Overview
Background
Dr Steve Salisbury is an Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland, where he is head of the UQ Dinosaur Lab and Chair of First Nations Engagement. He is also Research Associate at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, Associate Editor for the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and a Scientific Board member of the Jurassic Foundation.
Steve studied biology and geology at the University of Sydney, receiving the Edgeworth David Award for Palaeontology in 1993. He then moved to the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where he completed his Honours thesis on fossil crocodilians from Murgon, south-eastern Queensland. Continuing at the UNSW, Steve travelled to Germany and the UK to complete a PhD on crocodilian locomotor evolution. He returned to Australia in 2000 to pursue a life-long dream of searching for Australian dinosaurs, and joined The University of Queensland in 2003 as a Postdoctoral Fellow.
Steve's research focuses on the evolution of Gondwanan continental vertebrates, in particular dinosaurs and crocodilians. He is also interested in vertebrate biomechanics and using extant animals to better understand the anatomy, behaviour and evolution of extinct ones. His field-based research takes him to various parts of Queensland, the Kimberley, New Zealand and Antarctica.
Availability
- Associate Professor Steven Salisbury is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Research interests
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Dinosaurs
Australasian Cretaceous dinosaur faunas; evolution of Australasian ornithopods, thyreophorans, sauropods and theropods; Gondwanan dinosaur palaeobiogeography; dinosaur trackways
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Crocodiles
evolution of Australasian crocodilians; origin of modern crocodilians; crocodilian locomotor evolution; crocodilian lung ventilation; crocodilian growth dynamics
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Biomechanics
locomotor evolution of dinosaurs and crocodilians; vertebral bracing in archosaurs; feeding behaviour in crocodilians
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Other research interests
evolution of Australian Cretaceous fishes; evolution of Australian pterosaurs; geology and taphonomy of Australian Cretaceous dinosaur localities; palaeopathology in fossil archosaurs
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Cultural Heritage
First Nations cultural heritage, Traditional Knowledge, ethnography,
Research impacts
The results of Steve's research have been widely covered in the media, and he provides regular commentary on palaeontological research via the Australian Science Media Centre. His research has been the impetus for the establishment of a $1.5 million interpretive centre in the outback town of Isisford, central-western Queensland, and recently helped to secure National Heritage Listing of dinosaur tracks on the Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome, which subsequently contributed to the collapse of a $40+ billion LNG development.
Steve's honours include the Rea Postdoctoral Fellowship (2007-2009, Carnegie Museum of Natural History), an Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (Industry) (2003-2006, The University of Queensland), an Australian Postgraduate Award (1995-1998, University of NSW), a Postgraduate Research Scholarship (1996-1998, German Academic Exchange Service) and The Banks Alecto Fellowship (1996-1997, The Royal Society, London). He has also received research funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Australian Geographic Society, the Linnean Society of NSW, Isisford Shire Council, Longreach Regional Council, Winton Sire Council, Queensland Museum, The Western Australian Greens, The Wilderness Society and Land Rover Australia.
Works
Search Professor Steven Salisbury’s works on UQ eSpace
2003
Journal Article
On the shoulders of a giant: the story of Elliot, Australia's largest dinosaur
Salisbury, S. (2003). On the shoulders of a giant: the story of Elliot, Australia's largest dinosaur. Australian Age of Dinosaurs (1), 12-21.
2003
Conference Publication
A new crocodilian from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil
Salisbury, S. W., Frey, E., Martil, D. M. and Buchy, M.-C. (2003). A new crocodilian from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil. Sixty-Third Annual Meeting Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A., 15-18 October 2003. Norman, Okla., U.S.A.: University of Oklahoma.
2003
Journal Article
The fuzzy frontier
Salisbury, S. (2003). The fuzzy frontier. Nature Australia, 27 (10), 34-43.
2003
Journal Article
A new crocodilian from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil
Salisbury, S. W., Frey, E., Martill, D. M. and Buchy, M. C. (2003). A new crocodilian from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil. Palaeontographica. Abteilung A, Palaozoologie - Stratigraphie, 270 (1-3), 3-47. doi: 10.1127/pala/270/2003/3
2003
Journal Article
Clash of the titans
Salisbury, S. (2003). Clash of the titans. Nature Australia, 27 (7), 44-51.
2002
Journal Article
Crocodilians from the lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) Purbeck Limestone Group of Dorset, southern England
Salisbury, S. W. (2002). Crocodilians from the lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) Purbeck Limestone Group of Dorset, southern England. Special Papers in Palaeontology :Life And Environments In Purbeck Times, 68 (68), 121-144.
2001
Book Chapter
A biomechanical transformation model for the evolution of semi-spheroidal articulations between adjoining vertebral bodies in crocodilians
Salisbury. S. W. and Frey, E. (2001). A biomechanical transformation model for the evolution of semi-spheroidal articulations between adjoining vertebral bodies in crocodilians. Crocodilian biology and evolution. (pp. 121-148) edited by Gordon C. Grigg, Frank Seebacher and Craig E. Franklink. Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia: Surrey Beatty & Sons.
2001
Conference Publication
A biomechanical transformation model for the evolution of semi-spheroidal articulations between adjoining vertebral bodies in crocodilians
Salisbury, SW and Frey, E (2001). A biomechanical transformation model for the evolution of semi-spheroidal articulations between adjoining vertebral bodies in crocodilians. Conference on Crocodilian Biology and Evolution, St Lucia Australia, Jul, 1998. CHIPPING NORTON NSW: SURREY BEATTY & SONS.
2001
Book Chapter
The kinematics of aquatic locomotion in Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope
Frey, E. and Salisbury, S. W. (2001). The kinematics of aquatic locomotion in Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope. Crocodilian biology and evolution. (pp. 165-179) edited by Gordon C. Grigg, Frank Seebacher and Craig E. Franklin. Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia: Surrey Beatty & Sons.
1999
Journal Article
Studies on Cenozoic crocodiles: 3. Gavialosuchus cf. gaudensis (Eusuchia: Tomistomidae) from the Lower Miocene of south Germany
Rossman, T., Berg, D. E. and Salisbury, S. W. (1999). Studies on Cenozoic crocodiles: 3. Gavialosuchus cf. gaudensis (Eusuchia: Tomistomidae) from the Lower Miocene of south Germany. Neues Jahrbuch fuer Geologie und Palaeontologie. Monatshefte (6), 321-330.
1999
Journal Article
The crocodilian Goniopholis simus from the Lower Cretaceous of north-western Germany
Salisbury, S. W., Willis, P. M. A., Peitz, S. and Sander, P. M. (1999). The crocodilian Goniopholis simus from the Lower Cretaceous of north-western Germany. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 60 (60), 121-148.
1997
Journal Article
A new crocodilylian from the Early Eocene of southeastern Queensland and a preliminary investigation of phylogenetic relationships of crocodyloids. (vol 20, pg 179, 1996)
Salisbury, SW and Willis, PMA (1997). A new crocodilylian from the Early Eocene of southeastern Queensland and a preliminary investigation of phylogenetic relationships of crocodyloids. (vol 20, pg 179, 1996). Alcheringa, 21 (3-4), 218-218. doi: 10.1080/03115519708619174
1996
Journal Article
A new crocodylian from the early Eocene of southeastern Queensland and a preliminary investigation of the phylogenetic relationships of crocodyloids
Salisbury, S. W. and Willis, P. M. A. (1996). A new crocodylian from the early Eocene of southeastern Queensland and a preliminary investigation of the phylogenetic relationships of crocodyloids. Alcheringa: an Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 20 (3), 179-226. doi: 10.1080/03115519608619189
Funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Steven Salisbury is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Postgraduate projects (Honours and PhD) in the Vertebrate Palaeontology and Biomechanics Lab:
Our lab’s research focuses on the evolution of Gondwanan continental vertebrates, in particular dinosaurs and crocodilians. We are also interested in vertebrate biomechanics and using extant animals to better understand the anatomy, behaviour and evolution of extinct ones.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Distribution, abundance, and palaeoecological insights into theropod tracks of the Broome Sandstone, Western Australia
Principal Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
Distribution, abundance, and palaeoecological insights into theropod tracks of the Broome Sandstone, Western Australia
Principal Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
New insights into the preservation of the Cretaceous vertebrate fauna of the Eromanga Basin in Central West Queensland
Principal Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
New insights into the preservation of the Cretaceous vertebrate fauna of the Eromanga Basin in Central West Queensland
Principal Advisor
Completed supervision
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
New insights into the taxonomic diversity and evolution of crocodylians from the Cenozoic Era of Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Gilbert Price
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Standing on the feet of giants: Insights into the biomechanics and evolution of the sauropod hind foot and its implications for sauropod biology
Principal Advisor
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Life by the Eromanga Sea: Taphonomy of crocodyliform and osteichthyan fossils from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) portion of the Winton Formation at Isisford, central-west Queensland
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kevin Welsh
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
The ichnological record of Australian Cretaceous ornithopodan dinosaurs: diversity, behaviour, and implications for the evolution of pedal posture
Principal Advisor
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
Anatomy, systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the Early Cretaceous ornithopod dinosaurs of the Australian-Antarctic rift system
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Lyn Cook
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
The palaeoenvironment of the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) portion of the Winton Formation, central-western Queensland, Australia
Principal Advisor
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Evolutionary developmental biology of the mammalian middle ear: Using virtual reconstruction to integrate development and biomechanics
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor Steven Salisbury directly for media enquiries about:
- Archosaurs
- Australian dinosaurs
- Biomechanics and dinosaurs
- Crocodiles - palaeontology
- Crocodilian fossils
- Dinosaurs
- Evolution
- Fossil crocodilians
- Fossils in Queensland
- Functional morphology
- Palaeontology
- Queensland fossils
- Systematics - palaeontology
- Vertebrate palaeontology
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