Candice Stefanic
Major Advisors
Alan Turner
Education
M.S., Geosciences | Virginia Tech, 2017
B.S., Geology | Washington and Lee University, 2015
Email
candice.stefanic@stonybrook.edu
Research Website
Candice Stefanic
Research Interests
Candice is interested in broad evolutionary questions related to major shifts in morphology and ecology of archosaurs (the taxonomic group of reptiles that includes crocodylians, non-avian dinosaurs, and birds). Her research focuses on the interplay of form and function in the fossil record. For her Master’s degree, Candice studied the evolution of intervertebral articulation structures in relation to body size and described new material of a pseudosuchian archosaur, Poposaurus langstoni, from Texas. She has participated in Triassic fieldwork at Ghost Ranch, NM and held a summer internship position at Petrified Forest National Park, AZ.
For her dissertation, Candice will pursue research questions centered on the transition of crocodylomorphs from fully terrestrial to semi- and fully aquatic ecologies during the Mesozoic Era. She plans to focus specifically on the evolution of crocodylomorph vertebrae and how those skeletal changes are related to the clade’s major shift in ecology and locomotory strategies.
