DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Phylogenetic Systematics and Biogeography of Iguanodontian Dinosaurs

鬣齿龙是一种多种多样的食草动物，从小到大？鸭嘴龙？长达30英尺的鸭嘴龙。这个团体持续了近1亿年，在每一个现代大陆都为人所知。鬣齿类的进化跨越了许多主要的解剖学界限，包括体型(从小到大)、运动类型(两足动物到四足动物)和进食方式(小牙齿的收割机到有数百颗牙齿的植物加工机器)。为了理解这些进化变化的意义，本研究试图了解它们进化的多样化模式或系统发展史。为此，将对所有已知物种的蜥蜴化石进行检查，以研究它们随时间变化的解剖结构。所有观察到的解剖变化的矩阵将被汇编并使用计算机算法进行检查，以确定鬣齿动物之间最可能的系统发育关系。进化关系将被用来研究它们随时间的地理分布。蜥蜴类进化关系的假说将创建一个框架来研究它们的生物学，如大小、运动和取食机制的变化。这项研究还将测试将仅从幼年标本中已知的物种纳入系统发育分析的方法；这将对其他类群具有潜在的广泛应用。最后，鬣齿动物生物地理学的模式(在时间和空间上的进化)将有助于更好地理解中生代脊椎动物的生物地理模式。

Iguanodontian dinosaurs are a diverse group of herbivores that range from small to large ?duck-billed? hadrosaurs reaching 30 feet in length. The group persisted for nearly 100 million years and is known from every modern continent. The evolution of iguanodontians crossed many major anatomical boundaries, including those of size (small to huge), locomotion type (bipedal to quadrupedal), and feeding style (small-toothed croppers to plant-processing machines with hundreds of teeth). To make sense of these evolutionary changes this study seeks to understand the diversification pattern, or phylogeny, of their evolution. To this end, fossils of all known species of iguanodontians will be examined to study their changing anatomy through time. A matrix of all observed anatomical changes will be compiled and examined using computer algorithms to determine the most likely phylogenetic relationships among iguanodontians. The evolutionary relationships will then be used to examine their geographic distributions through time.A hypothesis of the evolutionary relationships of iguanodontians will create a framework to study their biology, such as changes in size, locomotion, and feeding mechanics. This study will also test methods for including species known only from juvenile specimens in the phylogenetic analysis; this will have potential widespread application to other groups. Finally, patterns in iguanodontian biogeography (evolution through time and space) will inform a better understanding of the biogeographic patterns of Mesozoic vertebrates.