The 12th International Symposium on Fossil Cnidaria and Porifera was held on Feb. 2nd to 5th, 2015 in the German University of Technology, Oman. Participants came from more than 20 countries and/or regions including China, Australia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Norway, Sweden, Poland, France, England, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Italy and Oman attended this symposium. Prof. WANG Xiangdong, Dr. LIN Wei, Dr. LIANG Kun and YAO Le from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences attended this symposium and presented their studies on Silurian and Carboniferous corals and reefs by oral presentations and posters.

The International Symposium on Fossil Cnidaria and Porifera began in 1971 and was held among different countries in turns. Researchers from China have attended the conference continuously for 10 times ever since the third Symposium (Warsaw, Poland; 1979). This symposium focused on biomineralization, Cnidaria and Profera through space and time, Phanerozoic bioconstructions, coral and sponges in reef crisis, etc. Two pre-conference and three post-conference field trips were organized by the committee. After discussions, the next Symposium will be held in Modena, Italy in 2019.

(Information Source: Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, CAS)