Cecilia Larsson

Curator.

Contact

Phone: +46 (0)8 519 542 27
E-mail: cecilia.larsson@nrm.se

Billing and Mailing Address:

See the Staff and Contacts page.

Education 

MSc Uppsala University, 2005

Fil. lic. Uppsala University, 2009

PhD Uppsala University, 2012

Responsibilities

Curating, sorting and database registration of the department’s collections, focusing on invertebrate fossils, in order to increase physical and digital accessibility. Project management/coordination and representation of the department in projects related to collections and departmental facilities. Training and introduction of new database users. Co-responsible for producing the departmental manual of procedures. Pedagogic activities such as visits to schools, supervision of students and trainees, and occasionally participating in the museum’s public activities. Work environment representative for the Department of Palaeobiology.

Interests

I have a preference for marine invertebrates, especially from the geological periods Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian (419-541 million years ago) – periods from which there are fossiliferous rocks in Sweden. My interest is partly that these organisms looked very different to modern organisms, but also that the larger groupings of animals (phyla) existing today had already evolved during this time. It is also a staggering thought that Sweden, now located at roughly 60 degrees north, during these periods was located south of the equator and had an almost tropical climate.

My doctoral thesis dealt with early marine invertebrates with shells comprising multiple skeletal elements (scleritomes), and the challenges in reconstructing these by means of incomplete fossils remnants and comparisons to both extinct and extant organisms. It is like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what it will be or if you have enough pieces, if all pieces belong to the same jigsaw puzzle or if they come from one or several individuals.

An important and inspiring part of my role as a palaeontologist is to contribute to increasing the interest for and understanding of the subject palaeontology, and to make it available to a broader audience. I prefer doing this in practical sessions, such as laboratory exercises, workshops, project work, seminars, school visits and other public activities. Most inspiring and challenging is when the meeting takes place outside the traditional scientific environment.