Matthew Bonnan
Encyclopedia
Matthew Bonnan is an American paleobiologist
and an associate professor of biological sciences at Western Illinois University
. His research combines traditional descriptive and anatomical study with computer-aided morphometric analysis and modeling of vertebrate skeletons. Dr. Bonnan also co-directs the Functional Morphology and Evolutionary Anatomy (FMEA) lab with anthropologist and assistant professor Dr. Jessica White, at Western Illinois University. See also Dr. Bonnan's blog on his research and teaching at Jurassic Journeys.
Dr. Bonnan teaches a variety of anatomy-based and evolutionary biology courses at Western Illinois University covering diverse topics such as vertebrate embryology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, vertebrate evolution, systematics, dinosaur paleoecology, and general zoology.
dinosaur quarry in Hanksville, Utah
. His expertise in the concentration of Sauropod dinosaurs were sought after by and aided the excavation efforts of the Burpee Museum of Natural History
. Dr. Bonnan continues to assist the Burpee Museum in excavated the Hanksville-Burpee site, returning in 2009 and 2010 with WIU students, and plans to continue this working relationship in the long term.
He is also a co-discoverer of the almost-sauropod Aardonyx celestae
which has garnered international media attention and should serve to illuminate the early beginnings of sauropod gigantism.
Dr. Bonnan now has a short educational video on the basic concept of biological evolution on YouTube.
Paleobiology
Paleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology...
and an associate professor of biological sciences at Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
. His research combines traditional descriptive and anatomical study with computer-aided morphometric analysis and modeling of vertebrate skeletons. Dr. Bonnan also co-directs the Functional Morphology and Evolutionary Anatomy (FMEA) lab with anthropologist and assistant professor Dr. Jessica White, at Western Illinois University. See also Dr. Bonnan's blog on his research and teaching at Jurassic Journeys.
Research and teaching
The focus of his research is limb functional morphology in dinosaurs, as well as the broader locomotor and evolutionary implications of size. He is particularly interested in the evolution and locomotor adaptations of the giant, terrestrial sauropod dinosaurs. The long-necked herbivores attained sizes no other dinosaurian or mammalian group has ever approached on land; part of sauropod success as giants may be tied to limb morphology and specializations.Dr. Bonnan teaches a variety of anatomy-based and evolutionary biology courses at Western Illinois University covering diverse topics such as vertebrate embryology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, vertebrate evolution, systematics, dinosaur paleoecology, and general zoology.
Education
- Ph.D., Northern Illinois University, Dept. Biological Sciences, 2001
- B.S., Geological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1995
- A.S., Earth Sciences, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, 1993
Dinosaurs: Why so big?
Dr. Bonnan's over-arching research focus is the evolution of gigantism in dinosaurs. To this end:- he has examined the evolution and shape of the manus (hand) and pes (foot) of sauropods and its relationship to locomotion and weight support
- he has studied the relationship between the ability to pronate the manus (place the hand palm-side down) in archosaurs and its expressions in sauropods and their ancestors
- he has used geometric morphometrics (geometry-based shape analysis techniques) to evaluate and statistically analyze patterns in sauropod long bone scaling
- he has studied the link between bipedalism, sexual dimorphism, and limb proportions in archosaurs using the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) as a model
- he has searched for and described a new transitional dinosaur (Aardonyx celestae) from the Early Jurassic of South Africa that sheds much-needed light on the beginnings of sauropod gigantism
- he and colleagues have shown how to infer the missing joint shape in dinosaur long bones based on shape analysis of Alligator mississippiensis and two species of birds
Dr. Bonnan in the News
In the spring of 2008, Dr. Bonnan was involved with a new Morrison FormationMorrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States, which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and limestone and is light grey, greenish...
dinosaur quarry in Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville is a small town in Wayne County, Utah, United States, at the junction of State Routes 24 and 95. The town is just south of the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek, which together form the Dirty Devil River, which then flows southeast to the Colorado River...
. His expertise in the concentration of Sauropod dinosaurs were sought after by and aided the excavation efforts of the Burpee Museum of Natural History
Burpee Museum of Natural History
The Burpee Museum of Natural History is located along the Rock River in downtown Rockford, Illinois at 737 North Main Street.-Museum History:...
. Dr. Bonnan continues to assist the Burpee Museum in excavated the Hanksville-Burpee site, returning in 2009 and 2010 with WIU students, and plans to continue this working relationship in the long term.
He is also a co-discoverer of the almost-sauropod Aardonyx celestae
Aardonyx
Aardonyx is a genus of prosauropod dinosaur. It is known from the type species Aardonyx celestae found from the Lower Jurassic Elliot Formation of South Africa. A. celestae was named after Celeste Yates, who prepared much of the first known fossil material of the species...
which has garnered international media attention and should serve to illuminate the early beginnings of sauropod gigantism.
Understanding science & evolution
Dr. Bonnan runs a webpage on science and evolution where he discusses how the so-called "battle" between science and religion is false, and provides interested students and laypersons with information and podcasts on the scope and limits of scienceDr. Bonnan now has a short educational video on the basic concept of biological evolution on YouTube.