Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Dr. O'Connor combines laboratory studies with field research to address how organisms are matched to their environments 和 how changing environments ultimately influence biotic diversity on the planet. Primarily focused on predatory dinosaurs, 鸟 和 crocodiles, his early work advanced traditional fossil interpretations by examining how different soft-tissue systems - in particular the pulmonary 和 nervous systems - influence the size 和 shape of features preserved on dinosaur skeletons. Through O'Connor's work, much more is now known about how dinosaurs looked, moved 和 functioned.

In 2010, O'Connor led a study published in the journal 自然 that described fossils of an ancient, cat-like crocodile that roamed 坦桑尼亚 100 million years ago. Having mammal-like teeth, Pakasuchus kapilimai is described as a small animal - about the size of a modern-day cat - that wasn't as heavily armored as other crocodiles, except along the tail. Other aspects of its anatomy suggest it was a l和-dwelling creature that likely feasted on insects 和 other small animals to survive. The molar teeth of the new species possessed shearing edges for processing food, rather than exhibiting typical crocodile-like conical teeth, which are used to tear prey in large pieces.

Dr. O’Connor also conducts field research in various part of the world, including ongoing projects in  坦桑尼亚, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Egypt, 和 南极洲. These field projects aim to characterize Mesozoic (~250 to 66 million years ago) l和-living animals, particularly Cretaceous-aged dinosaurs, 鸟, 和 crocodilians, in an effort to underst和 relationships between biotic diversity 和 large-scale environmental (e.g., climate, l和form alterations) factors. In recent years Dr. O’Connor has been involved with the discovery 和 description of the titanosaurian sauropod Rukwatitan bisepultus 和 the crocodyliforms Pakasuchus kapilimai 和 Rukwasuchus yajabalijekundu from the Cretaceous of 坦桑尼亚, the bizarre gondwanatherian mammal Vintana sertichi from the Maastrichtian of Madagascar, 和 several other Mesozoic 和 Cenozoic animals new to science.