Papers: (* indicates undergraduate researcher)

Holbrook, L.T. and J. LaPergola*. (2011) A new genus of perissodactyl (Mammalia) from the Bridgerian of Wyoming with comments on basal perissodactyl phylogeny. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31(4):895-901.

Koenigswald, W. v., L.T. Holbrook, and K.D. Rose. (2011) Diversity and evolution of Hunter-Schreger band configuration in tooth enamel of Perissodactyla (Mammalia). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56(1):11-32.

Holbrook, L.T. (2009) Osteology of Lophiodon and its phylogenetic implications. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29(1):212-230.

Holbrook, L.T., S.G. Lucas, and R.J. Emry. (2004) Skulls of the Eocene perissodactyls (Mammalia) Homogalax and Isectolophus. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 24(4):951-956.

Lucas, S.G., and L.T. Holbrook. (2004) The skull of the Eocene brontothere Lambdotherium and its phylogenetic significance. Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science 26:81-87.

Lucas, S.G., L.T. Holbrook, and R.J. Emry. (2003) Isectolophus from the Zaysan Basin, Kazakstan, and its biochronological significance. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(1): 238—243.

Holbrook, L.T. (2002) The unusual development of the sagittal crest in the Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris). Journal of Zoology, London 256:215-219.

Holbrook, L.T. (2001) Comparative osteology of tapiromorph perissodactyls (Mammalia). Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society 132(1):1-54.

Lucas, S.G., L.T. Holbrook, and R.J. Emry. (2001) The lophialetid ceratomorph Eoletesfrom the Eocene of the Zaysan Basin, Kazakstan. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 114(4):988-992.

Holbrook, L.T. (1999) The phylogeny and classification of tapiromorph perissodactyls (Mammalia). Cladistics 15(3):331-350.

Holbrook, L.T. and S.G. Lucas. (1997) A new genus of rhinocerotoid from the Eocene of Utah, and the status of North American "Forstercooperia." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17(2):384-396.

Research interests:

The focus of my research is mammal phylogeny and evolution.  One of the most vexing questions in mammalian biology is that of the interrelationships of the major groups (orders) of mammals.  Many sorts of data have been brought to bear on this question, but we are still coming to grips with the relationships among the full diversity of living and fossil mammals.  A reliable phylogeny is an important requirement for many other studies of mammal evolution.  Thus, much of my research is in some way related to understanding mammal phylogeny.
 
 

Research projects:

Phylogeny of perissodactyls:
I am currently looking at the evolutionary relationships among the Perissodactyla, the order including horses, rhinos, tapirs, and their fossil relatives.  This research requires me to travel to various museums around the world in order to examine numerous specimens of fossil perissodactyls.  I score different perissodactyl taxa for various similarities of the skeleton and use cladistic methods to come up with a tree of evolutionary relationships.
 

Skull of a tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

The phylogeny of perissodactyls has mainly been interpreted from teeth, because almost all perissodactyls (including fossils) are known from at least some teeth, and many are known only from teeth.  Workers studying interordinal relationships, on the other hand, are more interested in other aspects of the skull and skeleton of perissodactyls, since these provide a large proportion of the data.  In order to accomodate both types of questions, my own work focuses on skull and skeletal morphology of perissodactyls.

 Black rhino (Diceros bicornis)        Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi)        Malaysian tapir (Tapirus indicus)

Besides my own work, I am collaborating with a number of other paleontologists on projects involving perissodactyls.