Jeffrey A. Wilson
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Jeffrey A. Wilson, also known as JAW, is a
paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
and
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
geological sciences Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...
and assistant curator at the Museum of Paleontology at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
. His
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
dissertation was on
sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...
evolution and
phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...
, and he has continued this work in
cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...
analysis and revision of the group (see e.g. Wilson and Sereno 1994, 1998, Wilson 2005b, and especially Wilson 2002). With
Paul Sereno Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco and Niger. ...
, he defined the
clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
s
Macronaria Macronaria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs. Macronarians are named after the large diameter of the nasal opening of their skull, known as the external naris, which exceeded the size of the orbit, the skull opening where the eye is located (hence ...
and Somphospondyli (Wilson & Sereno 1998). Wilson was also involved in the discovery and description of '' Pabwehshi pakistanensis'', the first discovery of decent (diagnostic)
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
crocodylia Crocodilia () is an Order (biology), order of semiaquatic, predatory reptiles that are known as crocodilians. They first appeared during the Late Cretaceous and are the closest living relatives of birds. Crocodilians are a type of crocodylomorp ...
n fossil remains from the Indian subcontinent, in the discovery of '' Rajasaurus narmadensis'', the most completely known
theropod Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodom ...
dinosaur from India and a member of the family Abelisauridae, description of a number of North African dinosaurs (theropods and sauropods) from
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, and rediscriptions of the Cretaceous sauropods '' Titanosaurus colberti'' (as '' Isisaurus'') and '' Nemegtosaurus'' (previously thought to be a diplodocoid, but now recognised as a
titanosaur Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thr ...
). His younger brother, Dr. Gregory P. Wilson, studies Mesozoic
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s and is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
, and adjunct curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.


List of dinosaurs named


Bibliography

* Wilson, J. A. and Sereno, P. C. (1994) Higher-level phylogeny of sauropod dinosaurs. ''
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology The ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1980 by Jiri Zidek (University of Oklahoma). It covers all aspects of vertebrate paleontology, including vertebrate origins, evolu ...
'', Supplement 14:52A. * Wilson, J.A. & Sereno, P.C. (1998). Early evolution and Higher-level phylogeny of sauropod dinosaurs. ''Society of Vertebrate Paleontology'', Memoir 5, 1-68. (includes definitions of the clades Macronaria and Somphospondyli) * Sereno, P. C., Beck, A.L., Dutheil, D.B., Gado, B., Larsson, H.C.E., Lyon, G.H., Marcot, J. D., Rauhut, O. W. M., Sadleir, R.W., Sidor, C.A., Varricchio, D.J., Wilson, G. P. & Wilson, J. A. 1998. A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from Africa and the evolution of spinosaurids. ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'' 282:1298-1302
document in pdf format
(description of ''Suchomimus'', and spinosaur relationships) * Wilson, J. A. and M. T. Carrano, (1999). Titanosaurs and the origin of 'wide-gauge' trackways: a biomechanical and systematic perspective on sauropod locomotion.
Paleobiology Paleobiology (or palaeobiology) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods and findings found in both the earth sciences and the life sciences. An investigator in this field is known as a paleobiologist. Paleobiology is closely ...
25:252-267. (Titanosaurs had a different gait to earlier sauropods - the legs are spaced further apart, may have facilitated tripodal feeding) * Wilson, J. A., R. N. Martinez & O. Alcober. (1999). Distal tail segment of a titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mendoza, Argentina. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 19:591-594. * Wilson, J A. (1999). A nomenclature for vertebral laminae in sauropods and other saurischian dinosaurs. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 19(4):639-653. ( vertebral laminae can play an important role in sauropod classification) * Wilson, J.A. (1999) The evolution and phylogeny of sauropod dinosaurs. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, 384pp n 2 vols.* Sereno, P.C., Beck, A.L., Dutheil, D.B., Larsson, H.C.E., Lyon, G.H., Moussa, B., Sadleir, R.W., Sidor, C.A., Varricchio, D.J., Wilson, G. P. & Wilson, J. A., (1999), Cretaceous Sauropods from the Sahara and the Uneven Rate of Skeletal Evolution Among Dinosaurs, ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'' 286(5443): 1342-1347 (Nov 12 1999) (describes two new African sauropods: ''Jobaria tiguidensis'', a late persisting primitive sauropod, and ''Nigersaurus taqueti'', a Rebbachisaur)) * Wilson, J.A., Malkani, M.S., and Gingerich, P.D. (2001) New crocodyliform (Reptilia, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Upper Cretaceous Pab Formation of Vitakri, Balochistan (Pakistan). ''Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology'', University of Michigan 30(12): 321–336. (on ''Pabwehshi pakistanensis'') * Wilson, J.A. (2002) Sauropod dinosaur phylogeny: critique and cladistic analysis, ''
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering zoology published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Linnean Society. The editor-in-chief is Maarten Christenhusz (Linnean Society) ...
'' 136(2):215-275 (a detailed cladistic analysis of sauropod phylogeny) * Wilson, J.A. and Upchurch, P (2003) A revision of ''Titanosaurus'' Lydekker (Dinosauria-Sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a "Gondwanan" distribution, ''
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology The ''Journal of Systematic Palaeontology'' (Print: , online: ) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of palaeontology published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the British Natural History Museum. , the editor-in-chief is Paul D. Taylor. The ...
'' Volume 1 Issue 3 - September 2003 (a revision of 14 species of the genus ''Titanosaurus'' shows that only five of these are valid. The
type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
''T. indicus'' is considered a ''
nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...
'', and therefore the abandonment of suprageneric
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
based on it - e.g. Titanosaurinae, Titanosauridae, and Titanosauroidea - is suggested. The species ''T. colberti'' is renamed ''Isisaurus colberti'') * Wilson, J.A., Sereno, P.C., Srivastava, S., Bhatt, D.K., Khosla, A. and Sahni, A. (2003) A new abelisaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lameta Formation (Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of India. ''Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology'', University of Michigan 31(1):1-42 (description of ''Rajasaurus narmadensis'') * Wilson, J.A. (2005). Redescription of the Mongolian sauropod ''Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis'' Nowinski (Dinosauria: Saurischia) and comments on Late Cretaceous sauropod diversity. ''Journal of Systematic Palaeontology'' 3: 283–318. (shows that ''Nemegtosaurus'' and '' Quaesitosaurus'' are closely related and belong to the titanosaur group, rather than the diplodocoidea; redefines the family Nemegtosauridae. Se
New Nemegtosaurus paper
for more. * Curry Rogers, K. A. and Wilson, J.A. 2005, ''The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology'',
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
, Berkeley, * Wilson, J.A. (2005b) "Overview of Sauropod Phylogeny and Evolution", in ''The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology'' (broad overview of phylogenetic characteristics and evolution development of the main sauropod
clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
s, also
phylocode The ''International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature'', known as the ''PhyloCode'' for short, is a formal set of rules governing phylogenetic nomenclature. Its current version is specifically designed to regulate the naming of clades, leaving the ...
-style definitions for each clade. * Wilson, J. A. and Sereno, P. C. (2005) "Structure and Evolution of a Sauropod Tooth Battery" in ''The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology'' (''Nigersaurus'' skull and dentition, illustrating Rebbachisaur feeding adaptations) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jeffrey A. American paleontologists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American curators University of Michigan staff