DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Phylogeny and Cretaceous Biogeography of Gondwanan Mesoeucrocodylia

鳄鱼是现存鳄鱼的祖先，是陆生和水生脊椎动物的一个极其多样化的群体，代表着一个理想的、但经常被忽视的生物地理分析分类学群体。在采样较少的南半球大陆上发现了大量新的鳄鱼化石，这将有助于填补有关南超大陆冈瓦那生物地理和板块构造史方面的重大知识空白。不幸的是，鳄形动物的进化关系仍然悬而未决，因此阻碍了有意义的生物地理解释。该项目旨在通过系统发育分析阐明鳄鱼类的进化史；它涉及对先前描述的鳄鱼类物种的批判性重新检查，并将新物种纳入综合分析。鉴于脊椎动物化石对公众的可及性，这项研究为更广泛的受众提供了一种将进化和生物地理问题联系起来的机制。此外，这项研究将通过制作化石铸件和详细的形态描述、图像和CT扫描来为未来的研究做出贡献，供其他研究人员使用。为该项目制作的系统发育数据集将为今后鳄鱼类进化关系的工作奠定基础。这项研究还将通过比较分析对生物地理分析中的竞争方法进行批判性比较，这将为正在进行的研究提供基础。

Crocodyliforms, ancestors of living crocodiles, were an incredibly diverse group of terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates that represent an ideal, but often overlooked, taxonomic group for biogeographic analyses. An abundance of new crocodyliform fossils from poorly sampled southern hemisphere landmasses promises to assist in addressing major gaps in knowledge concerning the biogeographic and plate tectonic history of the southern supercontinent Gondwana. Unfortunately, the evolutionary relationships of crocodyliforms are still unsettled, thus preventing meaningful biogeographic interpretation. This project seeks to clarify the evolutionary history of crocodyliforms through phylogenetic analysis; it involves critical reexamination of previously described crocodyliform species and the inclusion of new species in a comprehensive analysis.Given the accessibility of fossil vertebrates to the public, this study provides an engaging mechanism for relating evolutionary and biogeographic questions to a wider audience. Moreover, this study will contribute to future research through the production of fossil casts and detailed morphological descriptions, images, and CT scans to be made available to other researchers. The phylogenetic dataset produced for this project will form the foundation for future work in crocodyliform evolutionary relationships. This study will also critically compare competing methods in biogeographic analysis through a comparative analysis that will provide the groundwork for ongoing investigations.