This month I attended the 17th International Symposium on Early and Lower Vertebrates in Rimouski and Miguasha, Québec, Canada. It’s usually always my absolute favourite conference, and this year’s version was no exception…
The “early and lower vertebrate people” includes everyone like me who loves studying fish, amphibians (and perhaps even a few reptiles too). The talks cover aspects of developmental biology, evolution, anatomy, and with a big focus on palaeontology.
It’s a great catch up with colleagues and collaborators from all over the world. The 17th ISELV had ~85 participants from 20 countries who gathered for four days of talks at UQAR, then two fantastic days at the UNESCO World Heritage fossil site and research facility at Parc national de Miguasha.
Visiting Miguasha felt like a pilgrimage of sorts, to see the site where famous fossils like Eusthenopteron, probably the best-known Palaeozoic fish, comes from. It was also amazing to see the site, and the exhibition celebrating “Le Roi de Miguasha” (the King of Miguasha), Elpistostege watsoni.
I was privileged to work with Prof Richard Cloutier and others on this taxon, which resulted in our publication on the origin of the vertebrate hand in 2020. Despite having worked on “Elpi”, I had never seen the fossil in real life so it was very exciting for me (he’s even more beautiful in real life). Elpi was celebrated accordingly being featured on t-shirts, a specially-brewed conference beer, cupcakes and other museum shop merchandise.
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to present a keynote lecture during the meeting on “Virtual palaeontology of the early vertebrates: a new era of digital potential” outlining some current projects from our lab group.
I was particularly pleased to get to ISELV this year after missing the last meeting in Valencia (2022). A huge thanks to Richard Cloutier, Tetsuto Miyashita, and their team of volunteers who helped make this one of the best meetings yet! Next, looking forward to Morocco in 2026!
Dr Alice Clement 