Research Group Leader: Dr. Richard J. Butler GeoBio-Center, LMU Richard-Wagner-Str. 10 80333 Munich, Germany butler.richard.j[at]gmail.com r.butler[at]lrz.uni-muenchen.de  Photograph by Christoph Olesinski, LMU POSITIONS AND EDUCATION From September 2011 (until August 2016). Junior Research Group Leader, Emmy Noether Programme (DFG), GeoBio-Center, LMU, Munich, Germany. April 2009 - July 2011. Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship. Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich, Germany July 2008 - February 2009. NERC Researcher Co-Investigator. Natural History Museum London. April 2006 - June 2008. NERC Postdoctoral Research Assistant. Natural History Museum, London. October 2002 - January 2007. Ph.D. (NERC-CASE funded). University of Cambridge and Natural History Museum, London. 1999 - 2002. BSc. Geology (First Class Honours). Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol. KEY GRANT FUNDING (Full details on request) 2011-2016. German Research Foundation (DFG) Emmy Noether Programme: “Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Archosauromorph Evolution in the Terrestrial Triassic” (Principal Investigator) 2010-2011. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Climate Center Grant: “End-Triassic climate change and mass extinction: Atmospheric pCO2 and vertebrate fossils from the Algarve Basin (Portugal)” (Co-Investigator) 2010-2011. German Research Foundation (DFG) Research Grant: “Terrestrial vertebrates from near the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in Portugal: excavation, geological context, and faunal change” (Principal Investigator) 2009-2010. Jurassic Foundation Research Grant: “Terrestrial vertebrates near the Triassic-Jurassic Boundary in Portugal: excavation of new bonebeds” (Co-Investigator) 2008-2009. NERC Small Grant: “Origin of the avian respiratory system: a CT-study of postcranial pneumaticity in basal archosaurs” (Researcher Co-Investigator) Plus 14 additional small grants (each < $2000) from Synthesys, Jurassic Foundation, Palaeontological Association, University of Cambridge, Systematics Association, Royal Society, Cambridge Philosophical Society, Samuel & Doris Welles Research Fund and Percy Sladen Memorial Fund. EDITORIAL AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES 2013/2014. Executive Committee, Paleobiology Database. 2012–. Program Committee, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. 2012–. Editorial Board, PLoS ONE. 2010–. Associate Editor, Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 2008–2011. Section Editor, Fossil Reptiles, Zootaxa. AWARDS 2011. Hodson Award, Palaeontological Association (link). 2005. Predoctoral Fellowship, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (link). PUBLICATIONS Google Scholar citation details are here Visit my Academia.edu page for PDFs. Edited special volumes Mannion, P. D., Benson, R. B. J. & BUTLER, R. J., editors. 2013. Vertebrate Palaeobiodiversity Patterns and the Impact of Sampling Bias. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 372: 1-146. BUTLER, R. J., Irmis, R. B. & Langer, M. C., editors. 2011 (for 2010). Late Triassic Terrestrial Biotas and the Rise of Dinosaurs. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101, parts 3 & 4: 189-426 (special volume).
65. Nesbitt, S. J., BUTLER, R. J. & Gower, D. J. (in press). A new archosauriform (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Manda beds (Middle Triassic) of southwestern Tanzania. PLOS ONE. 64. BUTLER, R. J. (in press). “Francosuchus” trauthi is not Paleorhinus: implications for Late Triassic vertebrate biostratigraphy. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 63. Ezcurra, M. D., BUTLER, R. J. & Gower, D. J. (published online). Proterosuchia. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt, S. J., Desojo, J. B. & Irmis, R. B. (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 379. 62. Niedźwiedzki, G., Brusatte, S. L. & BUTLER, R. J. (published online). Prorotodactylus and Rotodactylus tracks: an ichnological record of dinosauromorphs from the Early-Middle Triassic of Poland. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt, S. J., Desojo, J. B. & Irmis, R. B. (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 379. 61. Stocker, M. R. & BUTLER, R. J. (published online). Phytosauria. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt, S. J., Desojo, J. B. & Irmis, R. B. (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 379. 60. Sookias, R. B. & BUTLER, R. J. (published online). Euparkeriidae. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt, S. J., Desojo, J. B. & Irmis, R. B. (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 379. 2013 59. Toljagic, O. & BUTLER, R. J. 2013. Triassic/Jurassic mass extinction as trigger for the Mesozoic radiation of crocodylomorphs. Biology Letters 9: 20130095. 58. Benson, R. B. J., Mannion, P. D., BUTLER, R. J., Upchurch, P., Goswami, A. & Evans, S. E. 2013. Cretaceous tetrapod fossil record sampling and faunal turnover: implications for biogeography and the rise of modern clades. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 372: 88-107. 57. BUTLER, R. J., Benson, R. B. J. & Barrett, P. M. 2013. Pterosaur diversity: untangling the influences of sampling biases, Lagerstätten, and genuine biodiversity signals. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 372: 78-87. 56. Nesbitt, S. J. & BUTLER, R. J. 2013. Redescription of the archosaur Parringtonia gracilis from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania, and the antiquity of Erpetosuchidae. Geological Magazine 150: 225–238. 55. BUTLER, R. J., Yates, A. M., Rauhut, O. W. M. & Foth, C. 2013. A pathological tail in a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from South Africa: evidence of traumatic amputation? Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33: 224–228. 54. Brusatte, S. L., BUTLER, R. J., Niedźwiedzki, G., Sulej, T., Bronowicz, R. & Satkunas, J. 2013. First record of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from Lithuania: phytosaurs (Diapsida: Archosauriformes) of probable Late Triassic age, with a review of phytosaur biogeography. Geological Magazine 150: 110–122. 2012 53. Han, F.-L., Barrett, P. M., BUTLER, R. J. & Xu, X. 2012. Postcranial anatomy of Jeholosaurus shangyuanensis (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32: 1370–1395. 52. Osi, A., Prondvai, E., BUTLER, R. J. & Weishampel, D. B. 2012. Phylogeny, histology and inferred body size evolution in a new rhabdodontid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Hungary. PLoS ONE 7(9): e44318. 51. Mannion, P. D., Benson, R. B. J., Upchurch, P., BUTLER, R. J., Carrano, M. T. & Barrett, P. M. 2012. A temperate palaeodiversity peak in Mesozoic dinosaurs and evidence for Late Cretaceous geographical partitioning. Global Ecology and Biogeography 21: 898–908. 50. Sookias, R. B, Benson, R. B. J. & BUTLER, R. J. 2012. Biology, not environment, drives major patterns in maximum tetrapod body size through time. Biology Letters 8: 674–677. News coverage: Nature. 49. Brusatte, S. L., BUTLER, R. J., Prieto-Marquez, A. & Norell, M. A. 2012. Dinosaur morphological diversity and the end Cretaceous extinction. Nature Communications 3, article 804. News & blog coverage: New York Times, N24, Livescience, Telegraph, Smithsonian Dinosaur Tracking blog, Spiegel online, Discovery News, the Guardian, Time, Stern German language press release: here. AMNH press release and video: here. Coverage on the LMU homepage: here. 48. Foth, C., Brusatte, S. L. & BUTLER, R. J. 2012. Do different disparity proxies converge on a common signal? Insights from the cranial morphometrics and evolutionary history of Pterosauria (Diapsida: Archosauria). Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25: 904–915. 47. Sookias, R. B., BUTLER, R. J. & Benson, R. B. J. 2012. Rise of dinosaurs reveals major body size transitions are driven by passive processes of trait evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279: 2180–2187. 46. BUTLER, R. J., Porro, L. B., Galton, P. M. & Chiappe, L. M. 2012. Anatomy and cranial functional morphology of the small-bodied dinosaur Fruitadens haagarorum (Ornithischia: Heterodontosauridae) from the Upper Jurassic of the USA. PLoS ONE 7: e31556 (31 pages). Blog coverage of this paper: PLoS ONE blog, Smithsonian Dinosaur Tracking blog. 45. BUTLER, R. J., Barrett, P. M. & Gower, D. J. 2012. Reassessment of the evidence for postcranial skeletal pneumaticity in Triassic archosaurs, and the early evolution of the avian respiratory system. PLoS ONE 7: e34094 (23 pages). 44. BUTLER, R. J., Brusatte, S. L., Andres, B. & Benson, R. B. J. 2012. How do geological sampling biases affect studies of morphological evolution in deep time? A case study of the Pterosauria (Reptilia: Archosauria). Evolution 66: 147-162.
2011
42. BUTLER, R. J., Brusatte, S. L., Reich, M., Nesbitt, S. J., Schoch, R. R. & Hornung, J. J. 2011. The sail-backed reptile Ctenosauriscus from the latest Early Triassic of Germany and the timing and biogeography of the early archosaur radiation. PLoS ONE 6: e25693 (28 pages). 41. Barrett, P. M., BUTLER, R. J., Twitchett, R. J. & Hutt, S. 2011. New material of Valdosaurus canaliculatus (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of southern England. Special Papers in Palaeontology 86: 131-163. 40. Upchurch, P., Mannion, P. D., Benson, R. B. J., BUTLER, R. J.
& Carrano, M. T. 2011. Geological and anthropogenic controls on the
sampling of the terrestrial fossil record: a case study from the
Dinosauria. In: Comparing the Geological and Fossil Records: Implications for Biodiversity Studies, McGowan, A. J. and Smith, A. B. (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publication 358: 209-240. 39. Benson, R. B. J. & BUTLER, R. J. 2011. Uncovering the diversification history of marine tetrapods: ecology influences the effect of geological sampling biases. In: Comparing the Geological and Fossil Records: Implications for Biodiversity Studies, McGowan, A. J. and Smith, A. B. (eds.). Geological Society, London, Special Publication 358: 191-207. 38. Norman, D. B., Crompton, A. W., BUTLER, R. J., Porro, L. B. & Charig, A. C. 2011. The Lower Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur Heterodontosaurus tucki Crompton and Charig, 1962: cranial anatomy, functional morphology, taxonomy and relationships. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163: 182-276. 37. Porro, L. B., BUTLER, R. J., Barrett, P. M., Moore-Fay, S. & Abel, R. L. 2011 (for 2010). New heterodontosaurid specimens from the Lower Jurassic of southern Africa and the early ornithischian dinosaur radiation. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101: 351-366. 35. BUTLER, R. J., Jin,
L., Chen, J. & Godefroit, P. 2011. The postcranial osteology and
phylogenetic position of the small ornithischian dinosaur Changchunsaurus parvus from the Quantou Formation (Cretaceous: Aptian-Cenomanian) of Jilin Province, northeastern China. Palaeontology 54: 667-683.
33. Brusatte, S. L., Niedźwiedzki, G. & BUTLER, R. J. 2011. Footprints pull origin and diversification of dinosaur stem-lineage deep into Early Triassic. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 278: 1107-1113.
32. Wang, X., Pan, R., BUTLER, R. J. & Barrett, P. M. 2011 (for 2010). The postcranial skeleton of the iguanodontian ornithopod Jinzhousaurus yangi from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101: 135-159. 2010 31. BUTLER, R. J. 2010. The anatomy of the basal ornithischian dinosaur Eocursor parvus from the lower Elliot Formation (Late Triassic) of South Africa. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160: 648-684. 30. Brusatte, S. L., Nesbitt, S. J., Irmis, R. B., BUTLER, R. J., Benton, M. J. & Norell, M. A. 2010. The origin and early radiation of dinosaurs. Earth-Science Reviews 101: 68-100. PDF29. Osi, A., BUTLER, R. J. & Weishampel, D. B. 2010. A Late Cretaceous ceratopsian dinosaur from Europe with Asian affinities. Nature 465: 466-468. PDF [Ajkaceratops kozmai] Read a Nature News & Views commentary by Xu Xing on this discovery here. This paper was covered by the BBC, Scientific American, and Science, amongst others.
28. BUTLER, R. J., Barrett, P. M., Kenrick, P. & Penn, M. G. 2010. Testing coevolutionary hypotheses over geological timescales: interactions between Cretaceous dinosaurs and plants. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 100: 1–15. 27. Benson, R. B. J., BUTLER, R. J., Lindgren, J. & Smith, A. S. 2010. Mesozoic marine tetrapod diversity: mass extinctions and temporal heterogeneity in geologic megabiases affecting vertebrates. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 277: 829-834. PDF 26. Jin, L., Chen, J., Zan, S., BUTLER, R. J. & Godefroit, P. 2010. Cranial anatomy of the small ornithischian dinosaur Changchunsaurus parvus from the Quantou Formation (Cretaceous: Aptian–Cenomanian) of Jilin Province, northeastern China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30: 196-214. 25. BUTLER, R. J., Galton, P. M., Porro, L. B., Chiappe, L. M., Henderson, D. M. & Erickson, G. M. 2010. Lower limits of ornithischian dinosaur body size inferred from a new Upper Jurassic heterodontosaurid from North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 277: 375-381. PDF [Fruitadens haagarorum]
2009 24. BUTLER, R. J., Barrett, P. M., Abel, R. L. & Gower, D. J. 2009. A possible ctenosauriscid archosaur from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29: 1022-1031. 23. BUTLER, R. J., Barrett, P. M. & Gower, D. J. 2009. Postcranial skeletal pneumaticity and air-sacs in the earliest pterosaurs. Biology Letters 5: 557-560. PDF 22. BUTLER, R. J., Barrett, P. M., Nowbath, S. & Upchurch, P. 2009. Estimating the effects of the rock record on pterosaur diversity patterns: implications for hypotheses of bird/pterosaur competitive replacement. Paleobiology 35: 432-446. 21. Brusatte, S. L., BUTLER. R. J., Sulej, T. & Niedzwiedzki, G. 2009. The taxonomy and anatomy of rauisuchian archosaurs from the Late Triassic of Germany and Poland. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54: 221-230. PDF 20. Barrett, P. M., BUTLER, R. J., Wang, X.-L. & Xu, X. 2009. Cranial anatomy of the iguanodontoid ornithopod Jinzhousaurus yangi from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54: 35-48. PDF 19. BUTLER, R. J. & Sullivan, R. M. 2009. The phylogenetic position of the ornithischian dinosaur Stenopelix valdensis from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany: implications for the early fossil record of Pachycephalosauria. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54: 21-34. PDF 18. BUTLER, R. J.,
Barrett, P. M., Kenrick, P. & Penn, M. G. 2009. Diversity patterns
amongst dinosaurs and plants during the Cretaceous: implications for
hypotheses of dinosaur/angiosperm co-evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22: 446-459. PDF 17. BUTLER, R. J., Barrett, P. M., Kenrick, P. & Penn, M. G. 2009. Testing co-evolutionary hypotheses over geological timescales: interactions between Mesozoic non-avian dinosaurs and cycads. Biological Reviews 84: 73-89. 16. BUTLER, R. J. & Zhao, Q. 2009. The small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs Micropachycephalosaurus hongtuyanensis and Wannanosaurus yansiensis from the Late Cretaceous of China. Cretaceous Research 30: 63-77.
2008 15. Barrett, P. M., BUTLER, R. J., Edwards, N. P. & Milner, A. R. 2008. Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas. Zitteliana B 28: 61-107. PDF 14. BUTLER, R. J., Upchurch, P. & Norman, D. B. 2008. The phylogeny of the ornithischian dinosaurs. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6: 1–40. 13. BUTLER, R. J., Porro, L. B. & Norman, D. B. 2008. A juvenile skull of the primitive ornithischian Heterodontosaurus tucki from the ‘Stormberg’ of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28: 702-711. 12. BUTLER, R. J. & Goswami, A. 2008. Body size evolution in Mesozoic birds: little evidence for Cope's rule. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 26: 1673-1682. PDF 11. BUTLER, R. J. & Barrett, P. M. 2008. Palaeoenvironmental controls on the distribution of Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaurs. Naturwissenschaften 95: 1027-1032. 10. BUTLER, R. J. & Galton, P. M. 2008. The ‘dermal armour’ of the Wealden dinosaur Hypsilophodon: a reappraisal. Cretaceous Research 29: 636-642. 9. Chen, J., BUTLER , R. J. &
Jin, L. 2008. New material of large-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs,
including an iguanodontian ornithopod, from the Quantou Formation
(middle Cretaceous: Aptian–Cenomanian) of Jilin Province, northeastern
China. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 248: 309-314. 8. Barrett, P. M, BUTLER, R. J., Novas, F. E., Moore-Fay, S., Moody, J. M., Clark, J. M. & Sanchez-Villagra, M. R. 2008. Dinosaur remains from the La Quinta Formation (Lower or Middle Jurassic) of the Venezuelan Andes. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 82: 163–177.
2007 7. BUTLER, R. J.,
Smith, R. M. H. & Norman, D. B. 2007. A primitive ornithischian
dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa, and the early
evolution and diversification of Ornithischia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 274: 2041–2046. PDF 6. Norman, D. B., BUTLER, R. J. & Maidment, S. C. R. 2007. Reconsidering the status and affinities of the ornithischian dinosaur Tatisaurus oehleri Simmons, 1965. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 150: 865–874. PDF 5. BUTLER, R. J. & Upchurch, P. 2007. The problem of highly incomplete taxa and the phylogenetic relationships of the theropod dinosaur Juravenator starki. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27: 253–256. 2006 4. Corfe, I. J. & BUTLER, R. J. 2006. Comment on ‘A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features’. Science 313:1238. (Published online; doi:10.1126/science.1130800) 3. BUTLER, R. J., Porro, L. B. & Heckert, A. B. 2006. A supposed heterodontosaurid tooth from the Rhaetian of Switzerland and a reassessment of the European Late Triassic record of Ornithischia (Dinosauria). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte 10: 613–633. 2005 2. Barrett, P. M., BUTLER, R. J. & Knoll, F. 2005. Small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25: 823–834. 1. BUTLER, R. J. 2005. The ‘fabrosaurid’ ornithischian dinosaurs of the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of South Africa and Lesotho. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 145: 175–218. PDF Conference papers 3. BUTLER, R. J.,
Barrett, P. M., Kenrick, P. & Penn, M. G. 2008. Testing
co-evolutionary hypotheses over geological timescales using GIS; pp
214–216 in D. Lambrick (ed.), Proceedings of the GIS Research UK 16th Annual Conference, GISRUK 2008, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2–4 April 2008.
2. BUTLER, R. J.,
Upchurch, P., Norman, D. B., & Parish, J. C. 2006. A
biogeographical analysis of the ornithischian dinosaurs; pp. 13–16
& 151 in P.M. Barrett and S. E. Evans (eds.), Ninth International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Abstracts and Proceedings. The Natural History Museum, London. [Short paper and abstract] 1. Evans, S. E., Barrett, P. M., Hilton, J., BUTLER, R. J.,
Jones, M., Liang, M. M., Parish, J. C., Rayfield, E.,
Sigogneau-Russell, D. & Underwood, C. J. 2006. The Middle Jurassic
vertebrate assemblage of Skye, Scotland; pp. 36–39 & 157 in P.M.
Barrett and S. E. Evans (eds.), Ninth International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Abstracts and Proceedings. The Natural History Museum, London. [Short paper and abstract] |
Richard Butler |