Education

Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1998
M.S. University of Chicago, 1995
B.S. Brown University, 1991

Research Interests

I. Dinosaur Evolution and the Fossil Record
I am particularly interested in large-scale evolutionary patterns within the Dinosauria. This diverse, long-lived vertebrate group (even excluding avian members) dominated terrestrial habitats worldwide from the Late Triassic through to the end of the Cretaceous. Thus they provide an interesting and instructive parallel for the Cenozoic radiation of mammals, permitting exploration of such evolutionary patterns as Cope's Rule (increasing body size), the cursorial-graviportal locomotor gradient, and biogeographic scenarios associated with continental fragmentation. My work focuses on using dinosaur phylogeny to track these evolutionary changes, both throughout the group and within specific clades (e.g., sauropods). Numerous similarities between mammalian and dinosaurian patterns are evident, particularly with regard to size and locomotion, but exceptions highlight potentially important biological differences between these two major clades. I also integrate information from the vast dinosaur ichnological record into these studies.

Associated with this work, I participate in the Vertebrate Paleontology Working Group, which is assembling the vertebrate component of the Paleobiology Database (PBDB). The PBDB will ultimately provide full internet access to all published vertebrate fossil localities for any researcher worldwide. Because the database also includes records of marine invertebrates, taphonomy, and fossil plants, it holds great potential for the exploration of innumerable macroevolutionary patterns. To date, more than 4000 dinosaur-bearing localities have been entered into the PBDB, which can be analyzed and downloaded by any visitor or researcher. This dataset has allowed me to study and quantify many aspects of the dinosaur fossil record in detail, including the group’s diversity and geographic history, as well as the effects of sampling biases.

Collaborators: John Alroy and the Vertebrate Paleontology Working Group (National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, CA); Jeffrey Wilson (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

II. Dinosaur Phylogeny and Exploration
Currently I am completing a major reevaluation of the phylogeny of basal (non-coelurosaur) theropods, with an emphasis on the relationships of ceratosaurs. This work is based on first-hand observations of nearly all basal theropod specimens worldwide, and provides an opportunity to employ a variety of additional data (including stratigraphic) in testing the robustness of the theropod tree. In addition, the diversity and temporal longevity of ceratosaurs affords them relevance for understanding biogeographic and other trends in dinosaur evolution.

My phylogenetic work includes a substantial component dedicated to understanding new theropod taxa from Madagascar (e.g., Majungasaurus and Masiakasaurus) and their relatives (abelisaurids and noasaurids, respectively). I have participated in two Stony Brook University/Université d'Antananarive expeditions to the Late Cretaceous Maevarano Formation in the Mahajunga Basin of northwestern Madagascar, led by Dr. David Krause. In addition, in 2004 I led a Smithsonian expedition to look for underlying Early Cretaceous terrestrial deposits. These formations hold the potential to greatly clarify our understanding of Gondwanan dinosaur evolution, because they represent a currently unsampled interval in the Malagasy record.

Collaborators: Scott Sampson and Mark Loewen (University of Utah, Salt Lake City), Oliver Rauhut (Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich)

III. Functional Morphology and Locomotion
I have a longstanding interest in the functional morphology and biomechanics of vertebrate locomotion. In the past, I used experimental data gathered from extant birds and mammals to draw conclusions about locomotor habits in extinct vertebrates, particularly dinosaurs. This included a reappraisal of the role of torsion in vertebrate limbs, as well as a new and more explicit evaluation of the relationship between limb morphology and locomotor habit. In summary, data from extant taxa suggest that most dinosaurs were broadly similar in general locomotor habit, and that the unique hindlimb locomotor system seen in modern birds probably evolved after the origin of flight, in conjunction with a major reduction in body size. Similarities in macroevolutionary patterns of locomotor morphology between dinosaurs and mammals may shed light on the underlying selective pressures driving these trends.

Recently, I have collaborated on more disparate functional projects. These included finite-element analyses of the mechanics and morphology of dinosaur phalanges, and phylogenetic and morphometric studies of locomotor evolution in plesiosaurs.

Collaborators: Karen Moreno (University of New South Wales, Sydney), Robin O'Keefe (Marshall University, Huntington, WV)

Current and Former Research Assistants, Post-doctoral Fellows and Students

Pre-Doctoral:

• Robert V. Hill, Ph.D. (2004), Stony Brook University, external committee member
• Keith Metzger, Ph.D. (2005), Stony Brook University, external committee member
• Margaret I. Hall, Ph.D. (2005), Stony Brook University, external committee member
• Karen Moreno, Ph.D. (2005), University of Bristol, co-advisor
• Mark A. Loewen Ph.D. (expected 2007), University of Utah, external committee member

Undergraduate Interns:

• Jorge Velez-Juarbe, B.S. (expected 2007), University of Puerto Rico
• Kaitlin Maguire, B.A. (2005), The George Washington University
• Jessica Walden, B.S. (expected 2009), The George Washington University/Cornell University
• Matthew Oreska, B.A. (expected 2007), The College of William & Mary

Affiliations:

• 2005-present: Scientific Board of Directors, The Jurassic Foundation
• 2005-present: Advisory Board, Paleobiology Database, National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis, Santa Barbara, CA
• 2003-present: Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Group, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• 2000-present: Vertebrate Paleontology Working Group, Paleobiology Database, National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis, Santa Barbara, CA
• 1999-2002: Research Associate, Department of Geology, Field Museum, Chicago, IL

Positions Held :

• 2003-present: Adjunct Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University
• 1998-2003: Research Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, NY
• 1998-2002: Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Geology, Field Museum, Chicago, IL

Recent Grants

• 2006: Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund Award: "Conservation of the Fossil Reptile and Amphibian Collections"
• 2003-2004: Smithsonian Walcott Fund: "Evolutionary Patterns in Late Jurassic Dinosaurs of North America"
• 2002-2004: National Geographic Society: "Medial Cretaceous Vertebrate Faunas of Madagascar"
• 2001-2003: Jurassic Foundation (with J. A. Wilson, co-PI): "From Sauropoden to Sauropods: Translating the Works of Werner Janensch"
• 1999-2003: National Science Foundation Grant, Systematic Biology (with S. D. Sampson, co-PI): "Osteology and Phylogeny of Basal Theropod Dinosaurs"
• 1999-2003: Jurassic Foundation: "The Role of Subdivided Muscles in the Archosaur Hind Limb"

Editorial Service

• 2006-present: Content Review Board, Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press
• 2003-2006: Technical Editor, Journal of Paleontology
• 2000-2003: Associate Editor, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
• 2000: Guest Editor, "Dinosaurs" issue, Odyssey Magazine, Cobblestone Press

Field Work

• 2003-present: Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous interval of the Western Interior, North America [view the 2003 and 2004 field seasons]
• 1999-2004: Cretaceous deposits of the Mahajanga Basin, northwestern Madagascar [view the 2004 field season]

Selected Publications

Research Papers

Carrano, M. T. & J. Velez-Juarbe. 2006. Paleoecology of the Quarry 9 vertebrate assemblage from Como Bluff, Wyoming (Morrison Formation, Late Jurassic). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 237(2-4):147-159.

Carrano, M. T. 2006. Body-size evolution in the Dinosauria. In M. T. Carrano , R. W. Blob, T. J. Gaudin & J. R. Wible (eds.), Amniote Paleobiology: Perspectives on the Evolution of Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles. University of Chicago Press, Chicago:225-268.

Carrano, M. T., J. R. Hutchinson & S. D. Sampson. 2005. New information on Segisaurus halli, a small theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of Arizona. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(4):835-849

Carrano, M. T. 2005. The evolution of sauropod locomotion: morphological diversity of a secondarily quadrupedal radiation. In K. A. Curry Rogers & J. A. Wilson (eds.),--> The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology. University of California Press, Berkeley:229-251.

O’Keefe, F. R. & M. T. Carrano . 2005. Correlated trends in the evolution of the plesiosaur locomotor system. Paleobiology 31(4):353-375

Carrano, M. T. & S. D. Sampson. 2004. A review of coelophysoids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of Europe, with comments on the late history of the Coelophysoidea. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paláontologie Monatshefte 2004(9):537-558.

Carrano, M. T. & J. R. Hutchinson. 2002. The pelvic and hind limb musculature of Tyrannosaurus rex (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Morphology 253(3):207-228.

Carrano, M. T., S. D. Sampson & C. A. Forster. 2002. The osteology of Masiakasaurus knopfleri, a small abelisauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(3):510-534.

Carrano, M. T. & J. A. Wilson. 2001. Taxon distributions and the tetrapod track record. Paleobiology 27(3):563-581.

Sampson, S. D., M. T. Carrano & C. A Forster. 2001. A bizarre new predatory dinosaur from Madagascar. Nature 409:504-506.

Carrano, M. T. 2001. Homoplasy and the evolution of dinosaur locomotion. Paleobiology 26(3):474-497.

Edited Volume

M. T. Carrano , R. W. Blob, T. J. Gaudin & J. R. Wible (eds.). 2006. Amniote Paleobiology: Perspectives on the Evolution of Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles. University of Chicago Press, Chicago:547 pp.