Cécile Mourer-Chauviré: Difference between revisions
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I don't think the French article is much help at this stage for expansion. "Elle a été élue membre correspondant de l'Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Lyon en 2018." would be an interesting addition, but there is no source cited for it and I can't find in a search a source for this |
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Revision as of 16:13, 25 August 2021
 |
Cécile Mourer-Chauviré | |
|---|---|
 Cécile Mourer-Chauviré | |
| Born | 5 November 1939[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Lyon |
| Spouse |
Roland Mourer (m. 1964) |
| Children | 2 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Avian palaeontology |
Cécile Mourer-Chauviré (born 5 November 1939) is a French paleontologist specializing in birds of the Eocene and the Oligocene.[1] In her early career, she discovered with her husband the Laang Spean cave site of prehistoric humans in Cambodia.[2][3]
Early life and career
She studied at University of Lyon.[1] Her early work was on large Quaternary mammals.[1] She then proceeded in 1961 to a doctorate in Centre national de la recherche scientifique focusing on Pleistocene birds, a topic few at the time studied in France or Europe.[1]
Following her marriage in 1964 to Roland Mourer, she relocated to Cambodia where he was assigned by the French military as a "coopérant" in Kampong Chhnang (city).[1] In 1965 she was appointed as a geology professor at Royal University of Phnom Penh, a post she held until the civil war in 1970.[1] During this time she discovered with her husband the Laang Spean cave site of prehistoric humans.[2][3]
In 1970, at the outbreak of civil war in Cambodia, she returned with her two small children to France. In 1971, she secured an appointment with CNRS at Claude Bernard University Lyon 1.[1] In 1975 she completed her "Thèse d’Etat", in 1984 her habilitation, and in 1985 she was appointed director of research in CNRS which she held until her retirement in 2005.[1]
Since her return to France, and also following her retirement, she focused on research of avian fossils.[1] Between 1987 and 1999 she was secretary of the Society for Avian Paleontology and Evolution (SAPE).[1]
In 2011, she published with her collegues on Lavocatavis africana, an African fossil that may belong to the Phorusrhacidae clade (terror birds). The Algerian find is significant as previous finds from the era in Africa were not land-dwelling birds and Phorusrhacidae was not previously known outside of the Americas.[4]
Recognition
The 8th international meeting of SAPE, in 2012, was dedicated to Mourer-Chauviré in tribute to her role as founder and secretary.[1]
Colleagues have expressed their respect to Mourer-Chauviré by naming fossil bird species and genera after her. As of 2013, the following were named after her: Aythya chauvirae, Cypseloides mourerchauvireae, Chauvireria Boev, Pica mourerae, Oligosylphe mourerchauvireae, Tyto mourerchauvireae, Afrocygnus chauvireae , Asphaltoglaux cecileae.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Göhlich, Ursula (10 December 2013). "Cécile Mourer-Chauviré Life and works" (PDF). Paleornithological research : proceedings of the 8th International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, Vienna, 2012: ix–xxx.
- ^ a b Sophady, Heng, et al. "Laang Spean cave (Battambang province): A tale of occupation in Cambodia from the Late Upper Pleistocene to Holocene." Quaternary International 416 (2016): 162-176.
- ^ a b Sanz, Nuria (2014). Human origin sites and the World Heritage Convention in Asia. UNESCO. pp. 169–180.
- ^ Switek, Brian (9 July 2011). "Transatlantic Terror Birds". Wired.
