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Mathew Wedel
PeerJ Editor, Author & Reviewer
4,670 Points

Contributions by role

Author 270
Preprint Author 595
Reviewer 105
Editor 3,700

Contributions by subject area

Evolutionary Studies
Paleontology
Zoology
Ecology
Anatomy and Physiology
Animal Behavior
Anthropology
Science and Medical Education
Developmental Biology
Veterinary Medicine
Marine Biology
Biodiversity
Entomology
Taxonomy
Biogeography
Pathology
Mathematical Biology
Histology

By Q&A topic

Evolutionary-studies
Paleontology

Mathew John Wedel

PeerJ Editor, Author & Reviewer

Summary

I am a vertebrate paleontologist, and my main areas of interest are sauropod dinosaurs and the evolution of pneumatic (air-filled) bones in dinosaurs and birds. I'm also interested in the evolution of heads and necks in vertebrates, and in the nervous systems of very large animals. I've been fortunate to coauthor three papers naming new dinosaurs: the sauropods Sauroposeidon (2000) and Brontomerus (2011), and the early horned dinosaur Aquilops (2014). I am currently an Associate Professor at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, where I teach gross anatomy. In 2016 my book "The Sauropod Dinosaurs: Life in the Age of Giants", with artist and lead author Mark Hallett, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

In my spare time I enjoy stargazing, and I write the monthly Binocular Highlights column and the occasional feature article for Sky & Telescope magazine.

Anatomy & Physiology Evolutionary Studies Paleontology Taxonomy Zoology

Editing Journals

PeerJ - the Journal of Life & Environmental Sciences

Past or current institution affiliations

College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (Western University of Health Sciences)

Work details

Associate Professor

Western University of Health Sciences
Department of Anatomy

Websites

  • Google Scholar
  • Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week
  • CV and publications
  • 10 Minute Astronomy (my stargazing blog)
  • ORCID
  • FigShare
  • Amazon author page

PeerJ Contributions

  • Articles 2
  • Preprints 12
  • Edited 34
  • Reviewed 2
March 17, 2015
Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha)
Brian P. Kraatz, Emma Sherratt, Nicholas Bumacod, Mathew J. Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.844 PubMed 25802812
February 12, 2013
Why sauropods had long necks; and why giraffes have short necks
Michael P. Taylor, Mathew J. Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.36 PubMed 23638372
September 30, 2019 - Version: 2
What do we mean by the directions “cranial” and “caudal” on a vertebra?
Michael P Taylor, Matthew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27437v2
September 24, 2019 - Version: 1
How to make new discoveries in (human) anatomy
Mathew John Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27980v1
September 19, 2019 - Version: 1
The past, present and future of Jensen's “Big Three” sauropods
Michael P Taylor, Mathew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27970v1
September 17, 2019 - Version: 1
Neural canal ridges: A novel osteological correlate of post-cranial neurology in dinosaurs
Jessie Atterholt, Mathew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27967v1
December 17, 2018 - Version: 1
Reconstructing an unusual specimen of Haplocanthosaurus using a blend of physical and digital techniques
Mathew J Wedel, Jessie Atterholt, Jeff Macalino, Thierra Nalley, Gary Wisser, John Yasmer
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27431v1
September 14, 2018 - Version: 2
A CT-based survey of supramedullary diverticula in extant birds
Jessie Atterholt, Mathew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27201v2
September 21, 2017 - Version: 2
Growth series of one: case studies in time-transgressive morphology
Mathew J Wedel, Brian P Kraatz, Michael P Taylor, Jann Vendetti
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.3162v2
September 8, 2017 - Version: 2
A unique Morrison-Formation sauropod specimen with biconcave dorsal vertebrae
Michael P Taylor, Mathew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.3144v2
September 13, 2016 - Version: 2
The neck of Barosaurus: longer, wider and weirder than those of Diplodocus and other diplodocines
Michael P Taylor, Mathew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.67v2
September 7, 2015 - Version: 1
Were the necks of Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus adapted for combat?
Michael P Taylor, Mathew J Wedel, Darren Naish, Brian Engh
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1347v1
January 8, 2015 - Version: 1
A variant nerve that mimics the left recurrent laryngeal nerve: a case study in human anatomy
Dickran Altounian, Cathy M Tran, Christina Tran, Allison Spencer, Alexandra Shendrik, Brian P Kraatz, Mathew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.781v1
December 3, 2014 - Version: 1
Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha)
Brian P Kraatz, Nicholas Bumacod, Emma Sherratt, Mathew J Wedel
https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.657v1

Academic Editor on

April 29, 2021
Evidence of integumentary scale diversity in the late Jurassic Sauropod Diplodocus sp. from the Mother’s Day Quarry, Montana
Tess Gallagher, Jason Poole, Jason P. Schein
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11202 PubMed 33986987
April 21, 2021
First remains of the enormous alligatoroid Deinosuchus from the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation, New Mexico
Benjamin F. Mohler, Andrew T. McDonald, Douglas G. Wolfe
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11302 PubMed 33981505
April 19, 2021
Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness
Alan L. Titus, Katja Knoll, Joseph J.W. Sertich, Daigo Yamamura, Celina A. Suarez, Ian J. Glasspool, Jonathan E. Ginouves, Abigail K. Lukacic, Eric M. Roberts
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11013 PubMed 33976955
April 14, 2021
Age and growth of Palaeoloxodon huaihoensis from Penghu Channel, Taiwan: significance of their age distribution based on fossils
Jia-Cih Kang, Chien-Hsiang Lin, Chun-Hsiang Chang
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11236 PubMed 33954049
April 7, 2021
Injuries and molting interference in a trilobite from the Cambrian (Furongian) of South China
Ruiwen Zong
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11201 PubMed 33868827
September 2, 2020
Extreme dispersal or human-transport? The enigmatic case of an extralimital freshwater occurrence of a Southern elephant seal from Indiana
Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro, Maria H. Zicos, Nicholas D. Pyenson
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9665 PubMed 32953258
July 15, 2020
Decomposition of dinosaurian remains inferred by invertebrate traces on vertebrate bone reveal new insights into Late Jurassic ecology, decay, and climate in western Colorado
Julia B. McHugh, Stephanie K. Drumheller, Anja Riedel, Miriam Kane
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9510 PubMed 32742794
May 22, 2020
Oldest co-occurrence of Varanus and Python from Africa—first record of squamates from the early Miocene of Moghra Formation, Western Desert, Egypt
Georgios L. Georgalis, Mohamed K. Abdel Gawad, Safiya M. Hassan, Ahmed N. El-Barkooky, Mohamed A. Hamdan
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9092 PubMed 32509449
April 1, 2020
New anatomical information on Dsungaripterus weii Young, 1964 with focus on the palatal region
He Chen, Shunxing Jiang, Alexander W.A. Kellner, Xin Cheng, Xinjun Zhang, Rui Qiu, Yang Li, Xiaolin Wang
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8741 PubMed 32274262
October 15, 2019
Plant and insect herbivore community variation across the Paleocene–Eocene boundary in the Hanna Basin, southeastern Wyoming
Lauren E. Azevedo Schmidt, Regan E. Dunn, Jason Mercer, Marieke Dechesne, Ellen D. Currano
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7798 PubMed 31637117
September 16, 2019
Why the long face? Comparative shape analysis of miniature, pony, and other horse skulls reveals changes in ontogenetic growth
Laura Heck, Marcelo R. Sanchez-Villagra, Madlen Stange
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7678 PubMed 31576240
February 14, 2019
Additional sauropod dinosaur material from the Callovian Oxford Clay Formation, Peterborough, UK: evidence for higher sauropod diversity
Femke M. Holwerda, Mark Evans, Jeff J. Liston
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6404 PubMed 30783572
October 31, 2018
Cancellous bone and theropod dinosaur locomotion. Part I—an examination of cancellous bone architecture in the hindlimb bones of theropods
Peter J. Bishop, Scott A. Hocknull, Christofer J. Clemente, John R. Hutchinson, Andrew A. Farke, Belinda R. Beck, Rod S. Barrett, David G. Lloyd
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5778 PubMed 30402347
October 31, 2018
Cancellous bone and theropod dinosaur locomotion. Part II—a new approach to inferring posture and locomotor biomechanics in extinct tetrapod vertebrates
Peter J. Bishop, Scott A. Hocknull, Christofer J. Clemente, John R. Hutchinson, Rod S. Barrett, David G. Lloyd
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5779 PubMed 30402348
October 31, 2018
Cancellous bone and theropod dinosaur locomotion. Part III—Inferring posture and locomotor biomechanics in extinct theropods, and its evolution on the line to birds
Peter J. Bishop, Scott A. Hocknull, Christofer J. Clemente, John R. Hutchinson, Andrew A. Farke, Rod S. Barrett, David G. Lloyd
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5777 PubMed 30402346
October 12, 2018
Bite marks on the frill of a juvenile Centrosaurus from the Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Provincial Park Formation, Alberta, Canada
David W.E. Hone, Darren H. Tanke, Caleb M. Brown
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5748 PubMed 30345174
July 24, 2018
The real Bigfoot: a pes from Wyoming, USA is the largest sauropod pes ever reported and the northern-most occurrence of brachiosaurids in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation
Anthony Maltese, Emanuel Tschopp, Femke Holwerda, David Burnham
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5250 PubMed 30065867
November 29, 2017
An exceptionally preserved armored dinosaur reveals the morphology and allometry of osteoderms and their horny epidermal coverings
Caleb M. Brown
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4066 PubMed 29201564
August 8, 2017
Taxonomic analysis of Paraguayan samples of Homonota fasciata Duméril & Bibron (1836) with the revalidation of Homonota horrida Burmeister (1861) (Reptilia: Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) and the description of a new species
Pier Cacciali, Mariana Morando, Cintia D. Medina, Gunther Köhler, Martha Motte, Luciano J. Avila
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3523 PubMed 28828231
July 18, 2017
Investigating the running abilities of Tyrannosaurus rex using stress-constrained multibody dynamic analysis
William I. Sellers, Stuart B. Pond, Charlotte A. Brassey, Philip L. Manning, Karl T. Bates
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3420 PubMed 28740745
May 16, 2017
Reappraisal of the extinct seal “Phoca” vitulinoides from the Neogene of the North Sea Basin, with bearing on its geological age, phylogenetic affinities, and locomotion
Leonard Dewaele, Eli Amson, Olivier Lambert, Stephen Louwye
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3316 PubMed 28533965
April 20, 2017
New findings of Pleistocene fossil turtles (Geoemydidae, Kinosternidae and Chelydridae) from Santa Elena Province, Ecuador
Edwin A. Cadena, Juan Abella, Maria D. Gregori
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3215 PubMed 28439472
March 8, 2017
Description of Arundel Clay ornithomimosaur material and a reinterpretation of Nedcolbertia justinhofmanni as an “Ostrich Dinosaur”: biogeographic implications
Chase Doran Brownstein
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3110 PubMed 28286718
January 18, 2017
Neck biomechanics indicate that giant Transylvanian azhdarchid pterosaurs were short-necked arch predators
Darren Naish, Mark P. Witton
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2908 PubMed 28133577
November 8, 2016
The origin of the lower fourth molar in canids, inferred by individual variation
Masakazu Asahara
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2689 PubMed 27843722
July 6, 2016
Dental microwear reveals mammal-like chewing in the neoceratopsian dinosaur Leptoceratops gracilis
Frank J. Varriale
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2132 PubMed 27441111
June 8, 2016
New lower jaw and teeth referred to Maxakalisaurus topai (Titanosauria: Aeolosaurini) and their implications for the phylogeny of titanosaurid sauropods
Marco A.G. França, Júlio C. de A. Marsola, Douglas Riff, Annie S. Hsiou, Max C. Langer
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2054 PubMed 27330853
January 11, 2016
The identity of the South African toad Sclerophrys capensis Tschudi, 1838 (Amphibia, Anura)
Annemarie Ohler, Alain Dubois
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1553 PubMed 26788431
September 29, 2015
Thalassemys bruntrutana n. sp., a new coastal marine turtle from the Late Jurassic of Porrentruy (Switzerland), and the paleobiogeography of the Thalassemydidae
Christian Püntener, Jérémy Anquetin, Jean-Paul Billon-Bruyat
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1282 PubMed 26468437
July 9, 2015
Two new species of fossil Leggadina (Rodentia: Muridae) from Northwestern Queensland
Ada J. Klinkhamer, Henk Godthelp
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1088 PubMed 26207193
June 16, 2015
Were early pterosaurs inept terrestrial locomotors?
Mark P. Witton
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1018 PubMed 26157605
May 12, 2015
New insights into the lifestyle of Allosaurus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) based on another specimen with multiple pathologies
Christian Foth, Serjoscha W. Evers, Ben Pabst, Octávio Mateus, Alexander Flisch, Mike Patthey, Oliver W.M. Rauhut
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.940 PubMed 26020001
May 12, 2015
Thylacinus (Marsupialia: Thylacinidae) from the Mio-Pliocene boundary and the diversity of Late Neogene thylacinids in Australia
Adam M. Yates
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.931 PubMed 26019996
September 25, 2014
Revision of the Late Jurassic crocodyliform Alligatorellus, and evidence for allopatric speciation driving high diversity in western European atoposaurids
Jonathan P. Tennant, Philip D. Mannion
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.599 PubMed 25279270

Signed reviews submitted for articles published in PeerJ Note that some articles may not have the review itself made public unless authors have made them open as well.

May 2, 2017
The earliest known titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur and the evolution of Brachiosauridae
Philip D. Mannion, Ronan Allain, Olivier Moine
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3217 PubMed 28480136
March 26, 2013
Pulmonary anatomy in the Nile crocodile and the evolution of unidirectional airflow in Archosauria
Emma R. Schachner, John R. Hutchinson, CG Farmer
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.60 PubMed 23638399