Reisz, Robert

Full Research Description:
My main research endeavors have focused on the Origins and Evolutionary Radiation of Paleozoic Amniotes. Amniota is by far the most spectacular group of vertebrates, and includes all living reptiles, birds, and mammals, as well as their fossil relatives (dinosaurs, flying reptiles, and many other extinct forms). Paleozoic amniotes represent the first chapter in the spectacular evolutionary history of vertebrates on land; these ancient animals are at the base of all major subsequent groups, and evolutionary innovations first seen in their fossil remains have had a cascading effect on subsequent evolutionary events. Research in this area is ongoing.
In keeping with my broad research interests, I have recently started two dinosaur projects, pivotal to our understanding of the early evolutionary history of this group. One is on the early theropod Coelophysis, the other is the early sauropodomorph Massospondylus Recently the embryos of the latter have been featured in a publication in Science (Reisz et al. 2005). Both taxa are represented by several excellent skeletons, including a broad ontogenetic range. It is the presence of these ontogenetic series that has attracted my interest in these taxa, and I hope to integrate osteological, developmental, and phylogenetic data for the study of early dinosaur evolution.