Mikhail Fedonkin
Academician Mikhail Aleksandrovich Fedonkin (; born June 19, 1946) is an awarding winning paleontologist specializing in documentation of the earliest animals' body fossils, tracks, and trails. He has also described numerous Vendian-aged fossils including "Hiemalora", "Cephalonega", and "Nimbia occlusa". M. Fedonkin is fluent in English and Russian. He is also able to read Spanish, French and Slavonic languages. Early life. Fedonkin was born in Orekhovo-Zuevo, Moscow Region, Russia. In 1969, Fedonkin presented a thesis titled "Biostratigraphy and paleontology of the Late Precambrian deposits of Kharaulakh Mountains, Northern Yakutia (Sakha)" to earn his MSc in Geology from Moscow  State University. He went on to obtain a PhD in Stratigraphy\Paleontology (1978) and a Doctorate of Science in Paleobiology (1985) from the Geological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow for his dissertations on "Precambrian fauna and trace fossils from the Russian Platform north" and "Non-skeletal fauna of the Vendian and its place in the evolution of metazoans", respectively. Career. In 1971, Dr. Fedonkin was a Junior Scientific Researcher at the Geological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow. In 1978, he became a Senior Scientific Researcher at the Paleontological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow. In 1985 he was promoted  to be the Lead Scientific Researcher. Since 1992, Fedonkin has been the Head of the laboratory of Precambrian paleobiology at the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Over his career he has completed field work in Australia, Canada, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and the United States.