Department of Evolutionary Paleobiology


Tomasz SZCZYGIELSKI, Ph.D.

Triassic turtles, genesis of Testudinata; diversity, evolution and phylogeny of reptiles




CURRICULUM VITAE



Personal data

Tomasz Sczygielski
Born in 1989, Warsaw, Poland


Academic degrees and memberships 
  • 2011 B.Sc. in biology; The genesis of turtles (Testudines) – the current state of knowledge; Faculty of Agriculture and Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences; scientific supervisor: Prof. Magdalena Borsuk-Białynicka, Ph.D., D.Sc.
  • 2013 M.Sc. in biology; The genesis of turtles (Testudines) based on the new materials from the Triassic of Poland; Faculty of Agriculture and Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences; scientific supervisor: Tomasz Sulej Ph.D, D.Sc.
  • 2013 – 2017 Ph.D. student at the International Doctoral Studies Course in the Biological Sciences with the PAS in Warsaw; Institute of Paleobiology PAS; scientific supervisor Tomasz Sulej Ph.D, D.Sc.
  • 2014 – 2017 Ph.D. students’ representative in the Scientific Board of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS.
  • 2018 Ph.D. in Earth sciences, in the discipline of geology; Early evolution of the turtle shell; Institute of Paleobiology PAS; scientific supervisor: Tomasz Sulej, Ph.D., D.Sc.
  • Since 2019 member of the Scientific Board of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS.

Employment

  • 2018 lab technician in the Institute of Paleobiology PAS in Warsaw.
  • 2018 – 2019 research-and-teaching assistant in the Department of Paleobiology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw.
  • Since 2018 research assistant in the Institute of Paleobiology PAS in Warsaw.

Research grants
  • 2017 – 2020 Principal Investigator in the National Science Center, Poland, Preludium grant „Evolutionary roots of dermal ossifications in the shell of ancestral Late Triassic turtles”
  • 2018 – 2021 Co-Investigator in the National Science Center, Poland, Opus grant „The end of the mammal-like reptile era in Europe” (Principal Investigator: Tomasz Sulej, Ph.D., D.Sc., Professor of the Institute of Paleobiology, PAS)

Scientific meetings
  • 7 IX 2010 4th Popular Science Session “Silesian Dinosaurs Not Only from Krasiejów” (Institute of Paleobiology PAS, Warsaw, Poland).
  • 2010 – 2013 seminaries of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS (Institute of Paleobiology PAS, Warsaw, Poland).
  • 2010 – 2012 meetings of the Evolution Enthusiasts (Museum of Evolution of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS, Warsaw, Poland).
  • 2012 – 2016 „journal club” seminaries (Department of Paleobiology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland).
  • 1–4 VI 2012 Symposium on Turtle Evolution 2012 (Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany).
  • 9–11 V 2014 4th Student Conference of Evolutionary Biology (Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland).
  • 8–12 VII 2015 13th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists (Opole University, Opole, Poland).
  • 17–18 VII 2015 Young in Paleontology 7 (Sławno, Poland).
  • 20–23 VII 2015 5th Turtle Evolution Symposium (Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
  • 9 XII 2015 5th Popular Science Session “Silesian Dinosaurs (Not Only) from Krasiejów” (Institute of Geological Sciences PAS, Cracow, Poland).
  • 20–24 IV 2016 7th Student Conference of Evolutionary Biology (Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland).
  • 21–13 IX 2016 23rd Science Conference of Paleontological Section of PGS (Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland).
  • 2–4 VI 2017 Conference of Young Evolutionary Biologists (Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland).
  • 1–3 VIII 2017 15th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists (Palaeontological Museum Munich, Munich, Germany).
  • 21–22 IV 2018 Young in Paleontology 9 (University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland)
  • 26–27 V 2018 6th Turtle Evolution Symposium (Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan)
  • 17–20 X 2018 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, USA).


Research trips and internships

  • 2010 one month-long internship in the Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS (e.g., collection indexing, work with a scanning electron microscope).
  • 2011 active participation in two weeks-long excavations in Lisowice.
  • 2011 active participation in two weeks-long excavations in Krasiejów as part of the Field Paleobiology course on the University of Warsaw.
  • Since 2011 work in the preparation room of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS (voluntary service and as part of the M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies).
  • 2012 active participation in two weeks-long excavations in Poręba.
  • 2012 leadership of three days-long student excavations in Poręba.
  • IX 2013 active participation in three weeks-long excavations in the Permian of Russia (Vyazniki).
  • Since 2013 regular reconnaissance and control field trips to the Holy Cross Mountains, southern Mazovia and Silesia.
  • 14–29 IV 2014 research visit in Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart and in Carl-Schweizer-Museum Murrhardt (comparative studies and photographic, graphic, and descriptive documentation of the turtles and protorosaurs).
  • 2014 leadership of the two weeks-long student excavations in Krasiejów.
  • 2015 leadership of the two weeks-long student excavations in Poręba.
  • XII 2016 three days-long research visit in Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (comparative studies and photographic, graphic, and descriptive documentation of the turtles, placodonts and temnospondyls).
  • 2018 leadership of a one week-long excavations in Poręba.
  • X 2018 research visit in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.


Prizes and awards

  • 2014 first place in best oral presentation competition of the 4th Student Evolutionary Biology Conference.
  • 2018 distinction of the Ph.D. thesis "Early evolution of the turtle shell" on the reviewers’ recommendation.


Academic teaching

  • 2018 three out of the series of lectures of the Zoology course in the University of Warsaw, as a guest lecturer (6 h).
  • 2018 practical classes of the Zoology course, University of Warsaw, as a co-teacher (40 h).
  • 2018-2019 practical classes of the Biological diversity course, University of Warsaw, as a co-teacher (40 h).
  • Since 2019 auxiliary advisor for the Ph.D. thesis of Przemysław Świś, M.Sc., “Impact of the Late Devonian and earliest Carboniferous environmental disturbances on faunal dynamics and evolution of conodonts” (Department of Paleobiology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw; scientific supervisor: Prof. Jerzy Dzik, Ph.D., D.Sc.).


Other activities

  • V 2014 preparation of the activities and stand, and active participation in the 18th Science Picnic in Warsaw as a representative of the Museum of Evolution of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS.
  • 2014 – 2016 conducting of the country-wide recruitments for the student excavation camps.
  • 7 VI 2015 active participation in „The Lost World of Dinosaurs” picnic organized by National Geographic Poland in the Praga Park in Warsaw as a representative of the Museum of Evolution of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS.
  • VII 2015 – II 2016 filming and production (video and sound editing) of three promotional video for the „Evolution in the Sea” exhibition in the Museum of Evolution of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS.
  • III 2016 help with the translation of the English-language visitor guide for the visitors of the Museum of Evolution of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS.
  • VI 2016 peer-review of the article for Cretaceous Research.
  • II 2017 filming of the promotional video for the Museum of Evolution of the Institute of Paleobiology PAS.
  • 2018 consultation and correction of the Polish translation of the children’s book „Animals of a Bygone Era” („Zwierzęta minionej ery”) authored by M. Säfström (Wydawnictwo Czarna Owca, Warsaw, 2018).
  • 2018 member of the Scientific Comitee of the Young in Paleontology IX conference.
  • 2018 author of the animal taxa list on the Bone-bearing Keuper of the Upper Silesia, southern Poland (http://www.keuper.us.edu.pl/) webpage.


Publications


Scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals

Szczygielski T., Sulej T. 2016. Revision of the Triassic European turtles Proterochersis and Murrhardtia (Reptilia, Testudinata, Proterochersidae), with the description of new taxa from Poland and Germany. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 177 (2): 395-427.

Szczygielski T. 2017. Homeotic shift at the dawn of the turtle evolution. Royal Society Open Science 4: 160933.

Szczygielski T.
, Surmik D., Kapuścińska A., Rothschild B.M. 2017. The oldest record of aquatic amniote congenital scoliosis. PLoS ONE 12: e0185338.

Szczygielski T., Tyborowski D., Błażejowski B. 2018. A new pancryptodiran turtle from the Late Jurassic of Poland and palaeobiology of early marine turtles. Geological Journal 53: 1215-1226.

Surmik D., Szczygielski T., Janiszewska K., Rothschild B.M. 2018. Tuberculosis-like respiratory infection in 245-million-year-old marine reptile suggested by bone pathologies. Royal Society Open Science 5: 180225.

Szczygielski T., Słowiak J., Dróżdż D. 2018. Shell variability in the stem turtles Proterochersis spp. PeerJ 6: e6134.

Szczygielski T., Sulej T. 2019. The early composition and evolution of the turtle shell (Reptilia, Testudinata). Palaeontology 62 (3): 375-415.

Bajdek P., Szczygielski T., Kapuścińska A., Sulej T. 2019. Bromalites from a turtle-dominated fossil assemblage from the Triassic of Poland. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 321-322: 142-150.

Szczygielski T., Dróżdż T., Surmik D., Kapuścińska A., Rothschild B. M. 2019. New tomographic contribution to characterizing mesosaurid congenital scoliosis. PLoS ONE 14 (2): e0212416.

Słowiak J., Szczygielski T., Ginter M., & Fostowicz‐Frelik Ł. 2020. Uninterrupted growth in a non‐polar hadrosaur explains the gigantism among duck‐billed dinosaurs. Palaeontology 63 (4): 579-599.

Szczygielski, T. 2020. Obscure by name: solving the enigma of Chelytherium obscurum, the first described Triassic turtle. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, advance online, 1–12.

Madzia, D., Szczygielski, T., Wolniewicz, A.S. 2021. The giant pliosaurid that wasn’t—revising the marine reptiles from the Kimmeridgian, Upper Jurassic, of Krzyżanowice, Poland. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 66 (1): 99-129.

Czepiński Ł., Dróżdż D., Szczygielski T., Tałanda M., Pawlak W., Lewczuk A., Rytel A. & Sulej T. 2021. An Upper Triassic terrestrial vertebrate assemblage from the forgotten Kocury locality (Poland) with a new aetosaur taxon. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Słowiak J., Szczygielski T., Rothschild B. M., & Surmik D. 2021. Dinosaur senescence: a hadrosauroid with age‑related diseases brings a new perspective of “old” dinosaurs. Scientific Reports 11: 11947.

Szczygielski T., Słowiak J. 2022. Shell histology of the Triassic turtle, Proterochersis porebensis Szczygielski & Sulej, 2016, provides novel insights about shell ankylosis. Comptes Rendus Palevol 21 (29): 619-679.

Szczygielski T., Sulej T. 2023. Woznikella triradiata n. gen., n. sp. – a new kannemeyeriiform dicynodont from the Late Triassic of northern Pangea and the global distribution of Triassic dicynodonts. Comptes Rendus Palevol 22 (16): 279–406.

Szczygielski T., Piechowski R. 2023. Limb anatomy of the Triassic turtles: appendicular osteology of Proterochersis (Testudinata, Proterochersidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 199: 771-831.

Szczygielski T., Klein N., Słowiak-Morkovina J., Scheyer T. M. 2023. Limb histology of the Triassic stem turtles Proterochersis porebensis Szczygielski & Sulej, 2016 and Proganochelys quenstedtii Baur, 1887 with insights into growth patterns of early turtles. Comptes Rendus Palevol 22 (32): 635–665.

Surmik D., Słowiak-Morkovina J., Szczygielski T., Wojtyniak M., Środek D., Dulski M., Balin K., Krzykawski T., Pawlicki R. 2023. The first record of fossilized soft parts in ossified tendons and implications for the understanding of tendon mineralization. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 (3): zlad001.

Słowiak J., Brusatte S.L., Szczygielski T. 2024. Reassessment of the enigmatic Late Cretaceous theropod dinosaur, Bagaraatan ostromi. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society: zlad169.

Weryński Ł., Błażejowski B., Szczygielski T., Young M.T. 2024. The first occurrence of machimosaurid crocodylomorphs from the Oxfordian of south-central Poland provides new insights into the distribution of macrophagous teleosauroids. PeerJ 12:e17153.

Szczygielski T., Marchetti L., Dróżdż D. 2024. Natural external plastron mold of the Triassic turtle Proterochersis: an unusual mode of preservation. PLoS One 19 (3): e0299314.

Hermanson G., Arnal F.A.M., Szczygielski T., Evers S.W. 2024. A systematic comparative description of extant turtle humeri, with comments on humerus disparity and evolution based on fossil comparisons. Anatomical Record.

Szczygielski T., Van den Brandt M.J., Gaetano L., Dróżdż D. 2024. Saurodesmus robertsoni Seeley 1891-The oldest Scottish cynodont. PLoS ONE 19 (5): e0303973.

Ferreira G. S., Hermanson G., Kyriakouli C., Dróżdż D., Szczygielski T. 2024. Shell biomechanics suggests an aquatic palaeoecology at the dawn of turtle evolution. Scientific Reports 14: 21822.


Popular science articles

Szczygielski T. 2015. Kiedy żółwie zerwały się do podmorskiego lotu (When the turtles started their subaquatic flight). Ewolucja 5: 18-27.

Szczygielski T., Sulej T. 2017. Poręba 215 mln lat temu (Poręba 215 mya). Poręba City Hall Internet page, online on 21 II 2017 (http://www.umporeba.pl/index.php/kultura/578-poreba-215-mln-lat-temu).

Szczygielski T. 2018. The evolution of neck/trunk transition in the earliest turtles. Annual Report – Polish Academy of Sciences 2018: 31-33.


Conference abstracts

Sulej T., Szczygielski T. 2012. New turtles from the Triassic of Poland. Oral presentation. Symposium on Turtle Evolution 2012, Abstracts: 41. 2 VI 2012, Department of Geology, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany.

Szczygielski T. 2014. Tajemnica genezy żółwi (The enigma of turtle genesis). Oral presentation. VI Studencka Konferencja Biologii Ewolucyjnej, Referaty: 52. 11 V 2014, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.

Sulej T., Niedźwiedzki G., Szczygielski T., Tałanda M. 2014. A new Triassic (Ladinian) association with a large temnospondyl, sauropterygians, a gigantic prolacertiform, and an archosauriform in Miedary (Southern Poland). Poster. 74th Meeting of Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Abstracts of Papers: 237. 6 XI 2014, Estrel Berlin, Berlin, Niemcy.

Szczygielski T. 2015. Investigating the ancestral shell: preliminary data on new material of Proterochersis, the earliest fully-shelled turtle. Oral presentation. 13th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Abstracts: 90. 10 VII 2015, Univeristy of Opole, Opole, Poland.

Szczygielski T. 2015. Późnojurajskie żółwie z Krzyżanowic oraz geneza śladów bioerozji na ich pancerzach (The Late Jurassic turtles from Krzyżanowice and the genesis of the bioerosion traces on their shells). Oral presentation. Młodzi w Paleontologii VII, Przewodnik wycieczek terenowych, abstrakty i artykuły: 20. 17 VII 2015, Sławno, Poland.

Szczygielski T. 2015. New data on the oldest turtles: revision and reconsideration of Proterochersidae. Oral presentation. PeerJ PrePrints 3:e1059. 5th Turtle Evolution Symposium, Program and Abstracts: 12. 21 VII 2015, Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Szczygielski T. 2015. Późnotriasowe żółwie z Poręby – pochodzenie i wczesna ewolucja Testudinata (The Late Triassic turtles from Poręba – the origin and the early evolution of Testudinata). Oral presentation. V Sesja Krasiejowska „Śląskie dinozaury (nie tylko) z Krasiejowa”, Abstrakty: 20. 9 XII 2015, Institute of Geological Sciences PAS, Cracow, Poland.

Szczygielski T., Tyborowski D. 2016. Żółwie Polski od triasu do dziś (The turtles of Poland from the Triassic till now). Oral presentation. VII Studencka Konferencja Biologii Ewolucyjnej, Abstrakty: 34. 24 VI 2016, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.

Szczygielski T. 2016. Znaczenie późnotriasowych żółwi z rodziny Proterochersidae z Polski i Niemiec dla zrozumienia najwcześniejszej ewolucji Testudinata (The impact of the Late Triassic turtles of the family Proterochersidae from Poland and Germany on the understanding of the earliest evolution of Testudinata). Oral presentation. XXIII Konferencja Naukowa Sekcji Paleontologicznej PTG, Abstrakty: 113. 21-13 IX 2016, Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.

Szczygielski T., Tyborowski D. 2016. Nowy durofagiczny żółw morski z jury Polski (A new durophagous marine turtle from the Jurassic of Poland). Oral presentation. XXIII Konferencja Naukowa Sekcji Paleontologicznej PTG, Abstrakty: 111. 21-13 IX 2016, Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.

Surmik D., Szczygielski T., Dulski M., Janiszewska K., Rothschild B. 2017. On paleopathologies in aquatic amniotes – the results of integrated studies. Oral presentation. Conference of Young Evolutionary Biologists, Abstract Book: 18. 3 VI 2017, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.

Szczygielski T. 2017. Can fossil morphologies be used as a proxy for the estimation of homeotic gene expression ranges? Oral presentation. Conference of Young Evolutionary Biologists, Abstract Book: 19. 3 VI 2017, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.

Surmik D., Szczygielski T., Szrek P., 2017. Presumptive coelacanth remains from the Middle Triassic of Poland. Poster. 14th International Symposium on Early and Lower Vertebrates, Ichthyolith Issues Special Publication 13: 72. 6 VII 2017, European Center for Geological Education, Chęciny, Poland.

Sulej T., Szczygielski T., Tałanda M., Czepiński Ł. 2017. New data on the Middle Triassic vertebrate locality in Miedary (Southern Poland). Poster. 15th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Zitteliana 91: 86. 1 VIII 2017, Palaeontological Museum Munich, Munich, Germany.

Surmik D., Szczygielski T., Rothschild B. M., Janiszewska K. 2017. Evidence of tuberculosis-like infection in a Middle Triassic eusauropterygian, Proneusticosaurus silesiacus Volz 1902. Poster. 15th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Zitteliana 91: 86. 1 VIII 2017, Palaeontological Museum Munich, Munich, Germany.

Szczygielski T. 2017. Homeotic shift at the dawn of the turtle evolution. Oral presentation. 15th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Zitteliana 91: 87. 1 VIII 2017, Palaeontological Museum Munich, Munich, Germany.

Szczygielski T. 2017. Turtles and Eunotosaurus africanus – ancestry or homoplasy? Oral presentation. 15th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Zitteliana 91: 87. 1 VIII 2017, Palaeontological Museum Munich, Munich, Germany.

Szczygielski T., Tyborowski D., Błażejowski B. 2017. A new pancryptodiran turtle from the Late Jurassic of Poland and the evolution of durophagy in turtles. Oral presentation. 15th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Zitteliana 91: 87-88. 1 VIII 2017, Palaeontological Museum Munich, Munich, Germany.

Szczygielski T., Słowiak J. 2018. Zmienność pancerza i dymorfizm płciowy u najwcześniejszych żółwi (Testudinata: Proterochersidae) (The variability of the shell and sexual dimorphism in the earliest turtles (Testidinata: Proterochersidae)). Oral presentation. Young in Paleontology 9, Książka abstraktów: 26. 22 IV 2018 r., University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

Szczygielski T., Sulej T. 2018. Osteodermal mosaic in the carapace of the earliest turtles. Oral presentation. 6th Turtle Evolution Symposium, Program & Abstracts: 2-5. 26 V 2018 r., Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Szczygielski T., Słowiak J. 2018. Shell variability and sexual dimorphism in the earliest turtles. Oral presentation. 6th Turtle Evolution Symposium, Program & Abstracts: 6-8. 26 V 2018 r., Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Surmik D., Szczygielski T., Janiszewska K., Rothschild B.M. 2018. Tuberculosis-like respiratory infection in 245-million-year old marine reptile suggested by bone pathologies. Oral presentation. 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Meeting Program and Abstracts: 224-225. 17 IX 2018 r., Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, USA.

Szczygielski T., Słowiak J., Sulej T. 2018. New data on the shell structure of the basalmost true turtles, Proterochersis spp. Poster. 78th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Meeting Program and Abstracts: 225. 19 IX 2018 r., Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, USA.

Contact



Tomasz Szczygielski

Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tomasz_Szczygielski
Kudos: https://www.growkudos.com/profiles/102581
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5108-8493

Institute of Paleobiology PAS
ul. Twarda 51/55
PL-00-818 Warsaw, POLAND

e-mail: t.szczygielski@twarda.pan.pl, t.e.szczygielski@gmail.com
phone: (+48 22) 6978-866; room 129