Mitarbeitende

Areas of interest:

• Early evolution of osteichthyan fishes
• Ecology, taxonomy and phylogeny of cryptic armoured jawless vertebrates
• Origin and evolution of major gnathostome features (jaws, paired appendages, and more)

Current research project:

My PhD project focuses on describing new bony fish (Osteichthyes) material from the latest Devonian (approx. 372-359 ma) of the eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco. Not only do these fishes represent a previously unknown osteichthyan fauna from this region, but they are also from a crucial time in vertebrate evolution: at the brink of the end-Devonian mass extinction and the major faunal turnover brought on by the Carboniferous period. Therefore, this material will provide crucial ecological insights into Devonian fish communities, fill a vast palaeogeographical gap in the Palaeozoic osteichthyan fossil record, and shed new light on the early evolutionary dynamics of this group.

This project is part of a larger initiative on the Devonian Nekton radiation. More information here: Link