Contributor

Marc Laflamme is a paleontologist focusing on the Ediacara biota, the oldest large and complex organisms in the fossil record that dominated the oceans until their demise 540 million years ago. Where they fit in the tree of life is controversial, as some represent the oldest examples of primitive animals, while others were likely failed experiments in complex life that went extinct in competition with advanced animals. His research also focuses on the exceptional fossilization of soft-tissues. His search of the oldest fossil evidence of animals has taken him all around the world, including to Newfoundland, Australia, and Namibia. Laflamme is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical & Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga.