Smith Lecture: Megan Whitney

The acquisition of mammal-like features is a classic case study in step-wise gradualism. This pattern has emerged from the robust fossil record documenting these transitions in non-mammalian synapsids. Along this transitionary series, however, an emerging dichotomy between 'specialized' and 'derived' mammalian features and 'simple' and 'ancestral' reptilian features has prevailed. As a result, we tend to insinuate complexity and specialization as an inherently mammalian feature which negates the diversity of features and complexity found in other vertebrate groups, especially reptiles. Using histological details of the dentition, my research in non-mammalian synapsids dismantles this dichotomy and suggests alternative hypotheses than just step-wise gradualism alone as potential drivers in the acquisition of 'mammalress'.