2nd Circular

Symposium on the Evolution of Marine Mammals honoring Guram Mchedlidze 29 September – 1 October 2016 ,

The Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia is organizing a symposium dedicated to the 85th anniversary of Dr. Guram Mchedlidze (1931–2009), an internationally renowned Georgian marine mammal palaeontologist. The symposium will be held in the Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia from September 29 to October 1 2016. Address: Rustaveli Ave. 3, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia. Web-site: http://museum.ge

Registration and call for abstracts are open

Key Dates and Deadlines Deadline for registration – June 30

Deadline for abstract submission – June 30

Deadline for payment of registration fee – 15 August

Definitive conference programme available –15 September

Preliminary Program of the Symposium Wednesday, September 28 Reception and registration in the hall of the Museum of Georgia in the evening Thursday, September 29 Scientific session in the museum auditorium Friday, September 30 Scientific session in the auditorium and show and tell session in the collection room. Closing dinner in the evening Saturday, October 1 Field trip to Metekhi Sunday, October 2 Departure

1 Meeting Contributions Oral and poster presentations are welcome on various aspects of the evolution of marine mammals, including but not limited to:  Palaeontology  Taxonomy and phylogeny  Anatomy  Genetics  Phylogeography/Palaeobiogeography  Palaeoecology and evolutionary ecology  Field collection, lab preparation, and study of museum collections Oral presentations: 20 minutes, including questions and answers, unless you are invited to give a plenary talk. Poster presentations: A0 (117x84 cm) or a similar format is the most suitable size. Additional small poster handouts are welcome. Language of the symposium is English.

Registration Please register your participation online, fill the registration form here: http://goo.gl/forms/DiW8HJuAbn Registration deadline: 30 June 2016.

Abstract submission: Please submit your abstract online, fill the abstract submission form here: http://goo.gl/forms/bbMDIbHQOY Abstract submission deadline - 30 June 2016.

Abstract format Abstract language - English Title of your abstract F. Author1*, C.O. Author1, and L. Author2

1 Georgian National Museum, Rustaveli Ave. 3, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia 2 University of … * Email address of the corresponding author

Keywords: maximum of five keywords separated by commas.

The abstract may not exceed 500 words. This word limit applies to the entire abstract body, excluding the title, the names of the authors, and their institutional affiliations. Please, do not include tables, figures or reference lists.

2 Conference Fee The conference fee is 100 Eur. It includes abstract volume, reception, lunches, coffee breaks, closing dinner and field trip to Metekhi. Fee for accompanying persons is 50 Eur. It includes the reception, the closing dinner and field trip. The conference fee is payable by transfer to the following account: PALAEOGEO - Georgian Center for Palaeobiology and Palaeoanthropology, Niagvris st. 4a, Tbilisi, Georgia. TBC BANK, Mtatsminda Branch, 1 Shota , 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia IBAN: GE18 TB77 7173 6180 1000 01 SWIFT/BIC: TBCBGE22821 Payment Reference: Marine Mammals Symposium Fee Payment deadline: 15 August 2016 Upon transfer of the conference fee please send a confirmation e-mail to [email protected] with a scanned copy of the bank transfer attached.

International travel and accommodation The symposium will not cover international travel and accommodation. Participants are expected to book their own accommodation in Tbilisi.

Visa information For visa regulaitons please consult the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affaires of Georgia: https://www.geoconsul.gov.ge/en/visaInformation The list of countries whose citizens may enter Georgia without a visa Please see here: https://www.geoconsul.gov.ge/HtmlPage/Html/View?id=25&lang=Eng Please note that, due to increased security measures, border police officer may ask you for the following documents even if you don’t need a visa to enter Georgia: 1. Invitation letter (will be sent to you by us) 2. Copy of the departure plane ticket 3. Copy of the hotel reservation 4. Proof of compliant travel medical insurance 5. Current bank statement

Please have them for any case with you.

Accommodation We selected a few hotels to help you to orient in the city. All of them are in a walking distance from the museum. There is no official conference hotel, nor is there a conference rate at any of the suggested hotels.

3 Hotels and Hostels near the Museum of Georgia Mr.Ilusha. Web-site: www.booking.com Address: Purtseladze St #6 (30 m.,1 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 20 GEL Bed in 8-Bed Mixed Dormitory Room (breakfast+5Gel) Double room: 50 GEL Double or Twin Room (breakfast+5Gel) For a reservation email to: [email protected]

Tina’s homestay. Web-site: http://tbilisihomestay.com/ Address: 5 Sulkhan-Saba St, Tbilisi 0105, (350 m., 5 min. walk from the museum) Prices: 15 € person/night (breakfast included) For a reservation email to: [email protected]

Tbilisi, Sololaki, Eka. Web-site: www.airbnb.com Address: Iashvili st.#16, Tbilisi 0105, (1 km., 14 min. walk from the museum) Prices: 20 € person/night (breakfast+8€) For a reservation email to Ekaterine Javashvili: [email protected]

SKAdaVELI. Web-site: www.ska.ge Address: Vertskhli (silver) st. #27, (600 m., 7 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 32€; Double room: 40€ For a reservation email to: [email protected]

Aleksandria Hotel Tbilisi. Web-site: www.booking.com Address: Pushkini Street 10, Tbilisi City (200 m., 4 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 95 GEL; Double room: 150 GEL For a reservation email to [email protected]

Hotel Neighbours. Web-site: www.booking.com Address: Saada str. 1, 2 Orbiri St (1.3 km., 18 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 40$ (Breakfast+6$); Double room: 60$ (breakfast+12$) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Hotel VIP. Web-site: www.hotepvip.ge Address: 31 Leselidze St. (1 km., 13 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 50$ (breakfast included); Double room: 60$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Kopala Hotel. Web-site: www.kopala.ge Address: Chekhov str. #10 (1.8 km., 23 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: From 55 € (breakfast included); Double room: From 70 € (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Hotel Villa Mtiebi. Web-site: www.hotelmtiebi.ge Address: Chakhrukhadze St #10 (800 m., 9 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 68 € (breakfast included); Double room: 79 € (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

GT Hotel. Web-site:www.gthotel.ge Address: Kote Afkhazi St #26 (850 km., 10 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 70$ (breakfast included); Double room: 85$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

David Sultan Hotel. Web-site: www.davidhotel.ge Address: P. Iashvili Street #16A, (1 km., 14 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 80$ (breakfast included); Double room: 100$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Hotel Ipari. Web-site: www.booking.com Address: Shota Rustaveli Ave, #23/4 (700 m., 8 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 80$ (breakfast included); Double room: 100$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Citrus Hotel. Web-site: www.hotelcitrus.ge

4 Address: April Str. #3, 9 (350 m., 5 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 110$ (breakfast included); Double room: 130$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to: [email protected]; [email protected]

River Side Hotel. Web-site: www.riverside.ge Address: Right bank of Mtkvari, Brosse Street Turn, (850 m., 12 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 120$ (breakfast included); Double room: 140$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Ambasadori. Web-site: www.tbilisi.ambasadori.ge Address: Shavteli Street #13, (850 m., 12 min. from the museum) Prices: Single room: 135$ (breakfast included); Double room: 155$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Citadines. Web-site: www.citadines.com Address: Freedom Square #4 Bld.2A, (220 m., 3 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 140$ (breakfast included); Double room: 150$ (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Courtyard Tbilisi. Web-site: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/tbscy-courtyard-tbilisi/ Address: 4 Freedom Square (290 m., 3 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 265$ (breakfast included); Double room: 282$ (breakfast included) Reservation through: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/tbscy-courtyard-tbilisi/

Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. Web-site: www.radissonblu.com Address: 1 Rose Revolution Square (1 km., 13 min. walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 280$+18%VAT (Breakfast included); Double room: 300$+18%VAT (breakfast included) For a reservation email to [email protected]

Tbilisi Marriott Hotel. Web-site: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tbsmc-tbilisi-marriott- hotel/ Address: Rustaveli Avenue #13, Tbilisi 0108 (400 m., 5 min. walk walk from the museum) Prices: Single room: 400$ (breakfast included); Double room: 424$ (breakfast included) Reservation through: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tbsmc-tbilisi-marriott-hotel/

Field trip A field trip is planned to the village Metekhi (70 km from Tbilisi, near the town Kaspi, eastern Georgia). At this locality brownish-grey Late Oligocene Maykop clays are exposed. Fossilized remains of marine vertebrates: articulated vertebrae of large fish (Thunnus) and dolphins are likely to be found. The trip will take ca. 7-8 hours, on the way to Metekhi we will have sightseeing and lunch stop in Mtskheta – old capital of Georgia. Any fossils discovered on the field trip will become part of the collection of the Museum of Georgia, Georgian National Museum.

Guram Mchedlidze Dr. Guram Mchedlidze (1931-2009) was a Georgian academician and a world-renowned palaeobiologist who studied fossil whales. Dr. Guram Mchedlidze surveyed geology and palaeobiology in institutions and museums all over the Soviet Union. His primary interests included excavating and studying Mio-Pliocene vertebrate sites in the Caucasus region (Georgia, Azerbaijan, and North Caucasus) and identified new fossils, which were previously unknown. The collection of marine mammals gathered by Dr. Mchedlidze is one of the richest in Europe. This collection now is stored in the S. Janashia Museum of Georgia. Dr. Guram Mchedlidze published more than one hundred scientific papers, seven monographs, and is one of the co-authors of the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Dr. Guram Mchedlidze successfully combined productive scientific research with numerous teaching

5 responsibilities. He was a member of several editorial boards of various scientific journals, a board member of the committee on issues of evolution of flora and fauna at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, a corresponding member of the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology (USA), and a member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Guram Mchedlidze was a director of Leo Davitashvili Institute of Palaeobiology from 1989 until the end of his life. Guram was “a renaissance man”, who was a highly trained pianist, a noble, internationally respected professor and scientist, and a real Georgian patriot.

The Museum of Georgia, Institute of Palaeobiology and collections of fossil vertebrates The Museum of Georgia - the institution where the fossil mammal collections are stored is the oldest museum in the region; its history dates back to the founding of the Museum of the Caucasian Department of the Russian Royal Geographic Society in 1852, soon transformed into the Caucasian Museum (in 1865). Today, it is one of the eight institutions unified under the Georgian National Museum (GNM), while the Institute of Palaeobiology is one of the scientific centers of the GNM. Since 2005, efforts have been made to consolidate and organize fossil collections kept in the Museum of Georgia and the Institute of Palaeobiology. Presently, all vertebrate fossil collections of the Museum and the Institute of Palaeobiology are stored in the room of the Vertebrate Palaeontology Collections of the Museum of Georgia. These holdings include some of the very first vertebrate fossils from the region, such as fossils collected by the Swedish geologist Hjalmar Sjögren from Perekeshkul, Azerbaidjan, and Dr. Guram Mchedlidze’s collection of marine mammals. This collection includes hundreds of specimens, among which there are very important ones (such as: Ferecetotherium kelloggi, Oligodelphis azebajdzanicus, Kelloggia barbarus, Imerocetus karaganicus, Otradnocetus virodovi, Iniopsis caucasica, Kharthlidelphis diceros).

For any questions related to the symposium please contact: Maia Bukhsianidze, [email protected]

Looking forward to seeing you in Tbilisi Cordially,

Members of the organizing and scientific committee: David Lordkipanidze, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi Maia Bukhsianidze, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi Pavel Gol’din, Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, Kiev Irina Koretsky, Howard University, Washington DC Mark D. Uhen, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

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