Dr. Adam Cossette

Assistant Professor

Department of Biomedical & Anatomical Sciences, NYITCOM-Arkansas

Research Interests

Adam Cossette is a vertebrate paleobiologist who applies phylogenetic comparative methods, functional morphology, medical imaging modalities, and geometric morphometric methods to understand biodiversity. In addition to his teaching responsibilities he conducts broad paleobiological research projects including both living and fossil animals. 

Much of his work focuses on evolutionary trends and morphologies of reptiles and particularly the earlies members of Crocodylia - including the ancient ancestors of today's American alligator. This research consists of three main components: naming new fossil species; exploring evolutionary trends of fossil and living species; and determining biotic response to climate change and major environmental disruptions. The excellent fossil record of Crocodylia along with genomic allows for integrated morphological and molecular approaches making this clade robust for phylogenetic hypothesis testing.