Christian Alfred Sidor is an American vertebrate paleontologist. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Biology,
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, as well as Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and Associate Director for Research and Collections at the
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (Burke Museum) is a natural history museum in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. Established in 1899 as the Washington State Museum, it traces its origins to a high school naturalist club fo ...
. His research focuses on Permian and Triassic tetrapod evolution, especially on
therapsids
Therapsida is a major group of eupelycosaurian synapsids that includes mammals, their ancestors and relatives. Many of the traits today seen as unique to mammals had their origin within early therapsids, including limbs that were oriented mo ...
.
Academic and professional background
Sidor received a B.S. (with honors) in biology from
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
in 1994. He went on to pursue his graduate studies at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, completing his M.S. in 1996 and his Ph.D. in 2000 under the supervision of
James Hopson
James Allen Hopson (born 1935) is an American paleontologist and professor (now retired) at the University of Chicago. His work has focused on the evolution of the synapsids (a group of amniotes that includes the mammals), and has been focused ...
. Sidor won the
Romer Prize in 2001 for his doctoral work, a competitive annual award at the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) is a professional organization that was founded in the United States in 1940 to advance the science of vertebrate paleontology around the world.
Mission and Activities
SVP has about 2,300 members inter ...
annual meeting for the best predoctoral student oral presentation. Following his dissertation, Sidor held a postdoctoral fellowship at the
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
(2001) before becoming an Assistant Professor in Anatomy at the
New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
The New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYIT-COM) is a private medical school located primarily in Old Westbury, New York. It also has a degree-granting campus in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Founded in 1977, NYIT-COM is an ...
. He held that position until 2005, when he took up a position as an Assistant Professor in Biology at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
. Presently, he is a full Professor in Biology at the University of Washington, as well as a Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and Associate Director for Research and Collections at the affiliated Burke Museum. He is a research associate at the
Field Museum of Natural History,
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
, and
Evolutionary Studies Institute (
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...
).
Academic contributions
Sidor is best known for his work on therapsid synapsids; the title of his dissertation was "Evolutionary trends and relationships within the Synapsida." However, Sidor has been involved with research on a diverse array of other
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
and
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
tetrapod clades, including
temnospondyl
Temnospondyli (from Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') is a diverse order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carbo ...
amphibians;
captorhinid reptiles;
pseudosuchia
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". Prior to ...
n
archosaurs;
and
avemetatarsalia
Avemetatarsalia (meaning "bird metatarsals") is a clade of diapsid reptiles containing all archosaurs more closely related to birds than to crocodilians. The two most successful groups of avemetatarsalians were the dinosaurs and pterosaurs. ...
n archosaurs,
encompassing a wide-ranging research program focusing on descriptive anatomy, taxonomy and phylogenetics, histology and pathology, trends in biogeography, and responses of tetrapods to major climatic perturbations. Sidor has extensive experience collecting and researching fossils from historically less well-sampled geographic regions, including Niger, Tanzania, Zambia, and Antarctica.
Previously he was a member of the editorial board of the
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
The ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1980 by Jiri Zidek (University of Oklahoma). It covers all aspects of vertebrate paleontology, including vertebrate origins, evolu ...
(2005-2010).
Below is a list of new taxa that Sidor has contributed to naming:
References
External links
"Toothy 'Crocamander' Was Top Triassic Predator" the
Discovery Channel discusses one of the finds of Sidor's team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidor, Christian
American paleontologists
People associated with the American Museum of Natural History
People associated with the Field Museum of Natural History
University of Washington faculty
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people