Matthew Bonnan

Matthew Bonnan is an American paleobiologist and a Professor of Biological Sciences at . His research combines traditional descriptive and anatomical study with computer-aided morphometric analysis and modeling of vertebrate skeletons. See also Dr. Bonnan's blog on his research and teaching at The Evolving Paleontologist.

Bonnan's research focuses on three broad but interconnected areas of research: 1) the evolution of dinosaur locomotion, particularly in the giant, long-necked sauropod dinosaurs; 2) the evolution of an erect posture from a sprawled posture in dinosaurs and mammals; and 3) the evolution of pronation and supination in the forelimb of tetrapods. To these ends, he has utilized traditional anatomical approaches as well as state-of-the-art computer modeling to understand and infer how the limbs of both extinct and extant tetrapods have evolved and adapted. Currently, he has begun to utilize XROMM (X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology) to produce three-dimensional animations of small animal bones in vivo. His current research focuses on the three-dimensional kinematics of lizard and mammal forelimbs, as means to "reverse engineer" how early dinosaur and mammal relatives may have moved and stood.

Dr. Bonnan teaches a variety of anatomy-based and evolutionary biology courses at Stockton University covering diverse topics such as vertebrate embryology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, vertebrate evolution, systematics, dinosaurs, and general zoology.

Dr. Bonnan's overarching research focus is the evolution of dinosaur locomotion and its links to dinosaur gigantism. To this end:

Recently, Bonnan's research focuses on the three-dimensional kinematics of lizard and mammal forelimbs, as means to "reverse engineer" how early dinosaur and mammal relatives may have moved and stood, using the XROMM technique pioneered at Brown University.

In the spring of 2008, Dr. Bonnan was involved with a new Morrison Formation dinosaur quarry in Hanksville, Utah. His expertise in the concentration of Sauropod dinosaurs metapodials (and/or caudal vertebrae) a 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 excavating the Hanksville-Burpee site.

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.

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