over the past 50 million years or so. So, let’s go nuts,
don’t miss the October meeting!
Nov. 4 - Annual Auction
Dec. 9 - Dr. Sarah Sheffield & Students, USF Geosciences
"Paleo Tech Talks"
Many of you already
know about Tech Talks. If you don’t,
they’re very popular
technical
talks covering a wide
range of technical
concepts and ideas.
For TBFC, our December meeting will feature Paleo Tech Talks.
Short presentations
and Q&A sessions on
different topics.
Ohav Harris: Echinoderm diversity through the Paleozoic Era.
Elizabeth Altier: Estimating the effect of latitude on echinoderm
body plans.
Haley Vantoorenburg, Taylor Rand, Karla Rodriguez, Ohav Harris,
and Elizabeth Altier: USF Geology and Paleontology Collections: fossil
preservation and museum organization.
Jan. 6 - TBD
Feb. 3 - TBD
Mar. 2 - TBD
Apr. 6 - TBD
May 4 - TBD
June 1 - End of Season Dinner, check the May 2024 issue of the Chronicles (TBFC Newsletter) for details.
View Our Past Virtual and In-Person Meetings
COVID-19 had forced us to adapt!
Since in-person meetings were not possible during that time, the club
hosted Virtual Live Meetings on our YouTube channel.
Since COVID, we've tried to record in-person meetings and upload them to the site too. Unfortunately not all meetings are able to be recorded but please check the channel for any new content.
Subscribe to the channel to get notifications when we go live or a new video is uploaded!
All our club live streamed or recorded meetings will be saved and can be re-watched anytime! Not all meetings can be recorded for various reasons.
You can view past virtual or recorded meetings in the playlist below: