Evolutionary Diversification within Lepidosauromorpha: The Origins, Phylogeny, and Adaptive Radiations of Squamates

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My research program is dedicated to furthering our understanding of the origin, evolution, and phylogenetic relationships of fossil and living snakes, lizards and amphisbaenians, collectively known as the Squamata. Consistent with past research, my philosophical and methodological approach will focus on the dataset of comparative anatomy present in all fossil and living squamates, with an emphasis on observations from largely ignored fossil taxa. The importance of the fossil record as a source of data on anatomical novelty cannot be overstated, and my lab is dedicated to discovering and disseminating the value and importance of that data set to our understanding of evolutionary patterns and processes. My research approach uses all available evidence from fossils, for example, their anatomy, biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography, etc., in the construction of hypotheses, along with all available data from living snakes and lizards (anatomy through to molecules). Student mentoring and training is key to each research project described in this proposal. My collaborative work with my students and external collaborators is broken down into seventeen distinct research projects: ten major projects for Doctoral students (current and future); three smaller projects for Masters students and a Postdoctoral Fellow, and four small scale studies focused on recently discovered specimens; publications describing these new fossils and their phylogenetic relationships will have a significant impact on our understanding of squamate evolution. Major projects examine big picture questions on snake evolution, the evolution and systematics of mosasaurs, and new directions in my research program, the evolution and systematics of borioteioids, macrocephalosaurs, and iguanian lizards, specifically the marine iguana from the Galapagos Islands. Snake projects will build on my previous investigations of fossil snakes from Argentina, blind burrowing snakes known as scolecophidians, and a newly described Cretacous snake from India; mosasaur projects are designed to examine in detail the diversity and disparity of taxa assigned to major groups of mosasaurs and pythonomorphs, and explore processes of secondary aquatic adaptation. The research activities proposed here will continue my long term study of the large scale patterns of diversification and radiation between various groups of squamates and the larger group they are derived from. In addition, my research group of students and external collaborators will continue to explore a research field, largely generated within my lab group, focused on comparative dental histology and tooth attachment in extinct and extant amniote tetrapods. A proposed project will focus on snake dental ontogeny, but the long term goal is to collect data on tooth implantation and histology in all vertebrates.