Michael Benton

Last updated

Michael Benton
Professor Michael Benton FRS.jpg
Michael Benton at the Royal Society admissions day in London in 2014
Born
Michael James Benton

(1956-04-08) 8 April 1956 (age 68) [1]
NationalityBritish
Education Robert Gordon's College
Alma mater
Known for Bentonyx
Awards Lyell Medal (2005)
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions University of Bristol
Thesis The Triassic reptile Hyperodapedon from Elgin, functional morphology and relationships  (1981)
Website www.bristol.ac.uk/earthsciences/people/mike-j-benton

Michael James Benton (born 8 April 1956 [1] ) is a British palaeontologist, and professor of vertebrate palaeontology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. [3] [4] [5] His published work has mostly concentrated on the evolution of Triassic reptiles but he has also worked on extinction events and faunal changes in the fossil record. [2] [6] [7]

Contents

Education

Benton was educated at Robert Gordon's College, [ citation needed ] the University of Aberdeen [1] and Newcastle University where he was awarded a PhD in 1981. [8] [9]

Research and career

Benton's research investigates palaeobiology, palaeontology, and macroevolution. [2] [10] [11] His research interests include: diversification of life, quality of the fossil record, shapes of phylogenies, age-clade congruence, mass extinctions, [12] Triassic ecosystem evolution, basal diapsid phylogeny, basal archosaurs, and the origin of the dinosaurs. He has made fundamental contributions to understanding the history of life, particularly concerning how biodiversity changes through time. [13] He has led in integrating data from living and fossil organisms to generate phylogenies – solutions to the question of how major groups originated and diversified through time. [13] This approach has revolutionised the understanding of major questions, including the relative roles of internal and external drivers on the history of life, whether diversity reaches saturation, the significance of mass extinctions, and how major clades radiate. [13] A key theme is the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the largest mass extinction of all time, which took place over 250 million years ago, where he investigates how life was able to recover from such a devastating event. [13]

Benton is the author of several palaeontology text books (e.g. Vertebrate Palaeontology ) and children's books on the theme of dinosaurs. [14] His work has been published in a variety of journals. [2] [15] [16] [17] [18] Benton has also advised on many media productions including BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs and was a programme consultant for Paleoworld on Discovery Science. He also contributed to the 2002 BBC programme The Day The Earth Nearly Died , which featured scientists and dealt with the mysteries of the Permian extinction.

In December 2010, Benton had a rhynchosaur ( Bentonyx ) named in his honour. [19]

Benton founded the Master of Science degree programme in Palaeobiology at Bristol in 1996, from which more than 300 students have graduated. [13] He has supervised more than 50 PhD students. [13]

As the Initiator of the Bristol Dinosaur Project Benton was also involved with creating and designing the website for the project. [20]

Publications

Honours and awards

Benton was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014 for "substantial contributions to the improvement of natural knowledge" [13] and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE).[ when? ]

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to palaeontology and community engagement. [22]

Related Research Articles

The Mesozoic Era is the era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about 252 to 66 million years ago, comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of gymnosperms and of archosaurian reptiles, such as the dinosaurs; a hot greenhouse climate; and the tectonic break-up of Pangaea. The Mesozoic is the middle of the three eras since complex life evolved: the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triassic</span> First period of the Mesozoic Era 252–201 million years ago

The Triassic is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period of the Mesozoic Era. Both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. The Triassic Period is subdivided into three epochs: Early Triassic, Middle Triassic and Late Triassic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetrapod</span> Superclass of the first four-limbed vertebrates and their descendants

A tetrapod is any four-limbed vertebrate animal of the superclass Tetrapoda. Tetrapods include all extant and extinct amphibians and amniotes, with the latter in turn evolving into two major clades, the sauropsids and synapsids. Some tetrapods, such as snakes, legless lizards, and caecilians, have evolved to become limbless via mutations of the Hox gene. Nevertheless, these limbless groups still qualify as tetrapods through their ancestry, and some retain a pair of vestigial spurs that are remnants of the hindlimbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synapsida</span> Clade of tetrapods

Synapsida is one of the two major clades of vertebrate animals in the group Amniota, the other being the Sauropsida. The synapsids were the dominant land animals in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic, but the only group that survived into the Cenozoic are mammals. Unlike other amniotes, synapsids have a single temporal fenestra, an opening low in the skull roof behind each eye orbit, leaving a bony arch beneath each; this accounts for their name. The distinctive temporal fenestra developed about 318 million years ago during the Late Carboniferous period, when synapsids and sauropsids diverged, but was subsequently merged with the orbit in early mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squamata</span> Order of reptiles

Squamata is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards and snakes. With over 12,162 species, it is also the second-largest order of extant (living) vertebrates, after the perciform fish. Squamates are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields, and must periodically engage in molting. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making possible movement of the upper jaw relative to the neurocranium. This is particularly visible in snakes, which are able to open their mouths very wide to accommodate comparatively large prey. Squamates are the most variably sized living reptiles, ranging from the 16 mm (0.63 in) dwarf gecko to the 6.5 m (21 ft) reticulated python. The now-extinct mosasaurs reached lengths over 14 m (46 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archosaur</span> Group of diapsids broadly classified as reptiles

Archosauria or archosaurs is a clade of diapsid sauropsid tetrapods, with birds and crocodilians being the only extant representatives. Although broadly classified as reptiles, which traditionally exclude birds, the cladistic sense of the term includes all living and extinct relatives of birds and crocodilians such as non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, phytosaurs, aetosaurs and rauisuchians as well as many Mesozoic marine reptiles. Modern paleontologists define Archosauria as a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor of living birds and crocodilians, and all of its descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rauisuchia</span> Informal group of Triassic archosaurs with pillar-erect posture

"Rauisuchia" is a paraphyletic group of mostly large and carnivorous Triassic archosaurs. Rauisuchians are a category of archosaurs within a larger group called Pseudosuchia, which encompasses all archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds and other dinosaurs. First named in the 1940s, Rauisuchia was a name exclusive to Triassic archosaurs which were generally large, carnivorous, and quadrupedal with a pillar-erect hip posture, though exceptions exist for all of these traits. Rauisuchians, as a traditional taxonomic group, were considered distinct from other Triassic archosaur groups such as early dinosaurs, phytosaurs, aetosaurs, and crocodylomorphs.

Phytosaurs are an extinct group of large, mostly semiaquatic Late Triassic archosauriform reptiles. Phytosaurs belong to the order Phytosauria. and are sometimes referred to as parasuchians. Phytosauria, Parasuchia, Parasuchidae, and Phytosauridae have often been considered equivalent groupings containing the same species. Some recent studies have offered a more nuanced approach, defining Parasuchidae and Phytosauridae as nested clades within Phytosauria as a whole. Phytosaurs were long-snouted and heavily armoured, bearing a remarkable resemblance to modern crocodilians in size, appearance, and lifestyle, as an example of convergence or parallel evolution

<i>Lystrosaurus</i> Genus of Late Permian and Early Triassic dicynodont therapsids

Lystrosaurus is an extinct genus of herbivorous dicynodont therapsids from the late Permian and Early Triassic epochs. It lived in what is now Antarctica, India, China, Mongolia, European Russia and South Africa. Four to six species are currently recognized, although from the 1930s to 1970s the number of species was thought to be much higher. They ranged in size from that of a small dog to 8 feet (2.5 meters) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early Triassic</span> First of three epochs of the Triassic Period

The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and 247.2 Ma. Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy. The Early Triassic is the oldest epoch of the Mesozoic Era. It is preceded by the Lopingian Epoch and followed by the Middle Triassic Epoch. The Early Triassic is divided into the Induan and Olenekian ages. The Induan is subdivided into the Griesbachian and Dienerian subages and the Olenekian is subdivided into the Smithian and Spathian subages.

<i>Euparkeria</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Euparkeria is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Triassic of South Africa. Euparkeria is close to the ancestry of Archosauria, the reptile group that includes crocodilians, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudosuchia</span> Clade of reptiles

Pseudosuchia is one of two major divisions of Archosauria, including living crocodilians and all archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds. Pseudosuchians are also informally known as "crocodilian-line archosaurs". Despite Pseudosuchia meaning "false crocodiles", the name is a misnomer as true crocodilians are now defined as a subset of the group.

<i>Terrestrisuchus</i> Genus of terrestrial crocodylomorph

Terrestrisuchus is an extinct genus of very small early crocodylomorph that was about 76 centimetres (30 in) long. Fossils have been found in Wales and Southern England and date from near the very end of the Late Triassic during the Rhaetian, and it is known by type and only known species T. gracilis. Terrestrisuchus was a long-legged, active predator that lived entirely on land, unlike modern crocodilians. It inhabited a chain of tropical, low-lying islands that made up southern Britain, along with similarly small-sized dinosaurs and abundant rhynchocephalians. Numerous fossils of Terrestrisuchus are known from fissures in limestone karst which made up the islands it lived on, which formed caverns and sinkholes that preserved the remains of Terrestrisuchus and other island-living reptiles.

<i>Archosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Archosaurus is an extinct genus of carnivorous proterosuchid archosauriform reptile. Its fossils are dated to the latest Permian of Russia and Poland, it is one of the earliest known archosauriforms. The type and only species is Archosaurus rossicus, known from several fragmentary specimens which cumulatively represent parts of the skull and cervical vertebrae. It would have been 3 metres (9.8 ft) long when fully grown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnesian Conglomerate</span>

The Magnesian Conglomerate is a geological formation in Clifton, Bristol in England, Gloucestershire and southern Wales, present in Tytherington, Durdham Down, Slickstones Quarry and Cromhall Quarry.

Olson's Extinction was a mass extinction that occurred 273 million years ago in the late Cisuralian or early Guadalupian epoch of the Permian period, predating the much larger Permian–Triassic extinction event. The event is named after American paleontologist Everett C. Olson, who first identified the gap in fossil record indicating a sudden change between the early Permian and middle/late Permian faunas. Some authors also place a hiatus in the continental fossil record around that time, but others disagree. This event has been argued by some authors to have affected many taxa, including embryophytes, marine metazoans, and tetrapods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of reptiles</span> Origin and diversification of reptiles through geologic time

Reptiles arose about 320 million years ago during the Carboniferous period. Reptiles, in the traditional sense of the term, are defined as animals that have scales or scutes, lay land-based hard-shelled eggs, and possess ectothermic metabolisms. So defined, the group is paraphyletic, excluding endothermic animals like birds that are descended from early traditionally-defined reptiles. A definition in accordance with phylogenetic nomenclature, which rejects paraphyletic groups, includes birds while excluding mammals and their synapsid ancestors. So defined, Reptilia is identical to Sauropsida.

Boreopricea is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic of arctic Russia. It is known from a fairly complete skeleton discovered in a borehole on Kolguyev Island, though damage to the specimen and loss of certain bones has complicated study of the genus. Boreopricea shared many similarities with various other archosauromorphs, making its classification controversial. Various studies have considered it a close relative of Prolacerta, tanystropheids, both, or neither. Boreopricea is unique among early archosauromorphs due to possessing contact between the jugal and squamosal bones at the rear half of the skull.

Richard James Butler is a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Birmingham, where he holds the title of professor of palaeobiology. His research focuses on ornithischian dinosaur evolution, dinosaur origins, and fossil tetrapod macroevolution.

<i>Kudnu</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Kudnu is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile from the Early Triassic Arcadia Formation of Australia. The type species is K. mackinlayi.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Anon (2015). "Benton, Prof. Michael James" . Who's Who (online Oxford University Press  ed.). A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U43387.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Michael Benton publications indexed by Google Scholar OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. Liz Loeffler. "People: Earth Sciences: University of Bristol". bris.ac.uk.
  4. Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  5. "Professor Mike Benton – School of Earth Sciences". Bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  6. Benton, M. J. (2009). "The Red Queen and the Court Jester: Species diversity and the role of biotic and abiotic factors through time". Science. 323 (5915): 728–32. Bibcode:2009Sci...323..728B. doi:10.1126/science.1157719. PMID   19197051. S2CID   206512702.
  7. Lloyd, G. T.; Davis, K. E.; Pisani, D.; Tarver, J. E.; Ruta, M.; Sakamoto, M.; Hone, D. W. E.; Jennings, R.; Benton, M. J. (2008). "Dinosaurs and the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1650): 2483–90. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0715. PMC   2603200 . PMID   18647715.
  8. Benton, Michael James (1981). The Triassic reptile Hyperodapedon from Elgin, functional morphology and relationships. jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Newcastle upon Tyne. EThOS   uk.bl.ethos.238091.
  9. Benton, Michael James (1983). "The Triassic Reptile Hyperodapedon from Elgin: Functional Morphology and Relationships". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 302 (1112): 605–718. Bibcode:1983RSPTB.302..605B. doi:10.1098/rstb.1983.0079. ISSN   0962-8436.
  10. Benton, M. J.; Emerson, B. C. (2007). "How Did Life Become So Diverse? The Dynamics of Diversification According to the Fossil Record and Molecular Phylogenetics". Palaeontology. 50 (1): 23–40. Bibcode:2007Palgy..50...23B. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00612.x.
  11. Benton, M. J.; Donoghue, P. C. J. (2006). "Paleontological Evidence to Date the Tree of Life". Molecular Biology and Evolution . 24 (1): 26–53. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msl150 . PMID   17047029.
  12. World Archipelago. "Macmillan". macmillan.com.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Anon (2014). "Professor Michael Benton FRS". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
    "All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.” --Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-11-11)
  14. "Thames & Hudson Publishers – Essential illustrated art books – Michael J. Benton". thamesandhudson.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010.
  15. Sahney, S.; Benton, M. J.; Falcon-Lang, H. J. (2010). "Rainforest collapse triggered Carboniferous tetrapod diversification in Euramerica". Geology. 38 (12): 1079–1082. Bibcode:2010Geo....38.1079S. doi:10.1130/G31182.1.
  16. Sahney, S; Benton, M. J.; Ferry, P. A. (2010). "Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land". Biology Letters. 6 (4): 544–7. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.1024. PMC   2936204 . PMID   20106856.
  17. Sahney, S; Benton, M. J. (2008). "Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all time". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1636): 759–65. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1370. PMC   2596898 . PMID   18198148.
  18. "Search". Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  19. "Bristol University – Alumni and friends – 2011: Introducing Bentonyx". bristol.ac.uk. 15 January 2024.
  20. "The Bristol Dinosaur Project - Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol". 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  21. Bowler, P. J. (2003). "Suffocated or shot?". Nature. 423 (6938): 384. Bibcode:2003Natur.423..384B. doi: 10.1038/423384a . Review of When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time
  22. "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B11.

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