Laura A. B. Wilson (*1984 in Preston / United Kingdom) studied Paleobiology and Biosystematic at the University College and at the Imperical College (NHM) London. She did her Masters thesis on pelvic anatomy in humans. From 2007 to 2010 she was a PhD-student at the “Paläontologisches Institut und Museum der Universiät Zürich”. Her hesis, presented here, concerns the cranial evolution of rodents: Rodents represent almost one half of all mammalian species and are an ideal model to explore questions relating to the evolution of morphological diversity. The examination of growth patterns and processes is fundamental to understanding how the present variety among adult forms has been produced by evolution. The aim of this study is to explore how patterns of growth have contributed to the generation of morphological diversity in hystricognath rodents (e.g., porcupines, capybaras, guinea pigs). To address this topic, a comparative approach is taken through the study of skull growth in a total of 58 species of muroids and hystricognaths. Differing methodological frameworks are used in complement to examine various windows in developmental time.
