Jan Audun Rasmussen

Jan Audun Rasmussen is a Lecturer and curator of the Paleontological Type Collection and the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Invertebrate Collection at the Geological Museum, University of Copenhagen's Natural History Museum. With a PhD in geology from the University of Copenhagen (1994), he has dedicated his career to paleontological research and education, focusing on taxonomy, biostratigraphy, paleoecology and paleobiogeography of various fossil groups.

Dr. Rasmussen's primary research interests include:

• Studies of the early jawless fish group Conodonta from the Paleozoic in Northern Europe and Greenland
• Foraminifers from the Danian and Cretaceous in Denmark and the North Sea
• Nautiloid cephalopods from the Lower Paleozoic in Northern Europe and Greenland
• Paleozoic deposits in Scandinavia, Spitsbergen and Northern Greenland
• Cretaceous and Cenozoic deposits in the North Sea region, Denmark and Western Greenland

His recent research demonstrates a strong focus on Eocene fossils from the Fur Formation in Denmark, particularly insect and fish taxa. These studies contribute significantly to our understanding of post-PETM (Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum) recovery phases and biodiversity patterns during the early Cenozoic. His work spans multiple disciplines including paleontology, stratigraphy, taxonomy, and evolutionary biology, with particular emphasis on Scandinavian and Greenlandic geological formations.

Dr. Rasmussen actively supervises bachelor's and master's students at the University of Copenhagen in paleontology-related topics. He serves as Chairman of Lethaiastiftelsen (since January 2008), a Nordic geological foundation responsible for publishing international paleontological publications Letahia and Fossils & Strata. He is also a Corresponding Member of the International Ordovician Subcommission (since 1991) and a board member of the international Palaeontological Association.