Dr Martin Smith, SFHEA

Personal web page

Contact Dr Martin Smith (email at martin.smith@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

2015—present: Assistant Professor in Palaeontology, Durham University

2012—2015: Junior Research Fellow, Clare College, University of Cambridge

2012: PhD, University of Toronto

2008: MA & MSc, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge

Research interests

I am interested in the origins of the modern animal groups. My work includes the study of unusual organisms from Burgess Shale-type deposits and their microscopic counterparts, the Small Carbonaceous Fossils. I also have an interest in the preservation of these remarkable fossils, and the mathematical techniques used to reconstruct evolutionary history from palaeontological evidence.

Research opportunities

Fully funded postdoctoral opportunities will soon be available through a Leverhulme Trust grant.

I am currently inviting proposals for postgraduate research projects in palaeobiology and phylogenetic methods (Masters by Research or PhD). Please get in touch for more information.

Undergraduate research projects are also available for Durham and non-Durham students. Palaeontological Association bursaries may be of interest to potential applicants.

Online profiles

• Research highlights
• Google Scholar
• Researcher ID
• ORCID

Research Groups

Department of Earth Sciences

• Climate, Environment, and Resources
• Palaeoecosystems Research Group

Selected Publications

Journal Article

• Smith, M.R. (2020). Information theoretic Generalized Robinson-Foulds metrics for comparing phylogenetic trees. Bioinformatics 36(20): 5007-5013.
• Brazeau, M. D., Guillerme, T. & Smith, M. R. (2019). An algorithm for morphological phylogenetic analysis with inapplicable data. Systematic Biology 68(4): 619-631.
• Smith, M.R. (2019). Bayesian and parsimony approaches reconstruct informative trees from simulated morphological datasets. Biology Letters 15(2): 20180632.
• Moysiuk, J., Smith, M.R. & Caron, J.-B. (2017). Hyoliths are Palaeozoic lophophorates. Nature 541: 394-397.
• Smith, M.R. (2016). Cord-forming Palaeozoic fungi in terrestrial assemblages. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 180(4): 452-460.
• Smith, M.R. & Caron, J.-B. (2015). Hallucigenia’s head and the pharyngeal armature of early ecdysozoans. Nature 523(7558): 75-78.
• Smith, M.R. & Ortega-Hernández, J. (2014). Hallucigenia’s onychophoran-like claws and the case for Tactopoda. Nature 514(7522): 363-366.
• Smith, M.R. & Caron, J.-B. (2010). Primitive soft-bodied cephalopods from the Cambrian. Nature 465(7297): 469–472.

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Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

• Earth Sciences: Palaeontology
• Ecosystems: Palaeoecosystems
• The Earth: Animals: Palaeobiology
• The Earth: Plants: Palaeobotanny

Supervises

• Mr. Alavya Dhungana

Selected Grants

Teaching Areas

• Palaeobiology

• Understanding Earth Sciences

• Fieldwork (Geological)
• Sedimentary Environments and Palaeoecology