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Dr. Todd Green investigates comparative and functional anatomy of extinct and extant archosaurs, a group that includes avian dinosaurs (i.e., birds), non-avian dinosaurs, crocodylians, and pterosaurs. His research focuses particularly on the group of birds known as paleognaths (e.g., tinamous, moas, elephant birds, ostriches, rheas, kiwis, emus, and cassowaries). To better interpret the biological roles of anatomical structures in the fossil record, Dr. Green studies modern analogs from ontogenetic, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives.
The functional significance of bizarre ornaments, such as the cranial casques of cassowaries—rare, flightless birds from the rainforests of Australasia—are poorly understood in even modern representatives. Green’s recent work describing the development of cassowary cranial ornaments (i.e., casques) uses techniques such as micro-CT imaging, geometric morphometric shape analysis, gross dissection, and fieldwork with live animals. These investigations have helped shed light upon cassowary biology, as well as the potential biological roles of their ornaments. Such insight is essential for making meaningful comparisons between modern cassowary casques and the ornaments of extinct archosaurs. Understanding how headgear originates and changes in evolutionary time aids in our understanding of ecomorphology and developmental patterning in deep time.
Doctor Green completed a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, and received an M.S. in Zoology from Colorado State University.
Selected Publications:
Green, T.L. & Gignac, P.M. (2023). Osteological comparison of casque ontogeny in palaeognathous and neognathous birds: Implications for selecting modern analogs in the study of cranial ornaments from extinct archosaurs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 199(1), 10–25. [doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad016]
Green, T.L., Kay, D.I., & Gignac, P.M. (2022). Intraspecific variation and directional casque asymmetry in adult southern cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius). Journal of Anatomy, 241(4): 951–965. [doi: 10.1111/joa.13733]
Green, T.L., & Gignac, P.M. (2021). Osteological description of casque ontogeny in the southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) using micro-CT imaging. The Anatomical Record, 304(3): 461–479. [doi: 10.1002/AR.24477] (journal cover)
Plateau, O., Green, T.L, Gignac, P.M., & Foth, C. (2024). Comparative digital reconstruction of Pica pica and Struthio camelus and their cranial suture ontogenies. The Anatomical Record, 307(1), 1–44. [doi: 10.1002/ar.25275] (journal cover)
Gignac, P.M. Green, T.L., Oehler, D., Malatos, J., Hollinger, C., & Paré, J.A. (2021). Diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography as a necropsy aid in veterinary medicine and wildlife biology: A case study evaluation respiratory disease in Macrocephalon maleo. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 52(1). 406–412. [doi: 10.1638/2020-0086] (journal cover)
Watanabe, A., Gignac, P.M., Balanoff, A.M., Green, T.L., Kley, N.J., & Norell, M.A. (2019). Are endocasts good proxies for brain size and shape in archosaurs throughout ontogeny? Journal of Anatomy, 234: 291–305. [doi:10.1111/joa.12918] (journal cover)
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870-680-8823
Building: Wilson Hall
Room: 144D
