Research Project

Geometric Morphometrics applied to the study of a sample of the fossil taxon Macaca majori – Pleistocene, Sardinia.

 

Her studies, funded through the Marie Curie FP6 EST PALAEO and supervised by Prof. Paul O’Higgins (FME) and Prof. Lorenzo Rook (University of Florence, Italy), focused on applications of geometric morphometric methods to the study of patterns of cranial variation in specific extant and fossil species of the primate genus Macaca. The aim has been to understand how evolutionary modifications of ontogeny in relation to ecology produced the characteristic facial morphology of the Sardinian Pleistocene fossil taxon Macaca majori.

 

Research Interests

 

  • Vertebrate paleontology 'Sardinian Late Miocene excavation'
  • Geometric Morphometrics
  • Plio-pleistocene Sardinian fauna
  • Hominid migration routes 'Dmanisi site, Georgia, excavation'