Susan E. Evans
Encyclopedia
Susan E. Evans is British
paleontologist and herpetologist. She is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.
She received a BSc
in Zoology
at Bedford College in 1974, and in 1977 a Ph.D in vertebrate palaeontology from the University College London
. In 1980 she was Assistant Professor in biology at the University College of Bahrain
and went continued as a lecturer in Anatomy at Middlesex Hospital Medical School. She was also Senior Lecturer with the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at the University College, London In 2003, she became a Professor of Vertebrate Morphology and Palaeontology at University College London.
s, amphibians
and their extinct relatives. In particular the research focuses on the implications of the above with regards to macroevolution, phylogenetic relationships, function, palaeoecology, and biogeography. Along with Michael Benton
and Jacques Gauthier
, she was one of the pioneers of applying cladistic methodology
to reptile (especially Lepidosaurian
) evolutionary relationships.
Beginning in 2001, Dr Evans became involved in the Mahajanga Basin Project which was conducted jointly with the University of Antananarivo. In investigating the Maevarano Formation
, the researchers established Madagascar
as having some of the most complete and scientifically significant fossils of Late Cretaceous vertebrates in the southern hemisphere. Along with her colleague Marc E. H. Jones, Evans worked on the evolutionary relationships of the giant prehistoric frog Beelzebufo ampinga
that was discovered by Dr David Krause
of Stony Brook University.
Professor Evans is a Fellow of the Linnean Society
and a Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society
. Her research has also been supported by the Royal Society, The Leverhulme Trust, the National Geographic Society
, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
.
In 2008, a newly described Eocene Agamid
lizard Vastanagama susani was named in her honor. The squamata
n clade
"Evansauria" has also been named after her.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
paleontologist and herpetologist. She is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.
She received a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
at Bedford College in 1974, and in 1977 a Ph.D in vertebrate palaeontology from the University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
. In 1980 she was Assistant Professor in biology at the University College of Bahrain
University College of Bahrain
University College of Bahrain is a private university located in Bahrain established in 2002. The University offers Programs in Business administration, Information Technology, and Graphic Design in addition to programs at Graduate level...
and went continued as a lecturer in Anatomy at Middlesex Hospital Medical School. She was also Senior Lecturer with the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at the University College, London In 2003, she became a Professor of Vertebrate Morphology and Palaeontology at University College London.
Research
Her research focuses on the evolution of key morphological features in lizardLizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, amphibians
Lissamphibia
The subclass Lissamphibia includes all recent amphibians and means smooth amphibia.Extant amphibians fall into one of three orders — the Anura , the Caudata or Urodela , and the Gymnophiona or Apoda .Although the ancestry of each group is still unclear, all share certain common characteristics,...
and their extinct relatives. In particular the research focuses on the implications of the above with regards to macroevolution, phylogenetic relationships, function, palaeoecology, and biogeography. Along with Michael Benton
Michael J. Benton
Michael J. Benton is a British paleontologist, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and professor of vertebrate palaeontology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol....
and Jacques Gauthier
Jacques Gauthier
Jacques Armand Gauthier is a vertebrate paleontologist, comparative morphologist, and systematist, and one of the founders of the use of cladistics in biology....
, she was one of the pioneers of applying cladistic methodology
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
to reptile (especially Lepidosaurian
Lepidosauromorpha
Lepidosauromorpha is a group of reptiles comprising all diapsids closer to lizards than to archosaurs . The only living sub-group is the Lepidosauria: extant lizards, snakes, and tuatara...
) evolutionary relationships.
Beginning in 2001, Dr Evans became involved in the Mahajanga Basin Project which was conducted jointly with the University of Antananarivo. In investigating the Maevarano Formation
Maevarano Formation
The Maevarano Formation is an Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rock formation found in the Mahajanga Province of northwestern Madagascar. It is most likely Maastrichtian in age, and records a seasonal, semiarid environment with rivers that had greatly varying discharges...
, the researchers established Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
as having some of the most complete and scientifically significant fossils of Late Cretaceous vertebrates in the southern hemisphere. Along with her colleague Marc E. H. Jones, Evans worked on the evolutionary relationships of the giant prehistoric frog Beelzebufo ampinga
Beelzebufo
Beelzebufo ampinga was a particularly large species of prehistoric frog first identified in 2007. Common names assigned by the popular media include "Devil Frog", "Devil Toad", and "The Frog From Hell"...
that was discovered by Dr David Krause
David W. Krause
David W. Krause is a Canadian-born vertebrate paleontologist currently working as a Distinguished Service Professor at the Stony Brook University Department of Anatomical Sciences. His work primarily focuses on fossils from the Cretaceous period of Madagascar, and he often travels to the island to...
of Stony Brook University.
Professor Evans is a Fellow of the Linnean Society
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
and a Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats...
. Her research has also been supported by the Royal Society, The Leverhulme Trust, the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is a UK Research Council and NDPB and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience...
.
In 2008, a newly described Eocene Agamid
Agamidae
Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Phylogenetically they may be sister to the Iguanidae, and have a similar appearance. Agamids usually have...
lizard Vastanagama susani was named in her honor. The squamata
Squamata
Squamata, or the scaled reptiles, is the largest recent order of reptiles, including lizards and snakes. Members of the order are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making it possible to move the upper jaw relative to the...
n clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
"Evansauria" has also been named after her.
Selected bibliography
- Evans SE. 1980. The skull of a new eosuchian reptile from the Lower Jurassic of South Wales. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 70: 203–264.
- Evans SE. 1984. The classification of the Lepidosauria. Zool.J.Linn.Soc. 82: 87–100.
- Evans SE, Milner AR, Musett F. 1988. The earliest known salamanders (Amphibia, Caudata): a record from the Middle Jurassic of England. Geobios 21: 539–552.
- Evans SE 1995 General introduction: heart. Grays Anatomy, 38th Edition. Churchill Livingstone, pp 1472–1474.
- Evans SE. 2002. Reptiles. In The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians, Halliday T & Adler K (eds). Andromeda Press, Oxford. pp. 98–105.
- Jones MEH, Evans SE, Sigogneau-Russell D. 2003. Cretaceous frogs from Morocco. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 72: 65–97.
- Evans SE. 2008. The skull of lizards and tuatara. In Biology of the Reptilia, Vol.20, Morphology H: the skull of Lepidosauria, Gans C, Gaunt A S, Adler K. (eds). Ithica, New York, Society for the study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
- Evans SE, Borsuk-Bialynicka M. 2009. [palaeontologia.pan.pl/PP65/PP65_079-106.pdf The Early Triassic stem-frog Czatkobatrachus from Poland]. Palaeontologica Polonica 65: 79–105.
- Evans SE. 2009. An early kuehneosaurid reptile (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Early Triassic of Poland. Palaeontologica Polonica 65: 145-178.
- Evans SE, Borsuk-Bialynicka M. 2009. A small lepidosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic of Poland. Palaeontologica Polonica 65: 179–202.
- Borsuk-Bialynicka M, Evans SE. 2009. A long-necked archosauromorph from the Early Triassic of Poland. Palaeontologica Polonica 65: 203–234.
- Borsuk-Bialynicka M, Evans SE. 2009. Cranial and mandibular osteology of the Early Triassic archosauriform Osmolskina czatkowicensis from Poland. Palaeontologica Polonica 65: 235–281.
- Evans SE, Jones MEH. 2010. The Origin, early history and diversification of lepidosauromorph reptiles. In Bandyopadhyay S. (ed.), New Aspects of Mesozoic Biodiversity, 27 Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences 132, 27-44.
- Curtis N, Jones MEH, Lappin AK, Evans SE, O’Higgins P, Fagan MJ. 2010. Comparison between in vivo and theoretical bite performance: Using multi-body modelling to predict muscle and biteforces in a reptile skull. Journal of Biomechanics doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.05.037