David C. Evans

Dr. David C. Evans

David C. Evans

Co-Chief Curator, Natural History; James and Louise Temerty Endowed Chair of Vertebrate Fossils

Exhibitions & Galleries: Temerty Gallery of the Age of Dinosaurs

Bio

B.Sc., Integrated Sciences Program, University of British Columbia, 2003
Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 2007

Dr. David C. Evans holds the Temerty Chair in Vertebrate Palaeontology and oversees dinosaur research at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. David is an Ontario-born researcher who is recognized globally as an authority on the rich dinosaur fossil record of Canada, and on the mass extinction event that marked the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. As a curator, David helped develop the ROM's dinosaur galleries, and was Lead Curator of the major travelling exhibition Ultimate Dinosaurs. He has been featured on numerous television shows, and most recently, David was co-creator of the HISTORY series Dino Hunt Canada.

David’s research focuses on the evolution, ecology and diversity of dinosaurs, and their relationship to environmental changes leading up to the end Cretaceous mass extinction event. Active in the field, he has participated in expeditions all over the world, including the Africa, Mongolia, and Canada, and has helped discover 10 new dinosaur species in the last five years- including the remarkable horned dinosaur Wendiceratops from southern Alberta, and the wickedly armoured Zuul named after the Ghostbusters movie monster.

Latest Dinosaur Discoveries

        Gobihadros mongoliensis

        Tsogtbaatar, Weishampel, Evans, and Watabe 2019. Learn more here.

        Albertavenator curriei (Troodontidae). 

            Evans, Cullen, Larson, and Rego 2017. Learn more here.

        Zuul crurivastator (Ankylosauridae).

            Arbour and Evans 2017. Learn more here.

         Wendiceratops pinhornensis (Ceratopsidae).

            Evans and Ryan 2015. Learn more here.

         Mercuriceratops gemini (Ceratopsidae)

            Ryan, Evans, Loewen and Currie 2014. Learn more here.

        Acheroraptor temertyorum (Dromaeosauridae)

            Evans, Currie and Larson 2013. Learn more here.

        Acrotholus audeti (Pachycephalosauridae)

            Evans, Schott, Larson, Brown, and Ryan 2013. Learn more here.

        Albertadromeus syntarsus (Ornithopoda)

             Brown, Evans, Ryan, and Russell 2013. Learn more here.

        Unescoceratops koppelhusi (Ceratopsia)

              Ryan, Evans, Currie, Brown, and Brinkman 2012. Learn more here.

        Gryphoceratops morrisoni (Ceratopsia)

             Ryan, Evans, Currie, Brown, and Brinkman 2012. Learn more here.

        Xenoceratops foremostensis (Ceratopsia)

             Ryan, Evans, and Shepherd 2012. Learn more here.

Other Links

 

Recent Scientific Publications

Complete list of publications and associated citation information available from Google Scholar Citations here.

2019

  1. Campbell, J.A., M.J. Ryan, C.J. Schröder-Adams,  R.B. Holmes, and D.C. Evans. 2019. Temporal range extension and evolution of the chasmosaurine ceratopsid ‘Vagaceratops’ irvinensis (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) in the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta. Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology 7:83–100. ISSN 2292-1389

  2. Wosik, M., M. Goodwin, and D.C.Evans. 2019. Nestling-sized Hadrosaurine cranial material from the Hell Creek Formation of Northeastern Montana, USA, with an analysis of cranial ontogeny in Edmontosaurus annectens. PaleoBios, 36. ucmp_paleobios_44525

  3. Tsogtbaatar, K., D. Weishampel, D.C. Evans, and M. Watabe. 2019. A New Hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous Baynshire Formation of the Gobi Desert (Mongolia). PLoS ONE 14(4): e0208480. 

  4. Cullen, T., F. Longstaffe, U. Wortmann, M. Goodwin, L. Huang, and D.C. Evans. 2019. Stable isotopic characterization of a coastal floodplain forest community: a case-study for isotopic reconstruction of Mesozoic vertebrate assemblages. Royal Society Open Science 6 (2): 181210.

  5. Owusu Agyemang P., E.M. Roberts, R. Bussert, D.C. Evans, and J. Müller. 2019. U-Pb Detrital zircon constraints on the depositional age and provenance of the dinosaur-bearing Wadi Milk Formation of Sudan. Cretaceous Research, 97: 52-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2019.01.005

  6. Reynolds, A.R., K.L. Seymour and D.C. Evans. 2019. Late Pleistocene records of felids from Medicine Hat, Alberta, including the first Canadian record of the sabre-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (early online). https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0272

  7. Drysdale, E.T., F. Therrien, D.K. Zelenitsky, D.B. Weishampel, and D.C. Evans. 2019. Description of juvenile specimens of Prosaurolophus maximus (Hadrosauridae: Saurolophinae) from the Upper Cretaceous Bearpaw Formation of southern Alberta, Canada, reveals ontogenetic changes in crest morphology. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, e1547310.

2018

  1. Bell, P., D.C. Evans, D.A. Eberth, F. Fanti, K. Tsogtbaatar, and M. Ryan. 2018. Sedimentological and Taphonomic Observations on the “Dragon’s Tomb” Saurolophus (Hadrosauridae) bonebed, Nemegt Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Mongolia.  Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 494:  75-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.11.034

  2. Campbell J.A., M.J. Ryan, C.J. Schröder-Adams, D.C. Evans, and R.B. Holmes. 2018. New insights into chasmosaurine (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) skulls from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Alberta, and an update on the distribution of accessory frill fenestrae in Chasmosaurinae. PeerJ, 6:e5194

  3. Chiba, K., M. Ryan, F. Fanti, M. Loewen, and  D.C. Evans. 2018. New material and systematic re-evaluation of Medusaceratops lokii (Dinosauria, Ceratopsidae) from the Judith River Formation (Campanian, Montana). Journal of Paleontology, 92(2):  272-288. doi:10.1017/jpa.2017.62

  4. Evans, D.C., S. Hyashi, K. Chiba, M. Ryan, P. Currie, Y.-N. Lee, K. Tsogtbaatar, and M. Watabe. 2018. Morphology and osteohistology of new specimens of Pachycephalosauridae (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Nemegt Formation, Mongolia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 494:  121-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.11.029

2017

  1.  Arbour, V. and D. C. Evans. 2017. A new ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Montana, USA, based on an exceptional skeleton with soft tissue preservation. Royal Society Open Science 4: 161086

  2. Evans, D. C., Cullen, T., Larson, D.W., and A. Rego. 2017. A new species of troodontid theropod (Dinosauria: Maniraptora) from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Maastrichtian) of Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences: 54(8): 813-826

  3. Chiba, K., M.J. Ryan, F. Fanti, M.A. Loewen, and D.C. Evans. 2018. New material and systematic re-evaluation of Medusaceratops lokii (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) from the Judith River Formation (Campanian, Montana). Journal of Paleontology 92(2):272-288

  4. Mann, A., D. Rudkin, D. C. Evans, and M. LaFlamme. 2017. A large onychodontiform (Osteichthyes: Sarcopterygii) apex predator from the Eifelian-aged Dundee Formation of Ontario, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. doi: 10.1139/cjes-2016-0119

2016

  1. Larson, D.W., C. M. Brown, and D. C. Evans. Dental Disparity and Ecological Stability in Bird-like Dinosaurs prior to the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction. Current Biology: doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.039

  2. Cullen, T. and D. C. Evans.  2016. Palaeoenvironmental drivers of vertebrate community composition in the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada, with implications for dinosaur biogeography. BMC Ecology 16:52. doi: 10.1186/s12898-016-0106-8

  3. LeBlanc, A., R. R. Reisz, D. C. Evans, and A. Bailleul. 2016. Ontogeny Reveals Function and Evolution of the Hadrosaurid Dinosaur Dental Battery. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16: 152. doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0721-1

  4. Mallon J. C., C. J. Ott, P. L. Larson, E. M. Iuliano, and D. C. Evans. 2016. Spiclypeus shipporum gen. et sp. nov., a Boldly Audacious New Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Judith River Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Campanian) of Montana, USA. PLoS ONE 11(5): e0154218. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154218

  5. Cullen, T. M., F. Fanti, M. J. Ryan, C. Capobianco, and D. C. Evans. 2016. A vertebrate microsite spanning the marine-terrestrial transition in the Foremost Formation of Alberta, Canada, and the use of faunal assemblage data in palaeoenvironmental interpretations. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 444:101-114. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.12.015

  6. VanBuren, C. and D. C. Evans. 2016. Evolution and Function of anterior cervical vertebral fusion in tetrapods. Biological Reviews. doi: 10.1111/brv.12245

  7. Goodwin, M. and D. C. Evans. 2016.  Early expression of squamosal horns and parietal ornamentation confirmed by new end-stage juvenile Pachycephalosaurus fossils from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, Montana. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.  doi: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1078343

2015

  1. Brink, K. B., H. C. Maddin, R. R. Reisz, and D. C. Evans. 2015. Re-evaluation of the historic Canadian fossil Bathygnathus borealis from the Early Permian of Prince Edward Island. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences: 10.1139/cjes-2015-0100

  2. Evans, D. C. and M. J. Ryan. 2015. Cranial Anatomy of Wendiceratops pinhornensis gen. et sp. nov., a Centrosaurine Ceratopsid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Oldman Formation (Campanian), Alberta, Canada, and the Evolution of Ceratopsid Nasal Ornamentation. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0130007. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130007

  3. Chiba, K., M. J. Ryan, D. A. Eberth, D.Braman, Y. Kobayashi and D. C. Evans. 2015. Taphonomy of a Centrosaurus apertus (Dinsoauria: Ceratopsidae) bonebed from the Oldman Formation of Alberta, Canada. Palaios 30(9):655-667.doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.084

  4. P. M. Barrett, D. C. Evans, and N. E. Campione. 2015.  Evolution of dinosaur epidermal structures. Biology Letters. 20150229. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0229

  5. VanBuren, C., N. E. Campione, and D. C. Evans. 2015. Head size, weaponry, and cervical adaptation: Testing craniocervical evolutionary hypotheses in Ceratopsia. Evolution 69(7):1728-1724. doi/abs/10.1111/evo.12693.

  6. Brown, C. M., M. J. Ryan, and D. C. Evans. 2015. A census of Canadian Dinosaurs: more than a century of discovery. In All Animals are Interesting. (O. R. P. Bininda-Emonds, G. G. Powell, H. A. Jamniczky, A. M. Bauer, and J. Theodor, eds) BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg.

  7. Evans, D. C., D. A. Eberth, and M. P. J. Ryan. 2015. Hadrosaurid (Edmontosaurus) bonebeds from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation at Drumheller, Alberta, Canada: Geology, preliminary taphonomy, and significance. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 52(8): 642-654. doi: 10.1139/cjes-2014-0184

  8. Modesto, S. R. Reisz, M. MacDougall, D. Scott H.-D. Sues, and D. C. Evans. 2015. The oldest parareptile and the early diversification of reptiles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1912

  9. Brusatte, S. L., R. J. Butler, P. M. Barrett, M. T. Carrano, D. C. Evans, G. T. Lloyd, P. D. Mannion, M. A. Norell, D. J. Peppe, P. Upchurch, and T. E. Williamson. 2015. The extinction of the dinosaurs. Biological Reviews 90 (2): 628-642. DOI: 10.1111/brv.12128. doi/full/10.1111/brv.12128

2014

  1. Benson R. B. J., N. E. Campione, M. T. Carrano, P. D. Mannion, C. Sullivan, P. Upchurch, and D. C. Evans. 2014. Rates of dinosaur body mass evolution indicate 170 million years of sustained ecological innovation on the avian stem lineage, PLOS Biology 12(5): e1001853.

2013

  1. Evans, D. C.,  D. Larson, and P. J. Currie. 2013. A new dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) with Asian Affinities from the latest Cretaceous of North America. Naturwissenschaften 100 (11): 1041-1049. Available online here.

  2. Maddin, H. C., N. B. Frobisch, D. C. Evans, and A. R. Milner. 2013. Reappraisal of the Early Permian amphibamid Tersomius texensis and some referred material. Comptes Rendus Palevol.

  3. Evans, D. C., T. E. Williamson, M. Loewen and J. Kirkland. 2013.  20. Review of pachycephalosaurian dinosaurs from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. pp. 482-487. In At the top of Grand Staircase: The Late Cretaceous of southern Utah (A. Titus and M. A. Loewen, eds), Indiana University Press, Bloomington.

  4. Gates, T., E. Lund, C. Boyd, D. D. DeBlieux, A. Titus, D. C. Evans, M. Getty, J. I. Kirkland and J. Eaton. 2013. 19. Ornithopod dinosaurs from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah and their role in paleobiogeographic and macroevolutionary studies. pp. 463-481. In At the top of Grand Staircase: The Late Cretaceous of southern Utah (A. Titus and M. A. Loewen, eds), Indiana University Press, Bloomington.

  5. Evans, D. C., R. Schott, D. Larson, C. M. Brown, and M. J. Ryan. 2013. The oldest North American pachycephalosaurid and the hidden diversity of small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs. Nature Communications 4:1828. doi:10.1038/ncomms2749

  6. Mallon, J. C., D. C. Evans, M. J. Ryan, and J. S. Anderson. 2013. Feeding height stratification among the herbivorous dinosaurs from the Dinosaur Park Formation (upper Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. BMC Ecology 2013, 13:14  doi:10.1186/1472-6785-13-14

  7. McGarrity, C. T., N. E. Campione, and D. C. Evans. 2013. Cranial anatomy and variation in Prosaurolophus maximus (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 167(4): 531-568. Available here.

  8. Brown, C. M., D. C. Evans,  M. J. Ryan, and A. P. Russell. 2013. New data on the diversity and abundance of small-bodied ornithopods (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(3):1–26. [Feature Article]. Available for free download here.

  9. Eberth, D. A., D. C. Evans, D. Brinkman, F. Therrien, D. H. Tanke, and L. Russell. 2013.  Dinosaur Biostratigraphy of the Edmonton Group (Upper Cretaceous), Alberta, Canada: Evidence for Climate Influence. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 50(7): 701-726. Doi: 10.1139/cjes-2012-0185

  10. Brown, C. M., D. C. Evans, N. E. Campione, L. J. O’Brien, and D. A. Eberth (In press, available online). Evidence for Taphonomic Size Bias in a Model Mesozoic Terrestrial Alluvial-Paralic System. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 372:108–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.06.027

  11. Campione, N. E., K. Brink, E. Freedman, C. T. McGarrity, and D. C. Evans. 2013. ‘Glishades ericksoni‘, an indeterminate juvenile hadrosaurid from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana: implications for hadrosauroid diversity in the latest Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) of western North America. Paleodiversity and Paleoenvironments 93(1):65-75. DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0097-1

  12. Brown, C. M., H. Giacomini, N. E. Campione, L. O’Brien, M. Vavrek, and D. C. Evans. 2013. Ecological modelling, size distributions, and taphonomic size bias in dinosaur faunas: a comment on Codron et al., 2012. Biology Letters 9 (1): 20120582. Available here.

2012

  1. Ryan, M. J., D. C. Evans, and K. Shepherd. 2012. A new ceratopsid from the Foremost Formation (middle Campanian), Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 49: 1251–1262. Available here.

  2. Larson, D. W., N. R. Longrich, D. C. Evans, M. J. Ryan 2012.  A new species of Neurankylus from the Milk River Formation (Cretaceous: Santonian) and a revision of N. eximius. Pp. 389-405 In: Morphology and Evolution of Turtles. Springer-Vrlag, Berlin.

  3. Campione, N. E., and D. C. Evans. 2012. A universal scaling relationship between body mass and proximal limb bone dimensions in quadrupedal terrestrial tetrapods. BMC Biology 10:60  doi:10.1186/1741-7007-10-60 (free online access)

  4. Mallon, J. C., D. C. Evans, M. J. Ryan, and J. S. Anderson. 2012. Megaherbivorous dinosaur turnover in the Dinosaur Park Formation (upper Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 350-352: 124-138.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.06.027,

  5. Brink, K. J. Hawthorn, and D. C. Evans. (in press). New Occurrences Of Ichniotherium And Striatichnium From The Early Permian Kildare Capes Formation, Prince Edward Island, Canada: Palaeoenvironmental and Biostratigraphic Implications. Paleontology. (PALA-09-11-3226-OA) doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01178.x (available online)

  6. Schott, R. K. and D. C. Evans. 2012. Squamosal ontogeny and variation in the pachycephalosaurian dinosaur Stegoceras validum from the Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta. Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology 32(4):903-913.

  7. Vavrek, M. J., D. C. Evans, D. R. Braman, N. E. Campione, and G. D. Zazula. 2012. A Paleogene flora from the upper Bonnet Plume Formation of northeast Yukon Territory, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 49:(3) 547-558. doi 10.1139/e11-073

  8. Folinsbee, K. E.and D. C. Evans. 2012. A protocol for temporally calibrating General Area Cladograms. Journal of Biogeography 39(4):688–697. Available (subscription) here.

  9. Ryan, M. J., D. C. Evans, P. J. Currie, C. M. Brown, and D. Brinkman. 2012.  New leptoceratopsids from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. Cretaceous Research 35: 69-80. Available (subscription) here.

  10. Evans, D. C., M. J. Vavrek, D. R. Braman, N. E. Campione, T. A. Dececchi, and G. D. Zazula. 2012. Vertebrate Fossils (Dinosauria) from the Bonnet Plume Formation, Yukon Territory, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences: 49:(2) 396-411. 10.1139/e11-064

  11. Reisz, R. R., D. C. Evans, E. M. Roberts, H. -D. Sues, and A. M. Yates. 2012. Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorph Massospondylus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (7): 2428-2433. Early Edition, Jan. 23, 2012.

  12. Evans, D. C., Barrett, P. M, and Seymour, K. S. 2012. Revised identification of a reported Iguanodon-grade ornithopod tooth from the Scollard Formation, Alberta, Canada. Cretaceous Research 33 (1): 11-14.

2011

  1. Campione, N. E., and D. C. Evans. 2011. Cranial growth and variation in edmontosaurs (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae): Implications for latest Cretaceous megaherbivore diversity in North America. PLoS ONE 6(9): e25186. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025186

  2. Schott, R. K., D. C. Evans, M. B. Goodwin, C. M. Brown, J. R. Horner, and N. R. Longrich. 2011. Cranial ontogeny in Stegoceras validum (Dinosauria: Pachycephalosauria): a quantitative model of pachycephalosaur dome growth and variation. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21092. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021092

  3. Evans, D. C., C. M. Brown, and M. J. Ryan and K. Tsogtbaatar.  2011. Cranial ornamentation and ontogenetic status of Homalocephale calathoceras (Ornithischia: Pachycephalosauria) from the Nemegt Formation, Mongolia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31(1): 84-92

  4. Brink, K. S., D. K. Zelenitsky, D. C. Evans, F. Therrien, J. R. Horner. 2011. A sub-adult skull of Hypacrosaurus stebingeri (Ornithischia: Lambeosaurinae): Anatomy and Comparison. Historical Biology 23(1):63-72.

Popular Publications

  1. Evans, D. C., and M. Vavrek. 2012. Ultimate Dinos: Giants from Gondwana. ROM Press. (ISBN-10: 088854491X). Buy it here.
  2. Evans, D. C. 2010. Hadrosaurid (Duck-billed) dinosaurs. McGraw Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology 2010: 171-173.
  3. Brewster, H., J. Waddington, K. Seymour, and D. C. Evans. 2007. Breakout Dinosaurs! Codastat Canada Ltd. (ISBN: 097818050x)