Welcome to the Luo Lab

Welcome to the Luo Lab, where we look to Mesozoic mammals to answer questions about mammaliaform diversity in the ‘Age of Dinosaurs,’ the origin of mammalian traits, macroevolution, and more.
Today we know mammals to be a diverse group with a wide range of specialized adaptations. Through our research, we are revealing the diversity that existed in early mammal faunas and are revealing the origins of important mammalian traits.
News
Evolution of inner ear neuroanatomy of bats and implications for echolocation
Read our New paper Evolution of inner ear neuroanatomy of bats and implications for echolocation Here! Citation:Sulser, R.B., Patterson, B.D., Urban, D.J. et al. Evolution of inner ear neuroanatomy of bats and implications for echolocation. Nature (2022)....
New Jurassic mammaliaform sheds light on early evolution of mammal-like hyoid bones
Zhou, C.-F. Bhullar, B.-A. S., Neander, A. I., Martin, T. and Z.-X, Luo. 2019. New Jurassic mammaliaform sheds light on early evolution of mammal-like hyoid bones. Science. 365: 276-279. (doi: 10:1126/science.aau9345) Abstract We report a new Jurassic docodontan...
Late-surviving stem mammal links the lowermost Cretaceous of North America and Gondwana
Huttenlocker, A. K., Grossnickle, D. M., Kirkland, J. I., Schultz, J. A., and Z.-X. Luo. 2018. Late-surviving stem mammal links the lowermost Cretaceous of North America and Gondwana. Nature. 558:109-112 (doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0126-y) Utah fossil reveals...