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Christian-Sidor

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Christian Sidor
Professor
casidor@u.washington.edu
LSB
(206) 221-4181
Not accepting graduate students
Fields of interest
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics, Natural History, Paleobiology, Phylogenetics

Vertebrate Evolution during the Permian and Triassic

Origin of Mammals
 The synapsid lineage includes modern mammals and all of their extinct relatives. This lineage is remarkably ancient, dating minimally to the Middle Pennsylvanian (~300 Ma). The earliest synapsids (such as the familiar sailback, Dimetrodon) were "reptilian" in overall cast (e.g., ectothermic physiology, simple teeth, sprawling posture, etc.), but within 100 million years nearly all of the anatomical features that characterize mammals were in place. In what sequence were these mammalian features evolved? What was the rate at which these characters were acquired? Were these features evolved once or independently in multiple groups? The bulk of my research has been devoted to gathering detailed anatomical and phylogenetic data to address these questions in a quantitative framework.

Paleobiogeography of Pangea
The largest mass extinction in Earth history occurred at the end of the Permian, roughly 251 Ma. Although the cause of this catastrophe has been difficult to pin down, its effects on terrestrial ecosystems are clearly seen in the fossil record. To date, most of the data on extinction and survivorship for this critical interval come from the Karoo Basin of South Africa. However, this restricted geographic and sedimentary area constrains the degree to which broader statements can be made about global patterns of tetrapod evolution. For this reason, I have been actively involved in fieldwork that expands the geographic coverage of Permian and Triassic localities. Recent exploration in Antarctica, Tanzania, Zambia, and Niger have produced fossils that change the way paleontologists view Pangean faunas.

BS - Trinity College, CT
MS - University of Chicago
PhD - University of Chicago
PostDoc - National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

The first biarmosuchian from the upper Madumabisa Mudstone Formation (Luangwa Basin) of Zambia., Sidor, C. A. , Palaeontologia Africana, Volume 49, p.1–7, (2015)
Permian and Triassic dicynodont (Therapsida: Anomodontia) faunas of the Luangwa Basin, Zambia: taxonomic update and implications for dicynodont biogeography and biostratigraphy., Angielczyk, K. D., Steyer J. - S., Sidor C. A., Smith R. M. H., Whatley R. L., and Tolan S. , Early evolutionary history of the Synapsida., New York, p.93-138, (2014)
A new capitosauroid temnospondyl from the Middle Triassic upper Fremouw Formation of Antarctica, Sidor, C. A., Steyer J. S., and Hammer W. R. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 34, Number 3, p.539–548, (2014)
New Middle Triassic tetrapods from the upper Fremouw Formation of Antarctica and their depositional setting., Sidor, C. A., Smith R. M. H., Huttenlocker A. K., and Peecook B. R. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 34, Number 4, p.793–801, (2014)
New dicynodonts (Therapsida, Anomodontia) and updated tetrapod stratigraphy of the Permian Ruhuhu Formation (Songea Group, Ruhuhu Basin) of southern Tanzania., Angielczyk, K. D., Huertas S., Smith R. M. H., Tabor N. J., Sidor C. A., Steyer J. S., Tsuji L. A., and Gostling N. J. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 34, p.1408–1426, (2014)
A new archosaur from the Manda beds (Anisian, Middle Triassic) of southern Tanzania and its implications for character optimizations at Archosauria and Pseudosuchia., Nesbitt, S. J., Sidor C. A., Angielczyk K. D., Smith R. M. H., and Tsuji L. A. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 34, Number 6, p.1357–1382, (2014)
Tapinocephalids (Therapsida: Dinocephalia) from the Permian Madumabisa Mudstone Formation (Lower Karoo, Mid-Zambezi Basin) of southern Zambia, Sidor, C. A., Angielczyk K. D., Smith R. M. H., Goulding A. K., Nesbitt S. J., Peecook B. R., Steyer J. S., and Tolan S. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 34, Number 4, p.980–986, (2014)
A new silesaurid from the upper Ntawere Formation of Zambia (Middle Triassic) demonstrates the rapid diversification of Silesauridae (Avemetarsalia: Dinosauriformes)., Peecook, B. R., Sidor C. A., Nesbitt S. J., Smith R. M. H., Steyer J. S., and Angielczyk K. D. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 33, p.1127-1137, (2013)
The vertebrate fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger — VII. Cranial anatomy and relationships of Bunostegos akokanensis (Pareiasauria)., Tsuji, L. A., Sidor C. A., Steyer J. S., Smith R. M. H., Tabor N. J., and Ide O. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 33, p.747-763, (2013)
The oldest dinosaur? A Middle Triassic dinosauriform from Tanzania., Nesbitt, S. J., Barrett P. M., Werning S., Sidor C. A., and Charig A. J. , Biology Letters, Volume doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.0949, (2013)
Bivalve network reveals latitudinal selectivity gradient at the end-Cretaceous mass extinction., Vilhena, D. A., Harris E. B., Bergstrom C. T., Maliska M. E., Ward P. D., Sidor C. A., Strömberg C. A. E., and Wilson G. P. , Scientific Reports, Volume 3, p.doi:10.1038/srep01790, (2013)
Provincialization of terrestrial faunas following the end-Permian mass extinction., Sidor, C. A., Vilhena D. A., Angielczyk K. D., Huttenlocker A. K., Nesbitt S. J., Peecook B. R., Steyer J. S., Smith R. M. H., and Tsuji L. A. , Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA, Volume 110, p.8129-8133, (2013)
First record of a tapinocephalid (Therapsida: Dinocephalia) from the Ruhuhu Formation (Songea Group) of southern Tanzania, Simon, R. V., Sidor C. A., Angielczyk K. D., and Smith R. M. H. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2010, Volume 30, p.1289–1293, (2010)
Tetrapod fauna of the lowermost Usili Formation (Songea Group, Ruhuhu Basin) of southern Tanzania, with a new burnetiid record, Sidor, C. A., Angielczyk K. D., Weide D. M., Smith R. M. H., Nesbitt S. J., and Tsuji L. A. , Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2010, Volume 30, p.696-703, (2010)
Ecologically distinct dinosaurian sister group shows early diversification of Ornithodira, Nesbitt, S. J., Sidor C. A., Irmis R. B., Angielczyk K. D., Smith R. M. H., and Tsuji L. A. , Nature, 2010, Volume 464, p.95-98, (2010)
The Triassic dicynodont Kombuisia (Synapsida, Anomodontia) from Antarctica, a refuge from the terrestrial Permo-Triassic mass extinction, Frobisch, J., Angielczyk K. D., and Sidor C. A. , Naturwissenschaften, 2010, Volume 97, p.187-196, (2010)
Permo-Triassic arthropod trace fossils from the Beardmore Glacier area, central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica, Briggs, D. E. G., Miller M. F., Isbell J. L., and Sidor C. A. , Antarctic Science, 2010, Volume 22, p.185-192, (2010)