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Lawrence M. Witmer,
PhD
Professor of Anatomy
Chang Professor of Paleontology
Dept. of Biomedical Sciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine
Life Science Building, Rm 123
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701 USA
Phone: 740 593 9489
Fax: 740 593 2400
Email: witmerL@ohio.edu
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Research &
Laboratory |
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Research Statement |
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Research in the Witmer Lab at Ohio University
proceeds along a number of directions, but the overarching theme
is functional morphology of the heads of vertebrates. A major
focus for years has been the reconstruction of soft tissues
(e.g., muscles, blood vessels, nerves, air sinuses, skin, etc.)
in dinosaurs. Thus, vertebrate paleontology and the study of
dinosaur fossils is an important activity. But, since fossils
tend to preserve only hard parts like bones and teeth, much of
the effort in the lab is devoted to studying modern animals. As
a result, the projects are very diverse ranging from studies of
the nasal apparatus of Diplodocus to the brain and ear of
Tyrannosaurus rex to the horns of rhinos and giraffe to the
air sinuses of alligator heads to the snouts of moose, and so
on. We use traditional techniques (such as dissection and
vascular injection), as well as the latest high-tech imaging and
3D-visualization techniques. The details of anatomical structure
are our stock and trade. These anatomical details, played out
over the course of phylogeny, record the evolution of
adaptation, and their study provides a better understanding of
the vertebrate head: how it worksfrom physiology to
biomechanicsand how it evolves. |
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WitmerLab
News! |
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Launch of the
WitmerLab Online Skull Cast Photo Project
Our collection of fossil skull casts has become
a critical local resource for research and
outreach. Given that the previous online photo
database was among the most visited part of the
WitmerLab site, yet was almost a decade old, we
undertook a new project to overhaul the site
with new photos at higher resolution and better
production values. Click
Collections at left. This new project is
largely the work of lab grad student Amy
Martiny. The project is ongoing, and ultimately
hundreds of photos will be available.
Notification of updates will be made on our
WitmerLab Facebook page (become a fan to
receive notifications automatically).
(2009-11-16) |
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Witmer was invited to lead a discussion on
Fleshing Out Dinosaur Evolution as part of the
Science Cafι series sponsored by Sigma Xi
and ONCA on 14 Oct 2009. WitmerLab members moved
15-20 skull casts and other specimens from the
lab to OUs Front Room. It was free and open to
the university community and public. It was well
attended with good discussions about the science
of dinosaur research, evolution, and the role
that dinosaurs can play in society. (2009-11-09) |
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The
National Geographic Channel aired three
television shows that featured Witmer and
research from the lab:
1. "Bizarre
Dinosaurs" (premiere 11 Oct 2009): Witmer
spoke specifically about Nigersaurus, but
also other dinosaurs
Nigersaurus Project Page on this site
see behind the scenes pictures from the shoot
wallpapers from Nat Geo site shot in the WitmerLab:
Majungasaurus skull,
albatross dissection
new animation of Nigersaurus on
3D Viz page,
YouTube,
Facebook
2. "Prehistoric
Predators: Razor Jaws" (premiere 12 Oct
2009): Witmer spoke about the creodont
Hyaenodon
wallpapers from Nat Geo site shot while CT
scanning:
Witmer positioning Hyaenodon,
Hyaenodon skull
animation of Hyaenodon skull and brain
cast on 3D Viz
page,
YouTube,
Facebook
3. "Prehistoric
Predator: Killer Pig" (premiere 12 Oct
2009): Witmer spoke about the entelodont
Archaeotherium
animation of Archaeotherium skull and
brain cast on 3D
Viz page,
YouTube,
Facebook
(2009-11-07) |
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A News & Views piece appeared in
Nature to accompany the article by
Hu et al. on a dramatic new specimen of the
Jurassic troodontid theropod dinosaur
Anchiornis. The New & Views piece is largely
concerned with the implications of this find for
the debates on avian origins and on the origin
of flight in that Anchiornis bears long
feathers on not only its arms and tail, but also
its legs and feet. (2009-09-30)
Witmer, L. M. 2009. Palaeontology: feathered
dinosaurs in a tangle. Nature
461:601602. |
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Acclaimed artist Mark Dion collaborated with the
OU School of Art for a special exhibit at the
Kennedy Museum of Art called Collections
Collected. We were honored to be among
the collections sampled by Dion for the exhibit.
The fascination of the exhibit goes well beyond
just seeing our stuff included in the
installation, as we marveled at the sometimes
arresting alliance of our materials with
surprising partners. The exhibit is fractal,
offering varied impressions and details from a
distance and up close. A sense gained by close
inspection of an individual object often changes
when seen in the context of adjacent objects.
(2009-09-18) |
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"MegaBeasts: Terror Bird" featured
Witmer and his lab's research on terror birds. It was produced by
Creative
Differences and aired on the
Discovery Channel on 13 September 2009. (2009-09-14) |
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A paper appeared in the
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on
the evolution of the braincase and
orbitotemporal region of crocodyliforms. Click
the link to go to Casey Holliday's page to
download the PDF and other content.
(2009-09-12)
Holliday, C. M. and L. M. Witmer. 2009. The
epipterygoid of crocodyliforms and its
significance for the evolution of the
orbitotemporal region of eusuchians. Journal
of Vertebrate Paleontology 29:715733.
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Four papers by current WitmerLab members and
recent alumni were published in the latest issue
of the
Anatomical Record: "Special Issue:
Unearthing the Anatomy of Dinosaurs"
Available below are PDFs of the papers.
Witmer, L. M.
and R. C. Ridgely. 2009. New insights into the brain,
braincase, and ear region of tyrannosaurs, with implications for
sensory organization and behavior. Anatomical Record
292:12661296.
Evans, D., L. M. Witmer, and R. C. Ridgely.
2009.
Endocranial anatomy of lambeosaurine dinosaurs: a sensorineural
perspective on cranial crest function. Anatomical Record
292:13151337.
Hieronymus, T. L., L. M. Witmer, D. H. Tanke, and P. J.
Currie. 2009. The facial integument of centrosaurine
ceratopsids: morphological and histological correlates of novel
skin structures. Anatomical Record 292:13701396.
Holliday, C. M. 2009. New insights into dinosaur
jaw muscle anatomy. Anatomical Record
292:12461265.
Stay tuned for Project Pages with additional
content. (2009-08-28) |
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A
paper was published in November 2008 on imaging
brain and inner ear structure in archosaurs,
emphasizing a modern-day crocodile and
owl, as well as such dinosaurs as sauropods and
T. rex A nice PDF finally is available:
Witmer, L. M., R.
C. Ridgely, D. L. Dufeau, and M. C. Semones. 2008. Using CT to peer
into the past: 3D visualization of the brain and ear regions of
birds, crocodiles, and nonavian dinosaurs. Pp. 6788 in H.
Endo and R. Frey (eds.), Anatomical Imaging: Towards a New
Morphology. Springer-Verlag, Tokyo.
Stay tuned for a Project Page with a Common
Language Summary, movies, 3D PDFs, and other
content. (2009-07-29) |
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Ohio University's alumni magazine
Ohio Today ran an infographic in the
Summer 2009 issue on the research in the Witmer
Lab. Grad student Joe Daniel is also pictured.
Click the image at right for a
JPG image of the
infographic. For a PDF, click here for a
larger or a
smaller version. Photo credit goes to John
Sattler & Neil Ever Osborne (OU-COM), and
layout/text credit goes to Mariel Jungkunz and
Sarah McDowell (OU). (2009-07-01) |
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Joe Daniel got a job! He is now a Gross
Anatomy Instructor at the University of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. It's not
currently a tenure-track position, but could
become tenure-track once he puts the finishing
touches on his dissertation here. The position
also makes Joe the only employed vertebrate
paleontologist at an academic institution in the
state of Arkansas. Here is his
new email
address. Well
done, Joe! (2009-06-17) |
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Dave Dufeau received a highly competitive
Ohio University Student Enhancement Award (a
grant) for his doctoral research, as well as
winning First-Place in the Ohio University
Student Research and Creative Activity Expo
held at the Convocation Center on 14 May 2009.
Good job, Dave! (2009-05-27) |
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A
"WitmerLab at Ohio University" Facebook page
is launched, presenting less formal content than
this "official" OU site, such as photos of lab
activities, random images and outtakes, fun
animations, etc. You don't have to be a Facebook
member to view the page and most of its content,
but if you want to submit content, comment, see
fan-contributed content, participate in
discussions, etc., you'll need to be a FB member
and a "fan" of the page. (2009-03-26) |
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A News & Views piece appeared in
Nature to accompany the article by
Zheng et al. on a new Liaoning
heterodontosaurid preserved with integumentary
filaments. The New & Views piece is largely
concerned with the implication of this find for
the debate on the evolution of feathers in
dinosaurs. (2009-03-19)
Witmer, L. M. 2009. Dinosaurs: Fuzzy origins for
feathers. Nature 458:293295.
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Tobin Hieronymus successfully defended his
doctoral dissertation on 13 February 2009, with
a presentation entitled "Morphology and
evolution of skin-related features in amniotes."
His doctoral committee included Audrone
Biknevicius, Pat O'Connor, Steve Reilly, Alycia
Stigall, and Larry Witmer. (2009-02-16) |
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Katie Burns joins the lab for an eight-week
internship. Katie is a high-school senior at
Linworth Alternative Program in Columbus,
Ohio. Her internship (called a
Walkabout) allows her to participate in what
goes on a scientific research lab. She is doing
a variety of tasks, such as learning
computer-based 3D visualization techniques. It
turns out she has special gifts for painting
dinosaur casts, as well evidenced by the
finished Gorgosaurus she's holding in the
picture. (2009-02-16) |
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Article on research in the Witmer Lab appears in
the
Columbus Dispatch, with quotes from Matt
Carrano, Chris Brochu, and Jeff Wilson.
(2009-02-09) |
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Article on the inner ears, hearing, & behavior appears in
the
Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Walsh, S. A., P. M. Barrett, A. C. Milner, G. Manley, and L. M.
Witmer. 2009. Inner ear anatomy is a proxy for deducing auditory
capability and behaviour in reptiles and birds. Proceedings
of the Royal Society B doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.1390.
Click the link to view a common-language summary and download the article. (2009-01-14) |
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Article on the cranial kinesis in dinosaurs appears in
the
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Holliday, C. M. and L. M. Witmer. 2008. Cranial kinesis in
dinosaurs: intracranial joints, protractor muscles, and their
significance for cranial evolution and function in diapsids.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28:10731088.
View a common-language summary and images and download the article
on
Casey Holliday's page (2009-01-11) |
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Article on the air spaces in the heads of
dinosaurs and their relatives appears in
a special issue of The Anatomical Record
Witmer, L. M., and R. C. Ridgely. 2008.
The paranasal air sinuses of predatory and armored dinosaurs
(Archosauria: Theropoda and Ankylosauria) and their contribution
to cephalic architecture. Anatomical Record 291:13621388.
Click the link to view a common language summary, images,
movies, 3D PDFs, and other links and to download the article
(2008-11-05 & 2008-11-19) |
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Larry Witmer, Ryan Ridgely, Dave Dufeau, and
Taka Tsuihiji participated in several talks at
the SVP symposium entitled "New
Directions in the Study of Fossil Endocasts: a
Symposium in Honor of Harry J. Jerison,"
organized by Grant Hurlburt and Mary Silcox held
on Thursday, October 16, 2008, at the 68th
Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate
Paleontology. (2008-10-21) |
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A talk at the Annual Meeting of the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) in
Cleveland, Ohio, was selected to be presented at
the SVP press conference. Click the link below
to go to a
page created for the media and to view the
conference abstract, images, 3D animations, and
several news reports.
David Evans, Lawrence Witmer, Ryan Ridgely, John
Horner. Endocranial anatomy of lambeosaurine
dinosaurs: Implications for cranial crest
function and evolution.
Check out the
YouTube version of the animation. (2008-10-19) |
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Article on the brain endocast and inner ear of
the horned dinosaur Pachyrhinosaurus
appears in
NRC Canada Monograph
Witmer, L. M., and R. C. Ridgely. 2008.
Structure of the brain cavity and inner ear of
the centrosaurine ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus
based on CT scanning and 3D visualization. Pp.
117144 in P. J. Currie (ed.), A New Horned
Dinosaur From an Upper Cretaceous Bone Bed in
Alberta. National Research Council Research
Press, Ottawa.
Click the link to view a
common language summary, images, movies, 3D PDFs, and other links and to
download the article (2008-10-02) |
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Tobin Hieronymus accepted a postdoctoral
position at the Northeastern Ohio Universities
College of Medicine in September. He will defend
his dissertation here at OU later this fall
(...so we're not ready to bid him farewell just
yet, although we miss him already).
Tobin's new contact information: NEOUCOM,
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, 4209
State Rt. 44, Rootstown, OH 44272; office phone:
330-325-6635;
thieronymus@neoucom.edu
(2008-10-01). |
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We welcome new doctoral student
William
Porter to the lab! (2008-10-01) |
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Several episodes of "Jurassic
Fight Club" featured Witmer and his
lab's research on various dinosaurs. Jurassic
Fight Club is produced by
1080, Inc. and premiered on
History on 29 July 2008. (2008-09-02) |
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"Prehistoric Monsters Revealed" featured
Witmer and his lab's research on pterosaurs and
terror birds. It was a two-hour documentary
produced by
Workaholic Productions, Inc. that aired on
History on 28 July 2008. (2008-09-02) |
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Witmer and his lab's research were featured in
the
May 2008 issue of
Pen, a Japanese men's lifestyle
magazine. (2008-09-02) |
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WitmerLab YouTube Channel launched, posting
movies of Majungasaurus and
Nigersaurus. More to come! (2008-07-09) |
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Nigersaurus project page launched
with PDFs of the paper and figures, movies,
sound, and 3D PDFs. (2008-07-02) |
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Dave Dufeau received a substantial
Jurassic Foundation grant to fund his
doctoral research. (2008-07-02) |
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Ryan Ridgely received a well-deserved promotion
to Research Associate. (2008-07-02) |
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Taka Tsuihiji left the WitmerLab in late March
to start a new postdoc in Japan. We wish Taka
the best of luck. We miss him. Here is his new
contact information: Takanobu Tsuihiji, Ph.D.,
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Geology,
National Museum of Nature and Science, 3-23-1
Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0073, Japan
(E-mail:
taka@kahaku.go.jp) (2008-07-02) |
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Justin Tickhill's Masters Thesis won a
prestigious international award. From the press
release: "The Networked Digital Library of
Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) consortium is
pleased to announce this year's award winners.
Justin Tickhill...was awarded the Innovative ETD
Award that recognizes student efforts in
transforming the genre of the print dissertation
through the use of innovative software to create
cutting edge ETDs." (2008-07-02) Visit the
award-winning
Virtual Pig Head website! |
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Tobin Hieronymus has two papers published on
aquatic birds in the Thewissen & Nummela volume. (2008-01-24)
Hieronymus, T. L. 2008. Comparative anatomy
and physiology of chemical senses in aquatic
birds. In: Thewissen, J.G.M., and S. Nummela (eds),
Sensory Evolution on the Threshold, Adaptations
in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates. University
of California Press.
Thewissen, J. G. M., and T. L. Hieronymus.
2008. Evolutionary relationships of aquatic
birds. In: Thewissen, J.G.M., and S. Nummela (eds),
Sensory Evolution on the Threshold, Adaptations
in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates. University
of California Press.
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Dave Dufeau successfully passed his
Comprehensive Qualifying Examinations, and has
now fully advanced to PhD candidacy.
(2007-12-06) |
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Paper on the African sauropod dinosaur
Nigersaurus published in
PLoS ONE (2007-11-15)
Sereno, P. C., J. A. Wilson, L. M. Witmer, J. A.
Whitlock, A. Maga, O. Ide, and T. A. Rowe. 2007.
Structural extremes in a Cretaceous dinosaur.
PLoS ONE 2(11): e1230.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001230.
Click the link to view a common language
summary, images,
and other links and to download the paper |
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The abstracts of presentations at the 8th
International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology
(ICVM 8) in Paris were recently published
in the Journal of Morphology. WitmerLab
abstracts are below. (2007-11-15)
Hieronymus, T. L. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. Turtle
beaks, bird beaks, croc beaks? Parallel
evolution of rhamphothecae in Sauropsida.
Journal of Morphology 268(12):10831084.
Holliday, C. M. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. Cranial
kinesis in dinosaurs: significance for
functional inferences and evolution. Journal of
Morphology 268(12):10851086.
Ridgely, R. C. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. Gross
Anatomical Brain Region Approximation (GABRA): a
new technique for assessing brain structure in
dinosaurs and other fossil archosaurs. Journal
of Morphology 268(12):1124.
Tickhill, J. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. The Virtual
Pig Head: digital imaging in cephalic anatomy.
Journal of Morphology 268(12):1141.
Tsuihiji, T., M. Kearney, and O. Rieppel. 2007.
Dissociation between the axial myology and
osteology in the anterior precloacal region of
limb-reduced squamates including snakes. Journal
of Morphology 268(12):1142.
Witmer, L. M. and R. C. Ridgely. 2007. Evolving
an on-board flight computer: brain, ears, and
exaptation in the evolution of birds and other
theropod dinosaurs. Journal of Morphology
268(12):1150.
Dufeau, D. L. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. Ontogeny
and phylogeny of the tympanic pneumatic system
of crocodyliform archosaurs. This abstract was
somehow and regrettably omitted from the
Journal of Morphology abstract volume. |
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Taka Tsuihiji published a very important paper
in the Journal of Morphology
(2007-11-15):
Tsuihiji, T. 2007. Homologies of longissimus,
iliocostalis, and hypaxial muscles in the
anterior presacral region of extant Diapsida.
Journal of Morphology. 268:9861020. |
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The WitmerLab traveled to Austin, Texas, for the
annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate
Paleontology, and it was a very successful
meeting. Our abstracts are below. (2007-10-23)
Daniel, J. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. The role of
soft tissues in sediment infilling and
patterning: an actualistic study with ostrich heads. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
27(Supplement to 3):65A.
Dufeau, D. L. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. Ontogeny
and phylogeny of the tympanic pneumatic system
of crocodyliform archosaurs. Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology 27(Supplement to 3):70A.
Hieronymus, T. L. and L. M. Witmer. 2007.
Skinning dinosaurs: bony correlates and patterns
of cephalic skin evolution in Archosauria.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(Supplement
to 3):89A.
Holliday, C. M. and L. M. Witmer. 2007. The
epipterygoid of crocodyliforms and its
significance in the evolution of the
orbitotemporal region of eusuchians. Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology 27(Supplement to 3):90A.
Tsuihiji, T., M. Watabe, L. M. Witmer, T.
Tsubamoto, K. Tsogtbaatar. 2007. A juvenile
skeleton of Tarbosaurus with a nearly
complete skull and its implications for
ontogenetic change in tyrannosaurids. Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology 27(Supplement to
3):160A. |
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Justin Tickhill successfully defended his
masters thesis"The Virtual Pig Head: digital
imaging of cephalic anatomy"on 02 August 2007.
Justin's thesis took the unique form of a
website. Justin will remain here in Athens for
the next year or so before striking out for his
next endeavor. (2007-08-29) Visit the
Virtual Pig Head website! |
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At the
8th International Congress of Vertebrate
Morphology in Paris, France, 1621 July,
2007, it was announced that Witmer was elected
President-Elect of the International Society of
Vertebrate Morphology. He will remain
President-Elect and a member of the Executive
Committee until the next ICVM (Uruguay 2010) at
which point he will become President.
(2007-08-03) |
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Skull of Majungasaurus paper published as
a Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir:
Sampson & Witmer Click the link to view a
common language summary, images, and other links and to
download the paper (2007-06-29) |
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Newly available PDFs of older but often
requested papers. All are fully searchable, and
some have had better versions of the original
illustrations inserted.
Witmer 1999 The phylogenetic history of
paranasal air sinuses. in The Paranasal
Sinuses of Higher Primates. (4 MB)
Witmer 1997 The evolution of the antorbital
cavity of archosaurs... JVP Memoir 3.
(24 MB)
Witmer 1997 Craniofacial air sinus systems.
in The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. (4 MB)
Witmer 1995 Homology of facial structures in
extant archosaurs... Journal of
Morphology. (5.5 MB)
Witmer 1995 The Extant Phylogenetic Bracket...
in Functional Morphology in Vertebrate
Paleontology (4 MB)
Witmer 1987 The nature of the antorbital fossa
of archosaurs... in SMTE4 Short Papers.
(1.2 MB)
see
Publications or CV
for full citations. (2007-06-16) |
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Archosaur jaw muscle homology paper published in
the Journal of Morphology: Holliday &
Witmer Click the link to view a lay
abstract, images, and other links and to
download the paper (2007-06-10) |
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Rhino horn growth paper published in the
Journal of Morphology: Hieronymus, Witmer, &
Ridgely Click the link to view a common
language summary, images, and other links and to
download the paper (2006-10-31) |
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Flamingo vasculature paper published in
the Anatomical Record: Holliday, Ridgely,
Balanoff, & Witmer Click the link to
view a common language summary, images, movies, and other
links and to download the paper (2006-10-30) |
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Casey Holliday finishes doctorate and
takes tenure-track job at the Joan C. Edwards
School of Medicine at Marshall
University (2006-07-01)
Update: Casey leaves Marshall for a new position
at the University of Missouri (2009-07-27) |
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Perspectives (Nov. 2001) published a
nice overview of the philosophy, goals, approaches, and history
of research in the Witmer lab
Funding for projects in the Witmer Lab derive primarily from
grants to Witmer from the National Science Foundation (NSF) with
important support from Ohio University and the OU College of
Osteopathic Medicine
The Ohio Supercomputing Center provides important support and
resources for many of the activities in the Witmer Lab
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note: Research
in the Witmer lab does not involve experimentation on live
animals. Specimens of modern animals used in research are
salvage specimens, obtained legally from commercial or
governmental sources. |
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