Ted Macrini
Graduate Research Assistant
The University of Texas at Austin
email: tmacrini@mail.utexas.edu

B.A. Biology, Washington University (1997)
M.S. Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin (2000)
Ph.D. Candidate, Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

DigiMorph Contributions

I was employed at the UT High-Resolution X-ray CT Facility from the Fall of 2000 through Spring 2002 as a graduate research assistant. I mainly worked on image processing of specimens for this site, including digital reslicing, three-dimensional volumetric rendering, isosurface rendering, and specialized image processing. I also created specimen pages for the site and wrote specimen summaries.

Research Interests

As an undergraduate, I examined the evolutionary ecology of Anolis lizards under the guidance of Dr. Jonathan Losos. Currently, I am a graduate student under the direction of Dr. Timothy Rowe, and my interests include the morphology, phylogeny, and ontogeny of extant and extinct synapsids. For my Master's research, I described the cranial osteology of an extant opossum (Monodelphis domestica) based on high-resolution x-ray CT and studied the relationship between cranial character transformations in the ontogeny and phylogeny of synapsids. For my dissertation, I am examining the evolution of the cranial cavity in cynodonts, including members of crown-group Mammalia such as the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus).

Peer-reviewed publications

Macrini, T. E., and D. J. Irschick. 1998. An intraspecific analysis of trade-offs in sprinting performance in a West Indian lizard (Anolis lineatopus). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 63:579-591.

Irschick, D. J., T. E. Macrini, S. Koruba, and J. Forman. 2000. Ontogenetic differences in morphology, habitat use, behavior, and sprinting capacity in two West Indian Anolis lizards. Journal of Herpetology 34:444-451.

Macrini, T. E. 2002. Quantitative comparison of ontogenetic and phylogenetic character changes in the synapsid mandible and auditory region. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 9:185-208.

Macrini, T. E., D. J. Irschick, and J. B. Losos. 2003. Ecomorphological differences in toepad characteristics between mainland and island anoles. Journal of Herpetology 37:52-58.

Macrini, T. E. 2004. Monodelphis domestica. Mammalian Species 760:1-8.

Bever, G. S., T. Rowe, E. G. Ekdale, T. E. Macrini, M. W. Colbert, and A. M. Balanoff. 2005. Comment to "Independent Origins of Middle Ear Bones in Monotremes and Therians" (I). Science 309:1492a.

Rowe, T. B., T. P. Eiting, T. E. Macrini, and R. A. Ketcham. 2005. Organization of the olfactory and respiratory skeleton in the nose of the gray short-tailed opossum Monodelphis domestica. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 12:303-336.