Matthew Bonnan[1] is an American paleobiologist, a Professor of Biological Sciences at Stockton University, and as of 2021 a singer/songwriter. His research combines traditional descriptive and anatomical study with computer-aided morphometric analysis and modeling of vertebrate skeletons, and he is the co-discoverer of three new species of dinosaurs. He is the author of the book The Bare Bones: An Unconventional Evolutionary History of the Skeleton,[2] designed to introduce undergraduates and curious lay readers to the anatomy and evolution of the vertebrate skeleton. Bonnan has a music/art outreach project, Once Upon Deep Time[1],[3] a pop/rock song cycle about the evolution of hearing and our connection to the tree of life.
Bonnan's research focuses on three broad but interconnected areas of research: 1) the evolution of dinosaur locomotion, particularly in the giant, long-necked sauropod dinosaurs; 2) the evolution of an erect posture from a sprawled posture in dinosaurs and mammals; and 3) the evolution of pronation and supination in the forelimb of tetrapods. To these ends, he has utilized traditional anatomical approaches as well as state-of-the-art computer modeling to understand and infer how the limbs of both extinct and extant tetrapods have evolved and adapted. Currently, he has begun to utilize XROMM (X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology)[4] to produce three-dimensional animations of small animal bones in vivo.[5] His current research focuses on the three-dimensional kinematics of lizard and mammal forelimbs, as means to "reverse engineer" how early dinosaur and mammal relatives may have moved and stood.
Bonnan teaches a variety of anatomy-based and evolutionary biology courses at Stockton University covering diverse topics such as vertebrate embryology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, vertebrate evolution, systematics, dinosaurs, and general zoology.
Bonnan's overarching research focus is the evolution of dinosaur locomotion and its links to dinosaur gigantism. To this end:
Recently, Bonnan's research focuses on the three-dimensional kinematics of lizard and mammal forelimbs, as means to "reverse engineer" how early dinosaur and mammal relatives may have moved and stood, using the XROMM technique pioneered at Brown University.[19]
He is a co-discoverer of the almost-sauropod Aardonyx celestae [24] which has garnered international media attention[25] and should serve to illuminate the early beginnings of sauropod gigantism.
He is a co-discoverer of an early "prosauropod" Arcusaurus pereirabdalorum [26]
He is a co-discoverer of an early true sauropod Pulanesaura eocollum [27]
In the spring of 2008, Bonnan was involved with a new Morrison Formation dinosaur quarry in Hanksville, Utah. His expertise in the concentration of Sauropod dinosaurs metapodials (and/or caudal vertebrae) a were sought after by and aided the excavation efforts of the Burpee Museum of Natural History.[28] After leaving Illinois to join Stockton University in New Jersey, it became logistically difficult for Bonnan to work the Burpee and he is no longer involved with the Hankville quarry.
In 2016, Bonnan published a book, The Bare Bones: An Unconventional Evolutionary History of the Skeleton,[29] designed to introduce undergraduates and curious lay readers to the anatomy and evolution of the vertebrate skeleton. Bonnan's book approaches the topic of vertebrate evolution from the perspective of the skeleton as a living machine, using analogies with technology and tools to help readers understand how vertebrate animals "work." Since its publication, the book has received several positive reviews[30][31][32]
In 2021, Bonnan conceived of, composed, performed, recorded, and produced demos of the 12 songs that would become his music/art outreach project, Once Upon Deep Time. Once Upon Deep Time is a pop/rock song cycle about the evolution of hearing and our connection to the tree of life. According to Bonnan on the Once Upon Deep Time website,[33] "I created these songs to inspire wonder about our shared natural history and to convey the passion that drives me as a scientist. These 12 original songs tell a story, based on what we know from fossils and the living world around us, about how we came to perceive sound and how sound connects us to a living past."