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.
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...
Maiopatagium and Vilevolodon
New gliding mammaliaforms from the Jurassic Meng, Q.-J., Grossnickle, D. M., Liu, D., Zhang, Y.-G., Neander, A. I., Ji, Q., and Z.-X. Luo. 2017. New gliding mammaliaforms from the Jurassic. Nature 548: 291-296. (doi:10.1038/nature23476). New evidence for...