Professor
(paleobotany, paleosols)
Geological Sciences faculty member since 1981.
B.A., 1973, Macquarie University, Australia
Ph.D., 1978, New England University, Australia.
Office: 310G Cascade Hall
Phone: 541-346-4558
Email: gregr ‘at’ uoregon.edu
Overview: Greg Retallack’s research group is dedicated to the proposition that soils have a fossil record, like other living things. Past studies have considered the role of soils in ape and human evolution in Kenya, grassland evolution in North America, dinosaur extinction in Montana, angiosperm evolution in Kansas, Late Permian mass extinction in Antarctica, and evolution of trees and tetrapods in Pennsylvania. Current and future studies concern Cambrian explosion on land, Precambrian life on land and martian paleosols, with fieldwork in Newfoundland and Australia.
Top ten favorite studies
1. Victims of greenhouse crises Retallack 2011 lagerstatten
2. Oh soil divine! Retallack 2008 Greek soils
3. Ape evolutionary gauntlet Retallack 2009 Kenyan paleosols
4. Fish in the woods Retallack 2011 Devonian tetrapods
5. Climate archives of American West Retallack 2007 Cenozoic climate
6. Grasslands bring on ice Retallack 2013 cooling grasslands
7. Multiple Early Triassic crises Retallack et al. 2011 Permian-Triassic crises
8. Lichens in deep time Retallack 2007 Dickinsonia
9. Reading the leaves for past CO2 REtallack 2009 CO2 and climate
10. Before the grasslands? Retallack_2012_mallee_model
Citation data summary
click here
Former students
Jonathan Wynn Nathan Sheldon Evelyn Krull Erick Bestland Adrian Broz