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At the May meeting, it was agreed to cancel the July meeting, a session with relatively low attendance under the best of circumstances. The expectation is that meeting in person will be possible in September. There will be some modest form of the annual auction at that meeting. More information will be forthcoming.

Dr. Victor Perez, assistant curator of paleontology at the Calvert Marine Museum, delivered an excellent talk on the evolution, ecology, and body size of Megalodon. He walked listeners through the changing genus names that have been applied to Megalodon, changes that reflect the flux in the understanding of its evolutionary roots. He made a strong case that the Great White is not the evolutionary descendant of Megalodon. The screen shot below shows some of the salient differences between teeth from these two types of shark.

Dr. Perez discussed what is known about the diet of this shark and delineated how the shape of its teeth reflected that diet. As to methods of estimating Megalodon body size, he reviewed the commonly used (but erroneous) rule of thumb based on the maximum size of its teeth, as well as the more rigorous methodology that initially replaced it. He concluded by delineating a new methodology he derived based on "summed crown width." The image below shows a screen-capture from his talk which summarizes the three main points he made.

The slides Dr. Perez used during his talk can be accessed in a PDF file here. His scientific paper on the topic can be accessed in full here. The MGS thanks him for his thoughtful and informative presentation.

No dues will be collected for 2021. Dues paid for 2020 will be applied to a future dues payment. Individuals can join MGS in 2021 by filling out a membership application form and sending it to Treasurer Rob King WITHOUT the $15 membership dues. The application form and Rob's address can be found on the Join page.