Welcome to the Coates Lab!

We sit at the crossroads of evolutionary developmental biology, paleobiology, and anatomy. Our research interests are wide-ranging, and broadly fall under the evolution and diversity of early vertebrates, as well as adding paleontological and comparative anatomy perspectives to evo-devo. We are also very interested in the use of new imaging and visualization technologies in our work, such as CT scanning and 3D printing.

NEWS

Burning up at Burns Night 2020 #fyrefestival

Burning up at Burns Night 2020 #fyrefestival

Our lab met to celebrate the legacy of Mr. Burns, a Scot, at Tetsuto/Kesia/Toru's apartment. We sipped on whiskey, ferociously snacked on pork belly and cous cous salad, and ate too much chocolate pudding. Thank you hagfish-in-training Tetsuto and Kesia for hosting a...

Goodbye to Kristen!

Goodbye to Kristen!

On a dark and stormy day in January, we bid goodbye to our beloved lab artist, Kristen, who has ascended to Kansas. As Kristen lay on a table among human bones, we read aloud tragic eulogies and wept. Finally, we launched a boat into Botany Pond and set it aflame,...

Recent Publications

 

The postcranial anatomy of Whatcheeria deltae and its implications for the family Whatcheeriidae

Benjamin K A Otoo, John R Bolt, R Eric Lombard, Kenneth D Angielczyk, Michael I Coates. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2021; https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa182

The early elasmobranch Phoebodus: phylogenetic relationships, ecomorphology and a new time-scale for shark evolution.

Frey L, Coates M, Ginter M, Hairapetian V, Rücklin M, Jerjen I, Klug C. The early elasmobranch Phoebodus: phylogenetic relationships, ecomorphology and a new time-scale for shark evolution. Proc Biol Sci. 2019 Oct 09; 286(1912):20191336. PMID: 31575362

High-performance suction feeding in an early elasmobranch.

Coates MI, Tietjen K, Olsen AM, Finarelli JA. High-performance suction feeding in an early elasmobranch. Sci Adv. 2019 09; 5(9):eaax2742. PMID: 31535026

Hagfish from the Cretaceous Tethys Sea and a reconciliation of the morphological-molecular conflict in early vertebrate phylogeny.

Miyashita T, Coates MI, Farrar R, Larson P, Manning PL, Wogelius RA, Edwards NP, Anné J, Bergmann U, Palmer AR, Currie PJ. Hagfish from the Cretaceous Tethys Sea and a reconciliation of the morphological-molecular conflict in early vertebrate phylogeny. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 02 05; 116(6):2146-215. PMID: 30670644