Dissertation Research: The Osteology, Taxonomy, and Biologyof the Pterosaur Pteranodon

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The osteology of the Mesozoic flying reptile Pteranodon will be studied using American and European museum collections as well as stratigraphic investigations in Kansas. This will lead to quantitative study of the pterosaur's growth and function, and to a revision of its taxonomy. Ancestor-descendant relationships will be interpreted using specimens from China, North America and Europe. Pterosaurs are commonly cited as examples of convergent evolution, and they have been modelled and studied extensively in functional terms. A revised systematic and phylogenetic framework would make past and future work on this group more valuable from an evolutionary perspective.