Dr Consuelo Sendino

Biography

Education and qualifications

PhD in Palaeontology, University Complutense of Madrid (Spain). Cum laude.

Master Thesis (DEA) in Geology, University Complutense of Madrid (Spain). With distinction.

Diploma: Geotechnical Tests Analyst, College of Public Works, University Polytechnical of Madrid (Spain).

Masters degree: Environmental Management, Foundation Alfonso Martín Escudero, Madrid (Spain).

Masters degree: Computer Science, Eritel. Madrid (Spain).

Degree in Geology, University Complutense of Madrid (Spain).

 

Academic employment

Since September 2008 – Curator/Documentation Officer, Invertebrates, Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum.

2007 – Lecturer. University Alfonso X El Sabio, Madrid for Masters degree in Design, Planning, Building, Exploitation and Maintenance of roads, module Aspects of the Road Planning.

2004-2007 - “Titulado Superior de Investigación y Laboratorio”. Ministry of Education and Science, Geological Survey of Spain, Madrid.

2002 – “Titulado Superior”, Spanish National Council for Scientific Research, Madrid.

1997-2001 - “Titulado Superior“, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), The National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid.

1993 – Curatorial assistant. Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), The National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid.

1992 – Grant holder in Geology. Ministry of Industry, Geological Survey of Spain, Madrid (Spain).

 

Other posts

May to September 2008 – Projects coordinator, Spanish GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility), Madrid (Spain).

2003 – “Titulado Superior”, FCC (Company of Construction and Employment Development), Madrid (Spain).

1995-1997 – Swimming monitor. Gimnasarca, Madrid (Spain).

1994 – Geologist, Consultancy of Applied Geology, Madrid (Spain).

1991 – Hydrogeologist, EPTISA (Industrial Technical Studies and Projects), in Madrid, Valladolid, La Rioja, Cantabria and Gerona (Spain).

1991 – Geologist in the project “Geophysical study of Strait of Gibraltar, from Punta Carnero to Cape Trafalgar”. Geophysical expedition financed by the Ministry of State Works and Transport (Spain).

Professional Roles

Council/committee memberships

2009 - present    Member of the International Bryozoology Association

2005 - 2010        Member and Secretary of the Spanish working team of the IGCP 503: Palaeogeography and Ordovician palaeoclimate.

Museum service

2013-present    Member of the Science Forum group at the NHM. 

2011-present    Member of the Slide Group at the NHM. 

2009-present    Member of the Science Information Committee (SIC) and Representative for Palaeontology Department at NHM.

2009-present    Member of the KE EMu Superuser Curation group at the NHM.

Curation

Collections

Mollusca

Bryozoa

Special projects

Historical fossil collections of Sloane, Pennant and König.

The Mantell Project.

Type and figured specimens.

Documenting Conulariid collection.

Lyell’s collections of mollusc and bryozoans from Gran Canaria.

Research

Interests

Conulariids

Conulariids are extinct cnidarians, with a worldwide distribution in the fossil record. They have been found from the Ediacarian to the Triassic (however, some authors have recorded supposed Lower Jurassic conulariids). This comprises a geological duration of more than 400 million years, with 52 genera and 357 described species. The Natural History Museum in London houses specimens belonging to more than 11genera and 85 species.

They have four sided pyramidal exoskeletons made up of calcium phosphate. This is the hard part that is normally preserved from these organisms. Conulariids are usually found as solitary organisms, excepting some cases in North America, South America and Europe with conulariids clusters. This group of fossils has a great stratigraphical usefulness because of their cosmopolitan condition.

The Natural History Museum (NHM) in London contains the most diverse collection of conulariids in the world, containing an historical collection of conulariids that began in 1841, and includes contributions from one of the most important collectors of Palaeozoic invertebrates during the 19th century, Mrs Elizabeth Gray.

The wide geographical coverage of the NHM fossil collections reflects the extension of the British colonies across all continents, frequent exchanges with other museums, and the purchase of individual specimens and entire collections.

 

Palaeobiogeogegraphic reconstructions based on conulariids

Majority of conulariids species seems to have been geographically widespread. But, scarce are they found in the Triassic from Avalonia and Palaeozoic from Iberian Peninsula. My recent research is focused in reworked Ordovician conulariids from the Triassic Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds Formation (south Devon coast, England) with relevance to understanding the history of Avalonia and Armorica and specimens from the Darriwilian age of Central Iberian Zone (Spain) with implications about plate tectonic setting, confirming current palaeogeographical reconstructions of the Ordovician period at different northern Gondwana localities.

As well I have worked on cluster analysis with 38 genera including 286 species from a global database of Palaeozoic conulariids that includes 12040 specimens. The conulariids were evaluated using a range of statistical and graphical techniques, hierarchical cluster analysis, based on Dice Measure.

Considering the best stratigraphical record on conulariid specimens, which is in the Bohemian region and the Avalonia and Laurentia palaeocontinents, the greatest similarity is recorded between Bohemia and Avalonia rather than with Laurentia during the Cambrian and Ordovician times. In case of Silurian and Devonian, Bohemia has more similarity with Laurentia, and Laurentia is most similar to Avalonia. These relationships are stronger since the Carboniferous with a high degree of similarity among regions. This change is caused by the position of terranes so that conulariids support plate tectonics reconstructions.

 

Conulariid systematics

New research on this group has been done according to the recent scyphozoan affinities, but a deep study on their systematic is necessary. Last attempts that include the family Conulariidae Walcott, 1886 were made by Moore & Harrington (1956), Hergarten (1985) and Sendino (2007) among others.

Current project on conulariids

Current research includes study on conulariid symmetry and its comparison to current scyphozoans.

Other research interests

Lyell´s collections from Gran Canaria

Most of these collections are from bryozoans and molluscs fossils and were collected in order to check his theory about volcanoes formation. His main interest in the Canaries concerned their volcanic history.

Symbiosis between conulariids and bryozoans

Symbiotic associations between bryozoans and other metazoans are common and can be recognized in fossils when they involve skeletal intergrowth. But it is also possible to interpret symbiosis in specimens preserved as external moulds as a result of overgrowth by bryozoans. This overgrowth pattern strongly suggests a life association. CT scanning of the specimen allows us to examine more fully how the bryozoan colony bioimmured the conulariids, preserving them in high fidelity.

Latest publications

2013

• SENDINO, M.C. ( 2013 ) Use of QR Code labels in museum collection management. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals .

2012

• Corbacho, J. & SENDINO, C. ( 2012 ) Fossil fakes and their recognition. Deposits Magazine 30 : 35-40 .
• SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P.D. ( 2012 ) Pliocene bryozoans from Gran Canaria. In: 11th Annual Larwood Meeting, Brno, Czech Republic. 31 May to 3 June 2012 .
• SENDINO, C. Taylor, P.D. & Van Iten, H. ( 2012 ) Exoconularia? pyramidata (d’Orbigny, 1850): a scyphozoan from the Ordovician of Normandy, France, recorded for the first time as a remanié fossil in the Triassic of Devon, England. Geodiversitas 34 : 283-296 . Geodiversitas
• SENDINO, C., Zágorsek, K. & Taylor, P. ( 2012 ) Asymmetry in an Ordovician conulariid cnidarian. Lethaia 45 : 423-431 . Lethaia
• SENDINO, C., Zágoršek, K. & Taylor, P.D. ( 2012 ) Asymmetry in  conulariid cnidarians and some other invertebrates. In: 56th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association. University College Dublin. 16-18 December 2012, p. 49 .
• Taylor, P & SENDINO, C. ( 2012 ) The Enigma of Palaeocyphonautes. Bulletin of the International Bryozoology Association 7 : 6-7 . Bulletin of the International Bryozoology Association
• Taylor, P., SENDINO, C. & Corbaco, J. ( 2012 ) A hidden gem in the heart of Barcelona: the Geological Museum of the Seminary. Deposits Magazine 32 : 46-48 . Deposits Magazine

2011

• Barnbrook, J.A., SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P.D. ( 2011 ) Sclerobionts and bioerosion in belemnites from the Early Cretaceous Speeton Clay of Yorkshire. In: 55th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association. Plymouth University. 17-20 December 2011, 43-44 .
• Calzada, S & SENDINO, C. ( 2011 ) Posible inclusión en el género triásico Ferreniscus (Isopoda) de la Península Ibérica de una especie del Cretácico japonés. Société d'histoire naturelle de Toulouse 147 : 43-45 .
• Corbacho, J., SENDINO, C. & Tahiri, M. ( 2011 ) Palaeontological fakes. Batalleria 16 : 37-45 .
• SENDINO, C. & Santos, C. ( 2011 ) Catálogo de los conuláridos del museo nacional de ciencias naturales (CSIC). Graellsia 67 : 13-21 . Graellsia
• SENDINO, C. Taylor, P.D. ( 2011 ) Sir Charles Lyell’s fossil bryozoans from Gran Canaria. Wyse Jackson, P.N. & Spencer Jones, M.E. (eds)., In: Annals of Bryozoology . International Bryozoology Association : Dublin , 123-142 .
• SENDINO, C., Taylor, A.B. & Taylor, P.D. ( 2011 ) Curation of Lang’s specimens in the fossil Bryozoan collection at the NHM, London. X Larwood Meeting 2011. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), May 5 to 7, 2011 . Curation of Lang’s specimens in the fossil Bryozoan collection at the NHM, London.
• SENDINO, C., Zágorsek, K. & Vyhlasová, Z. ( 2011 ) The aperture and its closure in the Ordovician conulariid. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56 : 659-663 . Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
• SENDINO, C., Zágoršek, K. & Taylor, P.D. ( 2011 ) Asymmetry in an Ordovician conulariid cnidarian. In: 55th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association. Plymouth University. 17-20 December 2011, 75-76 .
• Spencer Jones, M.E., SENDINO, C. & Taylor, A.B. ( 2011 ) The Hincks Collection at the Natural History Museum M, London. In: X Larwood Meeting 2011. University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), May 5 to 7, 2011 . The Hincks Collection at the Natural History Museum M, London.
• Taylor, P & SENDINO, C. ( 2011 )  Fossil hunting in the Canary Islands. Fossil hunting in the Canary Islands. Evolve 8 : 46-49 . Evolve
• Taylor, P & SENDINO, C. ( 2011 ) Dinocochlea: a possible solution to the mysterious spiral of Hastings. Deposits Magazine 28 : 8-9 . Deposits Magazine
• Taylor, P.D & SENDINO, C. ( 2011 ) A new hypothesis for the origin of the supposed giant snail Dinocochlea from the Wealden of Sussex, England. A new hypothesis for the origin of the supposed giant snail Dinocochlea from the Wealden of Sussex, England 122 : 492-500 . A new hypothesis for the origin of the supposed giant snail Dinocochlea from the Wealden of Sussex, England | 10.1016/j.pgeola.2011.03.007

2010

• SENDINO, C. ( 2010 ) Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. Set in stone 7 : 18-19 .
• SENDINO, C. ( 2010 ) Springtime and conulariids in Madrid: Synthesys visit to the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC). Set in stone 7 : 11-12 .
• SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P.D.   ( 2010 ) Charles Lyell’s collections of fossils bryozoans from Gran Canaria. In: 15th International Conference, International Bryozoology Association (IBA). Kiel, August 2 to 6, 2010, 66-67 .
• SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P.D.   ( 2010 ) Symbiosis between conulariids and a bryozoan in the Silurian of Indiana. In: 15th International Conference, International Bryozoology Association (IBA). Kiel, August 2 to 6, 2010, 64-65 .
• SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P.D.   ( 2010 ) Charles Lyell’s research on fossils from the Canary Islands. In: Third International Palaeontological Congress (IPC3). London, June 28 to July 3, 2010 .
• Taylor, P.D. & SENDINO, C. ( 2010 ) Latitudinal distribution of bryozoan-rich sediments in the Ordovician. Bulletin of Geosciences 85 : 565-572 . Bulletin of Geosciences

2009

• SENDINO, C. & Darrell, J. ( 2009 ) History of Conulariid Research. Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India 54 : 121-133 . Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India
• SENDINO, C. & Darrell, J. ( 2009 ) The collection of conulariids of The Natural History Museum of London. The Geological Curator 9 : 3-20 . The Geological Curator
• Sendino, C. & Taylor, P ( 2009 ) XXIII International Congress of History of Science and Technology, 2009, Budapest. Set in stone 6 : p. 13 .
• SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P. ( 2009 ) Conulariids: fossilised jellyfish. Deposits Magazine 18 : 30-32 .
• SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P.D. ( 2009 ) Lyell’s Palaeontological Research in Gran Canaria.In: XXIII International Congress of History of Science and Technology: Ideas and Instruments in Social Context. In: Book of Abstracts & List of Participants, Budapest Hungary, p. 325 .
• SENDINO, C. & Taylor, P.D. ( 2009 ) Charles Lyell´s fossil bryozoans from the Canary Islands. IX Larwood Meeting 2009, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo (Norway) . Charles Lyell´s fossil bryozoans from the Canary Islands.
• SENDINO, M.C. ( 2009 ) KE EMu and the Future for Natural History Collections. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 5 : 149-158 . Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals
• Taylor, P & SENDINO, C. ( 2009 ) Dinocochlea: the mysterious spiral of Hastings. Deposits Magazine 20 : 40-42 . Deposits Magazine
• Taylor, P.D & SENDINO, C. ( 2009 ) Latitudinal distribution of bryozoan limestones in the Ordovician. In: Harper, D.A.T. & McCorry, M (eds), Absolutely final meeting of IGCP 503: Ordovician palaeogeography and palaeoclimate, Copenhagen 2009, Abstracts, Natural History Museum of Denmark (Geological Museum), Copenhagen, 18-19 .

2008

• SENDINO, C. ( 2008 ) La iniciativa internacional del GBIF y la Entomología en la Península Ibérica: Retos y oportunidades. In: Bivar de Sousa, A. & Municipio de Seia (eds.), XIII Congresso Ibérico de Entomologia. Programa e resumos, Centro de Interpretaçao da Serra da Estrela, p. 38 .
• SENDINO, C. & Van Iten, H. ( 2008 ) First record of conulariids from the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds. In: J.I. Ruiz-Omeñaca, L. Piñuela & J.C. García-Ramos (Eds.), Libro de resúmenes, XXIV Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, Museo del Jurásico de Asturias (MUJA), Colunga, p. 253 .

2007

• SENDINO LARA, M.C. ( 2007 ) Revisión de la colección de Conulariidae de The Natural History Museum de Londres (Reino Unido). . Universidad Complutense de Madrid : Madrid , 601 . Revisión de la colección de Conulariidae de The Natural History Museum de Londres (Reino Unido).
• SENDINO LARA, M.C. ( 2007 ) Los conuláridos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid., In: Cantera Paleontológica . Diputación Provincial de Cuenca : Cuenca , .
• SENDINO Lara, M.C. ( 2007 ) Palaeozoic palaeobiogeography with a group of extinct cnidarians. In: Braga, J.C., Checa, A. & Company, M. (eds.), XXIII Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología. Caravaca de la Cruz 3-6 de Octubre de 2007. Libro de resúmenes, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España & Universidad de Granada, Granada, 222-223 .
• SENDINO Lara, M.C. ( 2007 ) Ordovician Conulariida Palaeobiogegraphy. In: 1er Symposium International de Paléobiogéographie, Paris, 10-13 Juillet/July 2007. Résumés, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris 6), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris y Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNSR), Paris, p. 90 .
• SENDINO Lara, M.C. & Domínguez Alonso, P. ( 2007 ) Paleoecological and paleogeographic involvements with conulariids from SW Europe. In: Álvaro, J.J. & Villas, E. (eds.), IGCP Project 503 “Ordovician Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimate”, Regional Meeting and Field-trip, Zaragoza, 2007. 17-19th September 2007. Regional meeting at the Department of Earth Sciences of the Zaragoza University, Spain, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 22-23 .
• SENDINO LARA, M.C., Gutiérrez Gárate, M., López Blanco, G. & Bermúdez Molina, O. ( 2007 ) Francisco Javier Ayala Carcedo (1948-2004). Producción científica y análisis bibliométrico de sus publicaciones. CD-ROM . IGME
• SENDINO, C. ( 2007 ) Cambio climático y su registro en los sedimentos paleozoicos. In: I Congreso Nacional sobre Cambio Global, 25, 26 & 27 abril 2007, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Getafe, p. 47 .

2006

• SENDINO, M.C. ( 2006 ) Estudio morfológico de los Conulariida (Cnidaria). Pliocénica 5 : 1-16 .
• SENDINO, M.C. ( 2006 ) Morfología de los Conulariida (Cnidaria). In: Fernández-Martínez, E. (ed.), Libro de resúmenes. XXII Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología y simposios de los proyectos PICG 493, 503, 499, y 467, Universidad de León, León, 180-182 .
• SENDINO, M.C. & Domínguez, P. ( 2006 ) Análisis documental de la distribución geográfica y estratigráfica de los conuláridos (Cnidaria) de Gondwana. Revista de Española de Paleontología 21 : 175-187 . Revista de Española de Paleontología

2005

• SENDINO, M.C. & Domínguez, P. ( 2005 ) Análisis documental de la distribución geográfica y estratigráfica de los conuláridos (Cnidaria). In: Bernáldez Sánchez, E., Mayoral Alfaro, E. & Guerreiro Dos Santos, A. (eds.), Libro de resúmenes. XXI Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología y simposios de los proyectos PICG 493, 499, y 503, Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Cultura, Sevilla, 196-197 .