Associate Professor Steven Salisbury
Associate Professor

Steven Salisbury

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+61 7 336 58548

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

Biological Sciences Geology

Research interests

  • Dinosaurs

    Australasian Cretaceous dinosaur faunas; evolution of Australasian ornithopods, thyreophorans, sauropods and theropods; Gondwanan dinosaur palaeobiogeography; dinosaur trackways

  • Crocodiles

    evolution of Australasian crocodilians; origin of modern crocodilians; crocodilian locomotor evolution; crocodilian lung ventilation; crocodilian growth dynamics

  • Biomechanics

    locomotor evolution of dinosaurs and crocodilians; vertebral bracing in archosaurs; feeding behaviour in crocodilians

  • Other research interests

    evolution of Australian Cretaceous fishes; evolution of Australian pterosaurs; geology and taphonomy of Australian Cretaceous dinosaur localities; palaeopathology in fossil archosaurs

  • 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.

Search Professor Steven Salisbury’s works on UQ eSpace

112 works between 1996 and 2024
All (112) Journal Article (72) Book Chapter (5) Conference Publication (31) Other Outputs (4)

101 - 112 of 112 works

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.

A new crocodilian from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil

2003

Journal Article

The fuzzy frontier

Salisbury, S. (2003). The fuzzy frontier. Nature Australia, 27 (10), 34-43.

The fuzzy frontier

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

A new crocodilian from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil

2003

Journal Article

Clash of the titans

Salisbury, S. (2003). Clash of the titans. Nature Australia, 27 (7), 44-51.

Clash of the titans

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.

Crocodilians from the lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) Purbeck Limestone Group of Dorset, southern England

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.

A biomechanical transformation model for the evolution of semi-spheroidal articulations between adjoining vertebral bodies in crocodilians

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.

A biomechanical transformation model for the evolution of semi-spheroidal articulations between adjoining vertebral bodies in crocodilians

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.

The kinematics of aquatic locomotion in Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope

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.

Studies on Cenozoic crocodiles: 3. Gavialosuchus cf. gaudensis (Eusuchia: Tomistomidae) from the Lower Miocene of south Germany

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.

The crocodilian Goniopholis simus from the Lower Cretaceous of north-western Germany

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

A new crocodilylian from the Early Eocene of southeastern Queensland and a preliminary investigation of phylogenetic relationships of crocodyloids. (vol 20, pg 179, 1996)

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

A new crocodylian from the early Eocene of southeastern Queensland and a preliminary investigation of the phylogenetic relationships of crocodyloids

Past funding

  • 2014 - 2017
    Walking with dinosaurs in the Kimberley: mapping the Cretaceous landscapes of the Dampier Peninsula
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2015
    Determining the relative roles of dispersal and vicariance in the assembly of the New Zealand Fauna (ARC Discovery Project Administered by Flinders University)
    Flinders University
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2023
    Small vertebrates from the Albian-Cenomanian of Queensland - testing hypotheses of provincialism among Australia's mid-Cretaceous dinosaur faunas
    Isisford Shire Council
    Open grant
  • 2010
    Establishment of a digital Scanscope system for virtual microscopy
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2011
    Small vertebrates from the Albian-Cenomanian of Queensland - testing hypotheses of provincialism among Australia's mid-Cretaceous dinosaur faunas
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2008
    Dinosaurs of Bladensburg National Park, central-western Queensland
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2006
    Replication of a fossil fish specimen from Isisford, central-western Queensland
    Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History Japan
    Open grant
  • 2003 - 2004
    The Isisford dinosaur fauna
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant
  • 2003 - 2006
    Life and environments of the Lower Cretaceous Winton Formation, western Queensland: The Winton Dinosaur Project
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant

Availability

Associate Professor Steven Salisbury is:
Available for supervision

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Available projects

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Distribution, abundance, and palaeoecological insights into theropod tracks of the Broome Sandstone, Western Australia

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    New insights into the preservation of the Cretaceous vertebrate fauna of the Eromanga Basin in Central West Queensland

    Principal Advisor

Completed supervision

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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