Science Lecture Series: How the Skeleton of a Dolphin, named Val, Came to Wyoming from California

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7:00 pm – W153. Free. Attend in person or via zoom.

With Sheila Flynn, Retired Dental Hygienist and Volunteer Paleontologist

Abstract:
In 2006 on a Sheridan College field trip to San Clemente Island my husband Michael, geology/ dinosaur /paleontology instructor at the College, found the skull of an extant dolphin. With the help of Bill Matteson and Brian Flynn, who were part of the field study, I found the rest of the remaining skeleton. I have always liked dolphins, so I decided to take it back to Sheridan College and try to rearticulate the skeleton. It took three years to research and rearticulate the skeleton. The dolphin specimen was collected under a Marine Mammal collection permit. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles held a permit and allowed Sheridan College Museum of Discovery to cover our collection of the skeleton. In February 2009 Val was displayed at the Sheridan College Museum of Discovery with a beautiful mural painted by a local artist Ellen Dudley.

When the Museum of Discovery was remodeled, the theme was changed to concentrate on Dinosaurs. In March of 2024, Val was moved to The Geology Museum at the University of Wyoming. The Museum had always wanted to get a dolphin skeleton to be able to compare the co-evolution of Paleo marine reptiles and marine mammals.

Biosketch:
Sheila S. Flynn moved to Sheridan with her husband, Michael, who taught at Sheridan College for 27 years. I practiced as a Dental Hygienist for 24 years and am now retired. I accompanied my husband on paleontology field studies in 2004 to 2005 to San Clemente Island where I discovered a Miocene (10-12 million years old) fossil Odontoceti (toothed whale). I researched the fossil and found evidence of periodontal disease on the fossil’s tooth. In 2013, I published with two co-authors an article that documented the dental calculus found on the tooth root was evidence of periodontal disease. “Indications of periodontal disease in a fossil Odontoceti (Mammalia: Cetacea) from the late Miocene Monterey Formation at San Clemente Island, Southern California.” Authors: Flynn, Sheila S., Moses, Randolph J. and Connoly, Jon H.