Doctor Victoria M. Arbour | |
---|---|
Nationality | Canadian |
Education | BSc, PhD |
Alma mater | Dalhousie University, University of Alberta |
Known for | Ankylosaurs |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Paleontology |
Institutions | University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum |
Thesis | Systematics, evolution, and biogeography of the ankylosaurid dinosaurs (2014) |
Doctoral advisor | Philip J. Currie |
Website | pseudoplocephalus |
Victoria Megan Arbour is a Canadian evolutionary biologist and palaeontologist working as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto and Royal Ontario Museum.[1][2][3]
Arbour analyzes fossils and creates 3-D computer models. She named the possible pterosaur Gwawinapterus from Hornby Island, and a partial ornithischian dinosaur from Sustut Basin, and has participated in the naming of the ankylosaurs Zuul,[4][5] Zaraapelta,[4] Crichtonpelta,[6] Ziapelta.[7]
Early life and education
Born in about 1984, Arbour calls Halifax, Nova Scotia, her hometown.[8] Her mother, a math teacher, and father, a soil scientist, supported her science interests.[9] Arbour completed a B.Sc. Honours Thesis supervised by Milton Graves, An ornithischian dinosaur from the Sustut Basin, British Columbia, Canada, and graduated from Dalhousie University in 2006.[10] She completed her master's thesis, Evolution, biomechanics, and function of the tail club of ankylosaurid dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Thyreophora) in 2006, and her Ph.D. thesis, Systematics, evolution, and biogeography of the ankylosaurid dinosaurs, in 2008, both advised by paleontologist Philip Currie at the University of Alberta.[11]
Career
She is the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postdoctoral fellow at the Royal Ontario Museum and University of Toronto.[12]
From 2014 to 2016 she was a postdoctoral researcher working jointly out of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University.[7][13]
Arbour primarily studies dinosaurs in the group Ankylosauria, including biomechanical analyses of tail clubs.[6][14] Arbour has studied microfossils from Nova Scotia.[11] She has also named the possible pterosaur Gwawinapterus from Hornby Island, and a partial ornithischian dinosaur from Sustut Basin, both locations in British Columbia.[11] She has participated in the naming of the ankylosaurs Zuul,[4][5][15] Zaraapelta,[4] Crichtonpelta,[16], Ziapelta,[7][17][18] as well as resurrecting Dyoplosaurus,[19] and publishing an extensive phylogenetic analysis on the interrelationships of Ankylosauridae.[16]
According to Brian Alary of the University of Alberta, "She’s contributed to history-making research by analyzing fossils and creating 3-D computer models, developed course materials and taught 35,000 students at a time through the Dino 101 MOOC."[8] Philip Currie credits Arbour for involving the paleontology discipline with the University of Alberta's "Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science & Technology", making study of dinosaurs more appealing to women.[8]
References
- ^ "Digging it: Dr. Victoria Arbour (BSc'06)". Dalhousie University: Alumni Spotlight. May 18, 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ Pickrell, John (2017-09-18). "What if dinosaurs hadn't died out?". BBC Future. BBC. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ Elbein, Asher (2016-10-12). "Did Plant-Eating Dinosaurs Really Only Eat Plants?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Hamers, Laurel (2017-06-13). "New dinosaur resurrects a demon from Ghostbusters". Science News. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ a b Greshko, Michael (2017-11-29). "Stunning Dinosaur Likely Used Armour to Flirt as Well as Fight". National Geographic. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ a b Yong, Ed (2017-05-10). "Meet Zuul, Destroyer of Shins—a Dinosaur Named After the Ghostbusters Monster". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ a b c Dunham, Will (2015-09-01). "King of clubs: intriguing tale of the 'tank' dinosaur's tail". Reuters. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ a b c Alary, Brian (9 June 2014). "Dinosaur scholar digs into childhood dreams". Folio. University of Alberta. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
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(help) - ^ Nath, Ishani (2017-05-14). "What It's Like to Dig for Dinosaurs—*Spoiler Alert* It's Pretty Cool". Flare. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
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(help) - ^ Arbour, Victoria M. (April 28, 2006). "An ornithischian dinosaur from the Sustut Basin, British Columbia, Canada" (PDF). Retrieved 30 December 2017.
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(help) - ^ a b c "Faculty of Science – Victoria Arbour". Dalhousie University. 2018. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
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(help) - ^ "Royal Ontario Museum Identifies Spectacular New Species of Armoured Dinosaur". Royal Ontario Museum. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
- ^ Gaines, James (2015-09-14). "How armored dinosaur got its bone-bashing tail". CBS News. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ Switek, Brian (2016-06-16). "Sadly, "Ankylosaur Fight Club" Is Probably Wishful Thinking". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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(help) - ^ Riva, Nicole (May 9, 2017). "New dinosaur species named after Ghostbusters villain Zuul". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
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(help) - ^ a b Arbour, Victoria M.; Currie, Philip J. (2015). "Systematics, phylogeny and palaeobiogeography of the ankylosaurid dinosaurs". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology: 1. doi:10.1080/14772019.2015.1059985.
- ^ Arbour, Victoria M.; Burns, Michael E.; Sullivan, Robert M.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Cantrell, Amanda K.; Fry, Joshua; Suazo, Thomas L. (24 September 2014). "A New Ankylosaurid Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Kirtlandian) of New Mexico with Implications for Ankylosaurid Diversity in the Upper Cretaceous of Western North America". PLOS ONE. 9 (9). PLOS: e108804. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108804. PMC 4177562. PMID 25250819. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
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: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Switek, Brian (2014-09-25). "Ziapelta – New Mexico's Newest Dinosaur". Phenomena. National Geographic. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
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(help) - ^ Switek, Brian (5 November 2012). "D is for Dyoplosaurus". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
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