John Fronimos headshot
John Fronimos
Department of Geosciences
Lecturer and Earth and Life Through Time Coordinator

Research Areas: Paleobiology

Office: 2063 Beard Eaves Coliseum

Address: 2050 Beard Eaves Coliseum
Auburn, AL 36849

Phone: (334) 844-4886

Email: jaf0086@auburn.edu


Education
Ph.D., Geology, University of Michigan
2016
M.S., Geosciences, Texas Tech University
2010
B.S., Geology, University of Texas at San Antonio
2008


Professional Employment
Lecturer, Auburn University
2020 - Present
Visiting Assistant Professor, Vassar College
2017 - 2020
Lecturer, Eastern Michigan University
2016 - 2017


Research and Teaching Interests

Dr. John Fronimos is a paleobiologist interested in the diversity, evolution, and biomechanics of the giant sauropod dinosaurs. His work concerns the biological factors that made these animals so successful in their time and facilitated their evolution into the largest land animals ever. He also examines sauropods from near the end of the Cretaceous period to understand whether they were declining or thriving prior to the asteroid impact that caused their extinction. This research has taken him to the deserts of west Texas for fieldwork and to museums across North America, South America, and Europe. Dr. Fronimos teaches Earth and Life Through Time and has experience teaching Paleobiology, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, Physical Geology, and scientific writing.


Selected Publications

  1. Fronimos, J. A. 2023. Patterns and function of pneumaticity in the vertebrae, ribs, and ilium of a titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 43:e2259444.
  2. Fronimos, J. A. 2021. Morphology and neurovascular anatomy of a titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) osteoderm from the Upper Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park, Texas. Cretaceous Research 120:104670.
  3. Fronimos, J. A., and J. A. Wilson. 2017. Concavo-convex intervertebral joints stabilize the vertebral column in sauropod dinosaurs and crocodylians. Ameghiniana 54:151–176.
  4. Fronimos, J. A., and J. A. Wilson. 2017. Neurocentral suture complexity and stress distribution in the vertebral column of a sauropod dinosaur. Ameghiniana 54:36–49.
  5. Fronimos, J. A., Wilson, J. A., and T. K. Baumiller. 2016. Polarity of concavo-convex intervertebral joints in the necks and tails of sauropod dinosaurs. Paleobiology 42:624–642.






Last updated: 03/19/2024