Robert K. Carr
Lecturer/Instructor Comparative Anatomy and General Biology laboratory
M.S., The University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor
Ph.D., The University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor
Gymnotrachelus hydei
Research
I am interested in questions concerning diversity and extinction and the
evolutionary patterns and processes associated with these phenomena. Paleozoic
gnathostomes provide an excellent opportunity to evaluate a number of these
important evolutionary questions. During the Devonian there was a major
radiation within this group. The water column, in which these fishes lived, was
not devoid of other predators; however, the history of early vertebrates shows
the origin and evolution of organisms with specializations in locomotion,
feeding structures, and sensory organs, as well as central processing and
coordination of sensory and motor systems.
Devonian sediments offer a unique and important view of early gnathostome
history since they represent the largest estimated volume and geological map
area for Paleozoic systems. Placoderms provide an excellent model for the
analysis of evolutionary patterns and mechanisms at a time early in gnathostome
history.
My interest in the evolution of early gnathostomes has combined phylogeny,
evolution, ecology, and functional morphology of Arthrodira (Class Placodermi)
in the context of global gnathostome patterns. This study has required a major
revision of the systematics of arthrodires centering on North American fossils
from the Appalachian and Michigan Basins.
Ongoing field work is being conducted in the Michigan and Catskill
(Appalachian) Basins to document faunal patterns within the basins before and
after three major global extinction events.
Sedimentological and fossil evidence are being used to evaluate autecology
and community ecology within and among basins. Additionally, postmortem
patterns are used to determine the sources of fossil material because organisms
are often preserved in areas outside their natural habitat.
Recent Publications
Carr, R. K., 1991.
Reanalysis of Heintzichthys gouldii,
an aspinothoracid arthrodire (Placodermi), from the Cleveland Shale (Famennian)
of Northern Ohio, U. S. A., with a systematic review of brachythoracid
arthrodires. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 103(4):349–390.
Carr, R. K., 1994. A
redescription of Gymnotrachelus hydei (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Cleveland Shale (Famennian) of
northern Ohio, U. S. A. Kirtlandia. Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 48:3–21.
Carr, R. K., 1995a.
Placoderm diversity and evolution. VIIth International Symposium: Studies on
Early Vertebrates. Bulletin du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 17:85-125.
Carr, R. K., 1995b.
Opportunity knocked and no one was home: Aspinothoracid arthrodires
(Placodermi) from the Ohio Shale Formation (Upper Devonian, North America).
Geobios 19:81–83.
Carr, R. K., and W. J.
Hlavin, 1995c. Dinichthyidae (Placodermi): A paleontological fiction? Geobios
19:85–87.
Carr, R. K., 1996. Stenosteus
angustopectus sp. nov. from the
Cleveland Shale (Famennian) of northern Ohio with a review of selenosteid
(Placodermi) systematics. Kirtlandia 49:19–43.
Elliot, D. K., H. G.
Johnson, R. Cloutier, R. K. Carr, and E. B. Daeschler, 2000. Middle and Late
Devonian vertebrates of the western Old Red Sandstone Continent. In Blieck, A. and S. Turner (eds). Palaeozoic
Vertebrate Biochronology and Global Marine/Non-marine Correlation, Final Report
of IGCP 328 (1991-1996). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 223:291-308.
Carr, R. K., 2004.
Recognizing paraphyletic stem groups: A case study in the analysis of
eubrachythoracid arthrodires (Placodermi). In G. Arratia, M.V.H. Wilson, and R. Cloutier (eds.)
p. 127-138; Recent Advances in the Origin and Early Radiation of the
Vertebrates. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, Germany.
Carr, R. K. and G. L.
Jackson, 2005. Diplognathus lafargei sp. Nov. from the Antrim Shale (Upper Devonian) of the Michigan
Basin, Michigan, U.S.A. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 8(2):109-116.
Carr, R. K. and G. L.
Jackson, 2006. The vertebrate fauna of the Cleveland Shale (Famennian, northern
Ohio). Field Guide, Geological Society of America, North-Central Section
Meeting 2006.
Carr, R. K., (in press).
Paleoecology of Dunleosteus terrelli (Placodermi: Arthrodira). Kirtlandia, Cleveland Museum of Natural
History.
Carr, R. K. and G. L.
Jackson, (in press). The vertebrate fauna of the Cleveland Shale (Famennian,
northern Ohio). Ohio Geological Survey, Field Guide.
Carr, R. K., H.
Lelièvre, and G. L. Jackson, (in press). The ancestral morphotype for the
gnathostome pectoral fin revisited, with new pachyosteomorph (Arthrodira) fin
material adding to the understanding of the placoderm condition. In Xiaobo, Y., J. Maisey, and D. Miao (eds.) Fossil
Fishes and Related Biota: Morphology, Phylogeny and Paleobiography – In Honor
of Meemann Chang. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, Germany.
Lelièvre , H. and R.
K. Carr, (in press). The
occipital-synarcual complex in Nefudina qalibahensis. Journal of vertebrate Paleontology.
Carr, R. K., Z.
Johanson, and A. Ritchie, (in press). The phyllolepid placoderm Cowralepis
mclachlani: insights into the
evolution of feeding mechanisms in jawed vertebrates. Journal of Morphology.
Johanson, Z, R. K.
Carr, and A. Ritchie, (in press).
Vertebral development in the gnathostome stem group: Fusion, gene
misexpression, and homeotic transformations. International Journal of
Developmental Biology.
Carr, R. K., and W.
Hlavin, (in review). New species of Dunkleosteus Lehman, 1956,
from the Ohio Shale Formation (U.S.A., Famennian) and the Kettle Point
Formation (Canada, Upper Devonian) and a cladistic analysis of the
Eubrachythoraci (Placodermi). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
(London)
Posters:
Carr, R. K. and G. L.
Jackson, 2002. New information on an old fish: Bungartius perissus (Placodermi: Arthrodira). 62nd Annual
Meeting, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Norman, Oklahoma.
Jones, K. and R. K.
Carr, 2004. New discoveries of
placoderm fishes from the Callaway Facies of the Cedar Valley Limestone (Middle
Devonian) of Callaway County, Missuori, U.S.A. Xth International Symposium on
Early Vertebrates/Lower Vertebrates, Gramado, Brazil.
Carr, R. K., 2004.
Teaching Comparative anatomy: A place for pedagogical theory and practice.
International Congress for Vertebrate Morphology, Boca Raton, FL.
Jackson, G. L. and R.
K. Carr, 2006. New information on
the pectoral fin in Placodermi from the Late Devonian Cleveland Shale fauna
(Framennian of northern Ohio). 66th Annual Meeting Society of
Vertebrate Paleontology, Ottawa, Canada.
Carr R. K., 2007.
Coccosteomorph arthrodires from the Devonian of North America: Fact or fiction?
1st International Symposium on Palaeobiogeography, Paris, France.
Carr, R. K., Z.
Johanson, and A. Ritchie, 2007. Fossil evidence (Pisces; Placodermi) for the
paired origin of basibranchials and their origin from neural crest. 8th
International Congress for Vertebrate Morphology, Paris, France.
Storrs, G., G. Kampouris, and R. K. Carr, 2008. New insights into the anatomy and function of Dunkleosteus terrelli (Newberry), a giant arthrodire from the famennian Cleveland Shale of Ohio. 68th Annual Meeting Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Cleveland, OH.
Published Abstracts:
Carr, R. K., 1989a. A
reanalysis of Heintzichthys gouldii.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 8 Supplement to No. 3:10A-11A.
Carr, R. K., 1989b.
Diversity of placoderms (Pisces) in the Late Devonian. Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology, 9, Supplement to No. 3:15A
Carr, R. K., 1990. Two
new dinichthyid arthrodires (Placodermi) from the Upper Devonian of Ontario
(Michigan Basin) and Ohio (Catskill Basin). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology,
10, Supplement to No. 3:16A-17A.
Carr, R. K., 1992.
Ecology of Dunkleosteus terrelli
(Arthrodira) within the Catskill Basin (North America). Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology, 12, Supplement to No. 3:21A.
Hannibal, J. T., R.
K. Carr, and C. J. Frye, 1992.
Tintenflecken from the Michigan Basin: preservation, ontogeny, and variation of
aptychi found in Upper Devonian rocks at Paxton, Michigan. Geological Society
of America, Abstracts with Programs, 24(7):224.
Carr, R. K. and G. L. Jackson,
2002. New information on an old fish: Bungartius perissus (Placodermi: Arthrodira). Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology, Supplement to No. 3.
Carr, R. K., 2004a.
Teaching Comparative anatomy: A place for pedagogical theory and practice.
Journal of Morphology 260(3):281.
Carr, R. K., 2004b.
Recognition and interpretation of snout elongation and the anterior
neurocranium in brachythoracid arthrodires (Placodermi). Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology 24, Supplement to no.
3.
Carr, R. K. and G. L.
Jackson, 2005. The pattern of durophagy among the Late Devonian arthrodires
(Placodermi). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25, Supplement to no. 3.
Jackson, G. L. and R.
K. Carr, 2006. New information on
the pectoral fin in Placodermi from the Late Devonian Cleveland Shale fauna
(Framennian of northern Ohio). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26,
Supplement to no. 3.
Carr, R. K., Z.
Johanson, and A. Ritchie, 2007a. Fossil evidence (Pisces; Placodermi) for the
paired origin of basibranchials and their derivation from neural crest. Journal
of Morphology Abstracts.
Carr, R. K., Z.
Johanson, and A. Ritchie, 2007b. Ontogeny and phylogeny of the gnathostome
branchial skeleton. 40th Anniversary Symposium on Early
Vertebrates/Lower Vertebrates, Uppsala. Ichthyolith Issues Special Publication
19: 24-25.
Johanson, Z., R. K.
Carr, and A. Ritchie, 2007.
Segmental identity within the vertebral column: what can fossils tell us?
Journal of Morphology Abstracts: 61.
Carr, R. K. and G. L. Jackson, 2008. The Cleveland
Shale fauna revisited: Is the fauna the standard for comparison in the
Famennian and Late Devonian? Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28, Supplement
to no. 3.
PRESENTATIONS (without separate abstract publication)
Carr, R. K. and E.
Mark-Kurik, 1998. Reanalysis of Heterostius and Homostius (brachythoracid arthrodires: Placodermi):
Implications on systematics and paleogeography. IGCP 406 Meeting on
Circum-Arctic Palaeozoic Faunas and Facies, Warsaw, Poland.
Carr, R. K., 1999.
Reanalysis of Homostius. 47th
Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, Royal Museum of
Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Carr, R. K., 2000. Recognizing
paraphyletic stem groups: A case study in the analysis of Protitanichthys (Placodermi, Arthrodira). 9th
International Meeting Early Vertebrates/Lower Vertebrates, Flagstaff, AZ, May
15-19, 2000.
Kampouris, G. E. and R.
K. Carr, 2000. Revision of Protitanichthys, a pachyosteomorph arthrodire from the Middle
Devonian (Early Givetian) of the Michigan and Appalachian basins. 9th
International Meeting Early Vertebrates/Lower Vertebrates, Flagstaff, AZ, May
15-19, 2000.
Carr, R. K., 2002.
Phylogenetic systematics and the arthrodires (Placodermi): Why haven’t we
reached a consensus? First International Palaeontolgical Congress, Sydney,
Australia, 5-10 July 2002.
Carr, R. K., 2004. Diplognathus
lafargei sp. nov. from the Antrim
Shale (Upper Devonian) of the Michigan Basin, Michigan, U.S.A. 10th
International Meeting Early Vertebrates/Lower Vertebrates, Gramado, Brazil, May
2004.
Carr, R. K., 2004. A
tale of two histories: Devonian fishes and their impact on the history of
science in Ohio. 1st Annual Ohio Natural History Conference,
Columbus, OH, 28 Feb 2004.
Carr, R. K., 2005. A
tale of two histories: Devonian fishes and their impact on the history of
science in Ohio: What fossils can tell biologists about living organisms?
Invited department seminar, Heidelberg College, Tiffin, OH (21 April).
Carr, R. K., 2006. A
tale of two histories: Devonian fishes and their impact on the history of
science in Ohio. Invited speaker North Coast Fossil Club, Cleveland, OH.
Carr, R. K., Z.
Johanson, and A. Ritchie, 2007. Ontogeny and phylogeny of the gnathostome
branchial skeleton. 11th International Symposium on Lower/Early
Vertebrates, Uppsala, Sweden.
Carr, R. K., Z.
Johanson, A. Ritchie, H. Lelièvre, and D. Goujet, 2007. The contributions of
placoderms to our understanding of the ontogeny and evolution of early
gnathostomes. 55th Annual Meeting, Society of Vertebrate
Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, Glasgow, UK.
Johanson, Z., R. K.
Carr, and A. Ritchie, 2007a.
Segmental identity within the vertebral column: what can fossils tell us? 55th
Annual Meeting, Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy,
Glasgow, UK.
Johanson, Z., R. K.
Carr, and A. Ritchie, 2007b.
Segmental identity within the vertebral column: what can fossils tell us? 7th
UK Evolutionary Developmental Biology Meeting. 7th September 2007, Guys Campus,
King's College London.
Johanson, Z., R. K.
Carr, and A. Ritchie, 2008. The
contribution of placoderms to our understanding of the ontogeny and evolution
of early gnathostomes. European Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology,
2nd EURO EVO DEVO Meeting, 29Jul–1Aug 2008, Ghent, Belgium.
Courses Taught
COMPARATIVE VERTEBRATE ANATOMY
(BIOS 303 — Lecturer/Laboratory
Instructor)
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy is presented as an integrative science
developing an understanding of organisms, their parts and functional systems,
development, evolution, and ecology. An integrative presentation demonstrates
the reciprocal importance of other biological disciplines in understanding
comparative anatomy and evolution. It provides an organismal context for
students interested in these other disciplines, including pre-medical programs.
This approach requires the combination of data from classical comparative
anatomy with current developmental, ecological, and theoretical research. It
provides students with an exposure both to underlying principles and to current
theory.
INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY LABORATORY
(BIOS 170 — Laboratory Instructor)
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Address, Phone, E-mail: Dept. of Biological Sciences Irvine Hall Ohio University Athens, OH 45701 (740) 593-2290 carrr1@ohio.edu Links |
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