DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The phylogeny of basal coelurosaurian theropods and large-scale patterns of morphological evolution during the dinosaur-bird transition

American Museum Natural History, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The evolution of birds from theropod dinosaurs is one of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life. This transition has emerged as a textbook example for understanding the origins of major groups, new body plans, and novel behaviors, thanks to a rapidly expanding fossil record of early birds and their closest dinosaurian relatives (the coelurosaurian theropods). Several outstanding questions remain, however, most notably regarding the phylogeny of birds and their closest relatives and the major macroevolutionary patterns in morphological evolution during the theropod-bird transition. This project aims to tackle both of these issues by integrating new data collection, phylogenetic analyses, and quantitative evolutionary modeling techniques. A large anatomical dataset will be used to derive a complete species-level phylogeny of Mesozoic coelurosaurs and to measure two major macroevolutionary metrics--rates of character change and anatomical disparity (variety in morphological features)--during the theropod-bird transition. This project will result in better understanding of the evolutionary transition between carnivorous dinosaurs and birds, which is one of the few major transitions that is recorded in fine detail in the fossil record. This project will help train high school students as part of the American Museum of Natural History's Student Research Mentoring Program, involve the collaboration of undergraduate students beginning their careers in scientific research, and will be incorporated into public lectures, online data repositories, and a forthcoming book aimed at undergraduate and graduate students.