Dr. Roger Benson has moved to Oxford University.

 

My research interests focus on Mesozoic vertebrate evolution. Most of my previous work concerns the anatomy and relationships of basal theropod dinosaurs. These are an important group as the predatory theropods gave rise to birds, and have enormous potential to shed light on the evolution of avian biology. An emerging focus concerns the evolution of marine reptiles. Multiple invasions of the oceanic enviroment by land vertebrates provide independent replicates for testing evolutionary principles of adaptive zone invasion.

A major theme in my current research is how macrostratigraphic variation in rock available for fossil sampling influences our perception of diversification and extinction in deep time. This is a vital first step in understanding how physical processes in Earth's history such as climate change have influenced the history of life.

 

Publications (PDFs available on request)

Just out

 

45. Benson RBJ, Rich TH, Vickers-Rich P, Hall M. 2012. Theropod fauna from southern Australia indicates high polar diversity and climate-driven dinosaur provinciality. PLoS ONE 7(5):e37122 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037122)

Popular article written by us at The Conversation! 

Other media coverage: Asian Scientist, Sci-News

 

44. Carrano MT, Benson RBJ, Sampson SD. 2012. The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10: 211-300 (doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927)

 

43. Sookias RB, Benson RBJ, Butler RJ. 2012. Biology, not environment, drives major patterns in maximum tetrapod body size through time. Biology Letters (doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.006)

Media coverage: Nature News

42. Benson RBJ. 2012. Interrelationships of basal synapsids: cranial and postcranial partitions suggest different topologies. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.631042)

41. Benson RBJ, Evans M, Druckenmiller PS. 2012. High diversity, low disparity and small body size in plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic–Jurassic boundary. PLoS One 7(3): e31838. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031838

40. Sookias RB, Butler RJ, Benson RBJ. 2012. Rise of dinosaur driven by passive processes of trait evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279: 2180-2187 (doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2441)

Media coverage: Science Now, Cosmos 

39. Mannion PD, Benson RBJ, Upchurch P, Butler RJ, Carrano MT, Barrett PM. 2012. A temperate palaeodiversity peak in Mesozoic dinosaurs and evidence for Late Cretaceous geographical partitioning. Global Ecology and Biogeography (doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00735.x)

38. Butler RJ, Brusatte SL, Andres B, Benson RBJ. 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 (doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01415.x)

 

2012

37. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Carrano MT, O'Connor PM. 2012. Air-filled postcranial bones in theropod dinosaurs: physiological implications and the 'reptile'-bird transition. Biological Reviews 87: 168-193 (doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00190.x)

36. Benson RBJ, Mannion PD. 2012. Multi-variate models are essential for understanding vertebrate diversification in deep time. Biology Letters 8, 127-130 (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0460)

 

2011 

35. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ. 2011. Uncovering the diversification history of marine tetrapods: ecology influences the effect of geologial sampling biases. Special Publications of the Geological Society of London 358, 191-208 [PDF on request]. 

34. Upchurch P, Mannion PD, Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Carrano MT. 2011. Geological and anthropogenic controls on the sampling of the terrestrial fossil record: a case study from the Dinosauria. Special Publications of the Geological Society of London 358, 209-240 [PDF on request].

33. Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. 2011. A new pliosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of England: evidence for a gracile, longirostrine grade of Early Jurassic pliosaurids.Special Papers in Palaeontology 86, 109-129 [PDF on request].

32. Benson RBJ, Domokos G, Várkonyi PL, Reisz RR. 2011. Shell geometry and habitat determination in extinct and extant turtles. Paleobiology 37, 547-562.

31. Barrett PM, Benson RBJ, Rich TH, Vickers-Rich P. 2011. First spinosaurid dinosaur from Australia and the cosmopolitanism of Cretaceous dinosaur faunas. Biology Letters 7, 933-936 (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0466)

30. Benson RBJ, Bates KT, Johnson MR, Withers PJ. 2011. Cranial anatomy of Thalassiodracon hawkinsii (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Early Jurassic of Somerset, United Kingdom. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31, 562-574.

29. Butler RJ, Benson RBJ, Carrano MT, Mannion PD, Upchurch P. 2011. Sea level, dinosaur diversity and sampling biases: investigating the 'common cause' hypothesis in the terrestrial realm. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278, 1165-1170. 

28. Benson RBJ, Ketchum, HF, Noè, LF, Gomez-Perez, M. 2011. New information on Hauffiosaurus (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) based on a new species from the Alum Shale Member (Lower Toarcian: Lower Jurassic) of Yorkshire, UK. Palaeontology 54: 547-571.

27. Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. 2011. The cranial anatomy and taxonomy of Peloneustes philarchus (Sauropterygia, Pliosauridae) from the Peterborough Member (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of the UK. Palaeontology 54: 639-665.

26. Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Xu X. in press. A reassessment of Kelmayisaurus petrolicus, a large theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

 

2010

25. Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Xu X. 2010. The evolution of large-bodied theropod dinosaurs during the Mesozoic in Asia. Journal of Iberian Geology 36: 275-296.

24. Barrett PM, Benson RBJ, Upchurch P. 2010. Dinosaurs of Dorset: Part II, the sauropod dinosaurs (Saurischia, Sauropoda), with additional comments on the theropods. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 131: 113­-126.

23.  Benson RBJ, Barrett PM, Rich TH, Vickers-Rich P, Pickering D, Holland T. 2010. Response to comment on "A Southern Tyrant Reptile". Science 329, 1013-d. [see 21. below]

Shortly after publishing our report on the discovery of a fragmentary fossil of a tyrannosauroid theropod (relative of T. rex) from the southern hemisphere (21. below), Herne and colleagues submitted a technical comment. They said that one of the features we had used to identify the fossil as a tyrannosauroid was broken and thus not reliable. Our response to the comment includes a clear explanation of why we think this claim is unjustified.

22. Barrett PM, Kear BP, Benson RBJ. 2010. Opalized archosaur remains from the Bulldog Shale (Aptian: Lower Cretaceous) of South Australia. Alcheringa 34, 1-9.

 

21. Benson RBJ, Barrett PM, Rich TH, Vicker-Rich P. 2010. A southern tyrant reptile. Science 327, 1613 [click here for abstract only] [click here for PDF reprint].

Media coverage: BBC, National Geographic, Live Science, LA Times

Blogs: Tetrapod Zoology, Archosaur Musings

 

20. Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Currie PJ, Zhao X-J. 2010. The skull of Monolophosaurus jiangi (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and its implications for early theropod phylogeny and evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158, 573-607.

19. Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. 2010. Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses. Biological Reviews 85, 361-392.

18. Benson RBJ. 2010. The osteology of Magnosaurus nethercombensis (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) of the United Kingdom and a re-examination of the oldest records of tetanurans. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8, 131-146.

17. Benson RBJ. 2010. A description of Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society of London 158, 882-935. 

16. Benson RBJ, Radley JD. 2010. A new large-bodied theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Warwickshire, United Kingdom. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 55, 35-42 [Cruxicheiros newmanorum]. 

15. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Lindgren J, Smith AS. 2010. Mesozoic marine tetrapod diversity: mass extinctions and temporal heterogeneity in geological megabiases affecting vertebrates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 277, 829-834.

14. Benson RBJ, Carrano MT, Brusatte SL. 2010. A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic. Naturwissenschaften 97, 71-78 [Neovenatoridae; Megaraptora].

13. Zhao X-J, Benson RBJ, Brusatte SL, Currie PJ. 2010. The postcranial skeleton of Monolophosaurus jiangi (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Xinjiang, China and a review of Middle Jurassic Chinese theropods. Geological Magazine 147, 13–27.

12. Brusatte SL, Chure DJ, Benson RBJ, Xu X. 2010. The osteology of Shaochilong maortuensis, a carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Asia. Zootaxa 2334, 1-46.


2009

11. Benson RBJ. 2009. An assessment of variability in theropod dinosaur remains from the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of Stonesfield and New Park Quarry and taxonomic implications for Megalosaurus bucklandii and Iliosuchus incognitos. Palaeontology 52, 857-877.

10. Benson RBJ, Barrett PM. 2009. Dinosaurs of Dorset: Part I, the carnivorous dinosaurs (Saurischia, Theropoda). Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 130, 133-147.

9. Benson RBJ, Brusatte SL, Hutt S, Naish D. 2009. A new large basal tetanuran (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Wessex Formation (Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, England. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29, 612-615.

8. Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Chure DJ, Xu X, Sullivan C, Hone DWE. 2009. The first definitive carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Asia and the delayed ascent of tyrannosaurids. Naturwissenschaften 96, 1051-1058.

 

2008

7. Benson RBJ. 2008. New information on Stokesosaurus, a tyrannosauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from North America and the United Kingdom. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28, 732-750.

6. Benson RBJ. 2008. A redescription of 'Megalosaurus' hesperis (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Inferior Oolite (Bajocian, Middle Jurassic) of Dorset, United Kingdom. Zootaxa 1931, 57-67. [Duriavenator]

5. Benson RBJ, Barrett PM, Powell HP, Norman DB. 2008. The taxonomic status of Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Oxfordshire, UK. Palaeontology 51, 419-424.

4. Benson RBJ, Xu X. 2008. The anatomy and systematic position of the theropod dinosaur Chilantaisaurus tashuikouensis Hu, 1964 from the Early Cretaceous of Alanshan, People's Republic of China. Geological Magazine 145, 778-789. 

3. Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Hutt S. 2008. The osteology of Neovenator salerii (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Wealden Group (Barremian) of the Isle of Wight. Palaeontographcal Society Monographs 162(631), 1-75, plates 1-45.

2. Darlington J, Benson RBJ, Cook C, Walker G. 2008. Resolving relationships in some African fungus-growing termites (Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) using molecular phylogeny, morphology, and field parameters. Insectes Sociaux 55, 256-265. 

 

2007

1. Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Carr TD, Williamson TE. 2007. The systematic utility of theropod enamel wrinkles. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27, 1052-1056.

 

Conference presentations (oral)

Benson RBJ. Middle Jurassic theropods and the early evolution of tetanurans (Dinosauria, Theropoda). 69th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and the 57th Symposium of Vertebrate Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy, 23-26 September 2009, Bristol, UK.

Benson RBJ, Domokos G, Reisz RR, Várkonyi PL. A statistical tool for broad habitat determination in turtles based on shell geometry and the paleoecology of Proterochersis. Gaffney Turtle Symposium, 17-18 October 2009, Drumheller, Canada.

Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Xu X, Chure DJ. The evolution of Asian Cretaceous theropod dinosaurs: the first definitive Asian carcharodontosaurid and the delayed ascent of tyrannosaurids. 10th Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems Symposium, 14-21 September 2009, Tereul, Spain.

Carrano MT, Benson RBJ, Sampson SD. The phylogeny of megalosauroids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) with implications for the evolution of North African paleoecosystems. 1st International Congress on North African Vertebrate Palaeontology, 25-27 May 2009, Marrakech, Morocco.

Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phyologenetic analysis. 69th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and the 57th Symposium of Vertebrate Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy, 23-26 September 2009, Bristol, UK.


Publications: 2006-Present

Last updated on 06-Dec-12 12:17