Latest Publications (for full list, see Research
Publications)
Reisz, R. R., Evans, D. C, Roberts, E. M., Sues, H-D., Yates, A. M. (2012) Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and the reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorph Massospondylus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 109: 2428-2433 (PNAS-weekly highlight)
Frobisch, N. B. and Reisz R. R. (2012) A new species of dissorophid (Cacops woehri) from the Lower Permian Dolese Quarry, near Richards Spur, Oklahoma. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32: 35-44.
Tsuji, L. A., MŸller, J., and Reisz, R. R. (2012) Anatomy of Emeroleter levis and the phylogeny of the nycteroleter parareptiles. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32: 45-67.
Modesto, S., Smith, R., Campione, N., and Reisz, R. R. (2011) The last ÒpelycosaurÓ: a varanopid synapsid from the Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone, Middle Permian of South Africa. Naturwissenschaften 98: 1027-1034. (with cover illustration)
Reisz, R. R., Scott, D., and Modesto, S. P. (2011) A new Early Permian reptile and its significance in early diapsid evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B. 278: 3731-3737.
Benson, R. B. J., Domokos, G, Varkonyi, P. L., and Reisz, R. R. (2011) Shell geometry and habitat determination in extinct and extant turtles (Reptilia:Testudinata) Paleobiology 37(4): 547-562.
Lab Personnel
For contact information please visit the svp website.
Robert R. Reisz
B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.
I am a brilliant, provocative, and in fact simply astonishing researcher and instructor at the small suburban Mississauga Campus of the University of Toronto, which is completely unworthy of my considerable talents but nevertheless is a good place to consume copious amounts of vodka and caviar in between my fits of scientific inspiration and meetings with various international dignitaries. As a scientist, my primary mission is to convince colleagues that everything they thought they knew about the evolution and biogeography of Permian organisms, the ancestry of turtles, and sundry other topics is actually absolute rubbish. I have never been to Antarctica. When not tormenting students and administrators, or instigating intellectual revolutions, I am generally pursuing one of my many cultural interests, such as reading science fiction novels by diverse authors who all (as I must finally admit) look like amateurs in comparison to the great P.K. Dick.
For more information on current research in my lab, see the Research Page.
For a complete list of my scientific papers, see the Publications Page
Diane Scott
True boss of the lab
Diane is not only our official "Resident Cute Poopsie" (R.C.P.), but also a highly capable technician who is able to perfectly extract the most delicate and fragile specimens from the hardest and densest rock simply by waving her pin-vice and muttering incantations. This unusual talent, combined with her ravings (umm... insightful opinions) about turtles from other planets, has led to frequent accusations of witchcraft. Please note, however, that these are entirely malicious, libellous and false, and anyone repeating them in public will be promptly transformed into a small slimy animal.
Linda Tsuji
Graduate Student
Coming Soon...
David Evans
Big Bone Dave
Dave comes to the lab from the warmer (yet far wetter) climes of Vancouver, B. C. His groundbreaking undergraduate thesis introduced some far-fetched, fanciful ideas about duck-bill dinosaurs and their bony heads. His PhD will continue on in this vein, but will push the boundaries of paleontological research as he attempts to incorporate phylogeny, ontogeny, and funkology into a cohesive whole. Dave likes to ask people whatÕs up and then stare at them waiting for a response, while making them fairly uncomfortable, but we forgive him, and love him anyways.
Joerg Frobisch
Graduate Student
Coming Soon...
Kaila Folinsbee
The baboon lady
Coming Soon...
Hillary Maddin
Is currently the undergraduate crutch of the Reisz Lab. Hillary has spent several summers working in the field in Alberta on dinosaurs. She is in her last year of undergraduate slavery at UTM, and is working with Robert on claw morphology, histology and evolution. When she is not taking care of her salamander Gussy Balthazar, she is taking care of her frog, Beefcake.
Johannes Mueller PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Extraordinaire
"He was the very best of my six children" his mother once said in a candid television interview to the German Entertainment and Science Network. Johannes has been a Wonder-Child ever since his childhood. He started his distinguished foray into biology with a detailed anatomical description his recently deceased pet turtle Otto. Several Nature articles soon followed, along with an invitation to Dr. Reisz's laboratory in Toronto, Canada. Johannes turned down this early interest to pursue elementary school in Germany. After high school, Johannes quickly picked up a host of semetic languages and traveled the midlle and far east. Now, Johannes is the middleman and translator facilitating communication between the older Robert generation (exemplified by Robert), and the comparatively new ankle-biters that have recently stormed the lab.
