DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Phylogenetic Systematics and Biogeography of Iguanodontian Dinosaurs

禽龙类恐龙是一种多样的食草动物，从小型到大型？鸭嘴兽鸭嘴龙可达30英尺长。 这个群体持续了近1亿年，在每个现代大陆都有。 禽龙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（从两足到四足）和进食方式（从小牙齿的收割者到有数百颗牙齿的植物加工机器）。 为了理解这些进化的变化，本研究试图了解它们进化的多样化模式，或者说进化论。 为此，所有已知的禽龙类物种的化石都将被检查，以研究它们随着时间的推移而变化的解剖结构。 所有观察到的解剖学变化的矩阵将被编译和使用计算机算法进行检查，以确定最可能的禽龙类之间的系统发育关系。 禽龙类进化关系的假说将为禽龙类生物学的研究提供一个框架，如体型、运动和进食机制的变化。 这项研究还将测试方法，包括已知的物种只从幼年标本的系统发育分析，这将有潜在的广泛应用到其他群体。 最后，禽龙类动物地理学的模式（通过时间和空间的进化）将有助于更好地理解中生代脊椎动物的地理学模式。

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.