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Gary McGaughey
Advisor: Dr. Brandon Peecook
Degree: Ph.D. Biology
Office: GLS 321
Education
2023, M.S. Geology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
2019, B.S. Geology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
Biographical Sketch
I have always been fascinated by the natural world and spent much of my childhood marveling at all aspects of natural history. Prehistoric life, specifically dinosaurs, really captured my attention, and I decided early in my life that I wanted to be a paleontologist. This fascination waxed and waned as I grew, but was solidified late in my childhood when I found fossils on the shores of Shasta Lake, CA, during a family vacation. The focus of my academic career has been on studying prehistoric life and the rocks in which their fossils are found. I now work primarily on the marine reptiles that swam in the oceans during the time of the dinosaurs.
Current Research
My Ph.D. project aims to refine our understanding of the evolutionary relationships
between marine reptiles by using data from high-resolution micro-CT and synchrotron radiation scans of North American marine reptiles, combined with targeted fieldwork in important Early Triassic localities. I aim to use these data to differentiate analogous characters due to adaptation for aquatic life from homologous characters that reflect evolutionary relationships. I have broader interests in Triassic marine reptiles and the ways that these aquatic reptiles were affected by and recovered from extinction.