Vertebrate Morphology
Vertebrate morphology and evolution is a major focus of my lab with special interest in archosaurs. Scores of dinosaurs from all major groups (ornithischians, sauropodomorphs, theropods) including early birds have been studied in collections or unearthed as new discoveries from many continents. Flying reptiles (pterosaurs), crocodilians, turtles, bony fish, and a multituberculate mammal are also under study.
African faunas from Jurassic and Cretaceous horizons are of particular interest, because the history of African faunas during the Mesozoic is sketchy at best. Current work will unveil an armor-free upright crocodilian, an early quadrupedal armored dinosaur, sauropods of many kinds, a small raptor skeleton that used its forelimbs to dig up prey, and new theropods including a new species of Spinosaurus. Bony fish under study include a new giant polypterid and a small freshwater ichthyodectiform.
Dinosaur “mummies” preserving soft tissue (integument) renderings are under study from end-Cretaceous rocks in Wyoming that include the duckbill Edmontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. Body frills and spikes as well as hooves are under macro- and molecular study to understand how these such vestiges are preserved.
Nonvertebrates (invertebrates) are also of interest, including a new swimming crab (decapod) discovered in a Late Cretaceous pond deposit in the Kem Kem Group in Morocco and a new scarab beetle from mid Cretaceous age beds in Niger.