Christine Marie Janis is a British

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

who specialises in mammals. She is currently based at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

Background

Janis earned a bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences and Zoology from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and a PhD in Vertebrate Paleontology from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. She has held positions as a researcher and lecturer at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

, Cambridge, the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

in the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, the

, and

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. In 1985 Janis was awarded the George Gaylord Simpson Prize for Paleontology (Yale University, USA) and was elected Fellow of the Paleontological Society in 2007. Janis attributes her interest in palaeontology to seeing ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

'' as a child. She was married to fellow palaeontologist

Jack Sepkoski Joseph John Sepkoski Jr. (July 26, 1948 – May 1, 1999) was a University of Chicago paleontologist. Sepkoski studied the fossil record and the diversity of life on Earth. Sepkoski and David Raup contributed to the knowledge of extinction events. ...

(1948-1999).

Scientific contributions

Janis is best known for her contributions to the study of ungulates (hoofed mammals). As well as a large scientific publication list, Janis has contributed widely to textbooks and popular articles. Her earlier publications examine mammal teeth. For example, ungulate teeth changed from low crowned teeth to high crowned hypsodont teeth, as they evolved to adapt to a grassland diet, and this is correlated with changes in their digestion and can be used in their taxonomy. She created the Hipsodonty Index, broadly used in mammal paleontology. Her work on the evolution of horns in ungulates won her the Simpson Prize in 1985.Janis, C. 1982. Evolution of horns in ungulates: ecology and paleoecology. Biological Reviews, 57(2), pp.261-318 In the 1990s, Janis switched focus from teeth to the biomechanics of locomotion. She has produced seminal works on the relationships between the lengths of limb bones in running mammals and their locomotion. Latterly Janis has worked closely with her students and close colleagues to explore locomotion in various mammal groups, including camels, various carnivores, and marsupials.Figueirido, B.and C. M. Janis(2011). The predatory behaviour of the thylacine: Tasmanian tiger or marsupial wolf? Biology Letters 7:937-940. Among Janis's publications are the co-authored textbooks ''Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America. Vol. 2: Small Mammals, Edentates, and Marine Mammals'' and ''Vertebrate Life''.

Affiliations

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (USA)
The Paleontological Society (USA)
The Palaeontological Association (UK)
GRIPS (Greater Rhode Island Paleontological Society) charter member.
Society for the Study of Mammalian Evolution (president)
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
National Center for Science Education

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janis, Christine Living people British palaeontologists Alumni of the University of Cambridge Harvard University alumni Academics of the University of Bristol Women paleontologists Year of birth missing (living people) Oregon State University faculty University of Chicago faculty Brown University faculty