The Secret History of Sharks featuring Scotland's fantastic fossil sharks
Join us for a discussion with Professor John Long, author of 'The Secret History of Sharks'. The book tells the complete, untold story of how sharks emerged as Earth's ultimate survivors and showcases the global search to discover sharks' largely unknown evolution, led by Long and dozens of other extraordinary scientists.
Date: Sunday 16 March 2025
Time: 14:00 - 15:30
Venue: Kelvin Gallery
Category: Public lectures, Hunterian
Speaker: Professor John Long
Sharks have been around longer than dinosaurs, trees, or even the rings of Saturn. They have survived all 5 of Earth’s mass extinction events, but they haven’t always had it easy.
Their story involves a long rivalry with giant armoured fishes called placoderms, followed by competition from bony fishes rapidly diversifying, and then battles with huge marine reptiles during the age of dinosaurs. Surviving the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs, sharks then had to compete against the rise of whales, with the ensuing arms race gave us the appearance of our greatest predator, the 25m long megalodon.
The study of fossil sharks is very old in the UK, with stunning discoveries made throughout Scotland, some of which have become famous for how they have shaped our views about shark evolution.
Today many sharks are under threat form overfishing or the denigration of oceanic environments. We can still learn a lot from researching sharks, from stunning new medical advances through to how significant sharks are keeping our oceans healthy.
There will be a chance to purchase books following the talk from the Waterstones book stall.
Refreshments will be served.
This talk is suitable for children aged 12+.
Tickets £6/Free for Under 18s
Book your tickets via Eventbrite.
About the Speaker
Prof John Long is Strategic Professor in Palaeontology at Flinders University, in South Australia. He held previous positions as Curator at The Western Australian Museum (1989-2004), Head of Sciences at Museum Victoria (2004-2009) and as a Vice President at the LA County Museum of Natural History (USA, 2009-2012).
John’s research focuses on the early evolution of fishes, including sharks. He has worked the Gogo fossil sites in the Kimberley since 1986 and found many fossils of significance, including the evidence for the origins of sex in vertebrates, based on finds made in Scotland. He has also participated in 4 expeditions collecting fossils in the remote mountains of Antarctica.
John has published some 200 scientific papers, 160 general science articles, and some 26 popular science books for adults and children. He has discovered and named more than 90 new species of prehistoric creatures. He has won 2 Eureka Prizes, the 2011 research medals of The Royal Society of Victoria and 2013 research medal of The Royal Society of South Australia, and the 2019 Bettison and James Award for lifetime achievement.