Archived Abstracts
Cladistical Analysis of a Sauropod of the Morrison Formation
Location
Room 232, Schewel Hall
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Entry Number
78
Start Date
4-8-2020 3:30 PM
End Date
4-8-2020 3:45 PM
Department
Environmental Science
Abstract
My project was based around identifying dinosaur fossils found in the Two Sisters Quarry. The Two Sisters Quarry was the Morrison Formation in the Western United States, specifically Wyoming. The Morrison Formation is a distinct Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock deposit that features a vast fossil record (Foster and Lucas 2006). These activities over a 3-week time period during the summer of 2017, though the site has been producing dinosaur material for over a decade..When the dig was completed the collected materials were moved to the Virginia Natural History Museum. The specimens that were found were identified broadly as a sauropod, but no further identifications could be made when uncovered at the dig site. .
I read literature that outlined identifying characters for sauropod families and genera. This literature was used to create data sheets that were used to show which characters the specimens we had expressed. Once those characters were determined this data was then analyzed using a statistical method called cladistics. The identified characters were coded into a matrix using a program called TNT. After this matrix was entered a cladogram, similar to a family tree, was created by the program. The cladogram that was created was then compared to other cladograms from the literature I read to determine to which family and/or genus the specimens belonged.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Brooke Haiar
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Cladistical Analysis of a Sauropod of the Morrison Formation
Room 232, Schewel Hall
My project was based around identifying dinosaur fossils found in the Two Sisters Quarry. The Two Sisters Quarry was the Morrison Formation in the Western United States, specifically Wyoming. The Morrison Formation is a distinct Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock deposit that features a vast fossil record (Foster and Lucas 2006). These activities over a 3-week time period during the summer of 2017, though the site has been producing dinosaur material for over a decade..When the dig was completed the collected materials were moved to the Virginia Natural History Museum. The specimens that were found were identified broadly as a sauropod, but no further identifications could be made when uncovered at the dig site. .
I read literature that outlined identifying characters for sauropod families and genera. This literature was used to create data sheets that were used to show which characters the specimens we had expressed. Once those characters were determined this data was then analyzed using a statistical method called cladistics. The identified characters were coded into a matrix using a program called TNT. After this matrix was entered a cladogram, similar to a family tree, was created by the program. The cladogram that was created was then compared to other cladograms from the literature I read to determine to which family and/or genus the specimens belonged.