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

Congrats Abby for advancing to candidacy!

Congrats Abby for advancing to candidacy!

Abby Caron successfully defended her PhD proposal, "The Diversification of Paleozoic Ray-Finned Fishes” on May 30th. We look forward to the inevitable conquest of all free surface areas of the lab with her 3D printed braincases.

Vish gives Dev Bio Journal Club talk!

Vish gives Dev Bio Journal Club talk!

Vishruth Venkat/lamprey-in-disguise gave a fantastic talk during the Dev Bio Journal Club on Stundl et al. 2019 (https://elifesciences.org/articles/43531)!

Tiny feast at lab meeting

Tiny feast at lab meeting

April 19th's lab meeting was blessed by a diversity of food- our lab members brought in tasty snacks from various trips and events without knowing that everyone else was also bringing in food! Featured in this photo are tea cakes from Scotland, Jaffa cakes from...

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