Rate My Professor Marcus Richards

Marcus Richards serves as Teaching Fellow and Paleontology Laboratory Technician in the Department of Geology at the University of Otago, where he also acts as Paleontology Curator. He holds the position of Collections Technician at Tūhura Otago Museum. Richards completed his postgraduate Master's degree in Geology at the University of Otago, listed among the department's alumni from 2019. During his studies, he earned the Royal Society of New Zealand Best Student Oral Presentation Award in 2017 for his research on fossil penguins presented at a national conference. His career involves hands-on fossil preparation, including piecing together delicate skulls in the Geology Museum, curating extensive collections, and participating in field excavations such as the rescue of a moa trackway at Kye Burn.

Richards' academic interests center on paleontology, with a focus on New Zealand's fossil vertebrates. He co-authored the description of the first moa footprints from the Pliocene–early Pleistocene of Kyeburn, Otago, New Zealand, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2023 (Fleury et al.). Other key publications include the first records of two mackerel shark species, Carcharodon and Isurus, from the Pliocene of New Zealand (Ehret et al., Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2024), and a comprehensive review of New Zealand Eomysticetidae, early baleen whales (Boessenecker and Richards, 2024). He contributed to documenting the fossil vertebrate primary type specimens in the University of Otago Department of Geology collection. Richards engages in public outreach through lectures, such as exploring how boulders reveal ancient ice ages and scientific stories behind landscapes, and guided tours of the Geology Museum's collections spanning vast geological time. His work supports ongoing research into moa evolution, marine mammals, sharks, and penguins, enhancing understanding of Zealandia's paleontological record through meticulous curation and collaborative publications.