Robert R. Reisz

Robert R. Reisz
Current position and past experience:
Professor, Department of Biology, University of Toronto
Research Associate at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (since
1975), the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh (since
1980), and the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (since
1998).
Senior Visiting Scientist at the Paleontological Institute of the
Russian Academy of Science, Moscow (1989–2003)
Invited Professor at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris
(2000–2003).
Bass Fellowship of the Field Museum of Natural History (1998–2000)
Wilson Fellowship of the University of London, King’s College (2000–2001)
Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2006–2008)
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)(2007~)
Senior Editor (2006-current) of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, published by the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Education: Ph.D., McGill University
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 905-828-5364
Lab Phone: 905-828-3980 / 3982
Fax: 905-828-3792
Office: 3031
Lab: 3016
Address: Department of Biology
University of Toronto at Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Road N
Mississauga , Ontario
Canada , L5L 1C6
Web Page: http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3reisz/
Robert Rafael Reisz is a Canadian paleontologist and specialist in the study of early
amniote and tetrapod evolution. Robert Reisz was born August 27, 1947, in Oradea,
Romania. He received his B.Sc. (1969), M.Sc. (1971) and Ph.D. (1975) from McGill
University as Robert L. Carroll’s first doctoral graduate. After teaching as visiting
lecturer at University of California, Los Angeles for a year, he accepted an appointment
in the Biology Department at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga Campus in 1975
where he still maintains his research lab. His research has been funded continuously by
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He
conducted field work in North America, Africa, and Europe, where he excavated fossils
from the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. These excavations were frequently
funded by the National Geographic Society.
Dr. Reisz has broad interests in vertebrate paleontology. He has published more than 100
scientific articles on subjects as diverse as lungfish and dinosaurs, but is best known for
his work on early amniotes. His research includes a number of groundbreaking
discoveries, including the oldest known dinosaur embryos, the oldest known bipedal
reptile, and the oldest known diapsid reptile.
His achievements have been recognized by the scientific community and various
professional societies and institutions. Dr. Reisz is Research Associate at the Royal
Ontario Museum, Toronto (since 1975), the Carnegie Museum of Natural History,
Pittsburgh (since 1980), and the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (since 1998).
He was Senior Visiting Scientist at the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy
of Science, Moscow (1989–2003) and Invited Professor at the Muséum national
d'Histoire naturelle, Paris (2000–2003). Among others he received the Bass Fellowship of
the Field Museum of Natural History (1998–2000), the Visiting Wilson Fellowship of the
University of London, King’s College (2000–2001), and a Research Award from the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2006–2008). In 2007, Dr. Reisz was honored by
the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was recognized
as Fellow. He is Senior Editor (2006-current) of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology,
published by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Research Interests:
Vertebrate Paleontology. During much of my career I have studied the anatomy,
phylogeny and relationships of Paleozoic amniotes. These fossils not only record the first
successful adaptation of vertebrates to a fully terrestrial mode of life, but are also at the
base of subsequent adaptive radiations that eventually gave rise to modern reptiles, birds
and mammals. These fossils therefore provide a unique opportunity for studies of the
origin and evolutionary radiation of all amniotes. I have also studied the anatomy,
embryology and growth, and evolutionary relationships of a variety of other vertebrates,
including lungfish, dissorophoid amphibians, diadectomorph tetrapods, and basal
dinosaurs.
Selected publications
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Reisz, R. R. and Head, J. J. (2008) Turtle origins out to sea. Nature 456:450-451.
Anderson, J, Reisz, R.R., Scott, D., Fröbisch, N., and Sumida, S. S. (2008) A stem
batrachian from the Early Permian of Texas and the origin of frogs and
salamanders. Nature 453: 515-518.
Reisz, R. R. (2007) Cranial anatomy of basal diadectomorphs and the origin of
amniotes. pp 351-377. In J.S. Anderson and H-D Sü s (eds), Major Transitions in
Vertebrate Evolution (Life of the Past). Indiana University Press.
Evans, D. C., C. A. Forster, and R. R. Reisz. (2005) The type specimen
ofTetragonosaurus erectofrons and the taxonomic identity of juvenile
lambeosaurines (Ornithischia: Hadrosauridae) from the Dinosaur Park Formation,
Alberta, Canada. In Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem
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Revealed (P. J. Currie and E. B. Koppelhus, eds), Indiana University Press,
Bloomington.
Reisz, R. R., Scott, D., Sues, H.-D., Evans, D. C. and Raath, M. A. (2005)
Embryos of an Early Jurassic prosauropod dinosaur and their evolutionary
significance. Science 309: 761-764.
Reisz, R. R. and Smith, M.M. (2001) Lungfish dental pattern conserved for 360
million years. Nature 411: 548-550.
Rybczynski, N and Reisz, R.R. (2001) Earliest evidence for efficient oral
processing in a terrestrial herbivore. Nature 411: 684-687.
Reisz, R.R., and Sues, H-D. (2000) The 'feathers' of Longisquama. Nature 408:
428.
Berman, D. S, Reisz, R.R., Henrici, A.C., Sumida, S.S. and Martens, T. (2000)
Early Permian Bipedal Reptile. Science 290: 969-972.
Reisz, R.R. and H.D. Sues. (2000). Herbivory in Late Paleozoic and Triassic
Terrestrial Vertebrates. pp 9–41. in: Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial
Vertebrates, Cambridge Univ. Press., H.D. Sues, ed.
Sues, H.D. and R.R. Reisz. (1998). Origins and early evolution of herbivory in
tetrapods. TREE vol. 13.4, pp. 141–145.
Reisz, R.R. (1997). The origin and early evolutionary history of amniotes. TREE.
vol. 2 (6): 218-222.
Laurin, M. and R. R. Reisz. (1997). A new perspective on tetrapod phylogeny.
pp. 8–58. in: "The Origin of Amniotes: Completing the Transition to Land",
Sumida, S. S.and K. L. M. Martin
Laurin, M. and Reisz, R.R. (1995) A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny.
Zool. Jour. Linn. Soc. 113: 165-223.
Reisz, R.R. and Laurin, M. (1991). Owenetta and the origin of turtles. Nature
349(6307): 324-326.
Laurin, M. and R.R. Reisz. (1990). Tetraceratops is the oldest known therapsid.
Nature: 345(6272): 249-250.
Reisz, R.R. (1986). Pelycosauria. Handbuch der Palaeoherpetologie. Gustav
Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart (Dr. P. Wellenhofer ed.) 102 pp., 43 figs.
Reisz, R.R. and M.J.Heaton. (1980). The origin of mammal-like reptiles. Nature,
288 (5787): 193.
Reisz, R.R. (1977). Petrolacosaurus, the oldest known diapsid reptile. Science 196:
1091-1093.