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Skip to Search Results- 1Abdel-Fattah, Zaki Ali
- 1Barr, Braden N.
- 1Croghan, Jasmine A.
- 1Dyer, Aaron David
- 1Fagua Gonzalez, Giovanny
- 1Kruk, Elizabeth A
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Cranial Morphology, Taxonomy, and Systematics of Pachycephalosaurids (Dinosauria, Ornithischia)
DownloadSpring 2022
Pachycephalosauridae (pachcycephalosaurids) were small to medium sized bipedal ornithischians, known solely from the Late Cretaceous of North America and Asia. These dinosaurs are characterised by thick, often domed frontals and parietals (frontoparietal dome), which are thought to have been used...
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Fall 2018
A full understanding of the evolution of novel forms requires inference about their origins through the study of variation in extant taxa and clues from the fossil record. However, the origins of morphological diversity in many groups are obscured by the scarcity of transitional fossils or...
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Fall 2017
Leafrollers moths are one of the most ecologically and economically important groups of herbivorous insects. These Lepidoptera are an ideal model for exploring the drivers that modulate the processes of diversification over time. This thesis analyzes the evolution of Choristoneura Lederer, a well...
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Osteology, Taxonomy, Phylogeny, and Body Shape Changes of Eocene Catostomid and Problematic Catostomid Fishes
DownloadFall 2016
Extant catostomid fishes occupy diverse aquatic ecosystems and niches in North America (NA). Less than 3% of catostomid taxonomic richness, or two species, are found outside of NA in Asia. Such adjunct and unbalanced distribution pattern has been established since the late Oligocene, when...
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Spring 2015
Pachyrhinosaurus is a peculiar ceratopsian known only from Upper Cretaceous strata of Alberta and the North Slope of Alaska. The genus consists of three described species Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis, Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai, and Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum that are distinguishable by cranial...
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Two New Species and a Revised Phylogeny of the Ellimmichthyiformes (Teleostei: Clupeomorpha)
DownloadFall 2015
The Ellimmichthyiformes is an extinct order of clupeomorph fishes. This group includes fossil species from marine, estuarine, and freshwater sediments ranging in time from the Early Cretaceous to the Eocene. In spite of the long history of taxonomic studies on the Clupeomorpha, phylogenetic...
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Systematics of an Oligocene-Aged Fossil Snake Assemblage from the White River Formation, Wyoming
DownloadSpring 2014
Extinct snake taxa are primarily recognized from isolated vertebrae. A new specimen from the Oligocene of Wyoming provides a rare opportunity to examine four nearly complete and articulated fossil snakes. Informally assigned previously to the ‘erycine’ vertebral form taxa Ogmophis and...
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Fall 2014
With well over 3,400 described species, snakes undoubtedly represent one of the most successful groups of reptiles. Much has been written about their ecology, behavior, anatomy, relationships and evolution. However, despite the debate about the origin of this taxonomic group dating back to the...
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A new Early Eocene (Lostcabinian) mammal assemblage from the Main Body of the Wasatch Formation, Northern Green River Basin; The Pinnacles, Sweetwater Co., Wyoming
DownloadFall 2013
Taphonomy of fluvially deposited microvertebrates and systematic paleontology of the Pinnacles buttes in the northwest Great Divide Basin is examined. The Pinnacles buttes contain an early Eocene mammal assemblage of over 900 cataloged specimens from several prolific University of Michigan...
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Comparative Analysis of the Anatomy of the Myxinoidea and the Ancestry of Early Vertebrate Lineages
DownloadFall 2012
The question of whether a hagfish is a true vertebrate or not has profound implications about the ancestry of the clade. New anatomical evidence allows a test of their systematic position. With dissections and serial sections of original specimens, and with a literature review, a comparative...