Darla K. Zelenitsky

My research is primarily in the area of dinosaur paleobiology. I am particularly interested in theropod dinosaurs as well as the evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds. I was a primary researcher describing the first dinosaurs preserved with feathers from the Americas, found in a species of ostrich-mimic dinosaur from Alberta, Canada. I have published a number of scientific papers related to eggs, babies and nests of dinosaurs in order to help understand behavioral and other biological implications of these fossils. In the past two years, I have worked collaboratively with graduate students and other colleagues around the world to help bring several important paleontological discoveries to light, including: two new species of apex predatory theropods (Thanatotheristes from Alberta, Ulughbegsaurus from Uzbekistan), an exquisitely-preserved oviraptorid embryo, a giant Cretaceous turtle embryo-egg, and the first reported soft-shelled eggs in dinosaurs.