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
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...
A Cretaceous eutriconodont and integument evolution in early mammals
Martin, T., Marugán-Lobón, J., Vullo, R., Martín-Abad, H., Luo, Z.X., Buscalioni, A.D. (2015). A Cretaceous eutriconodont and integument evolution of early mammals. Nature, in press. Link to article 125-million-year-old mammal fossil revealing the early evolution of...
Agilodocodon and Docofossor: arboreal and fossorial Docodonts
Luo, Z. X., Meng, Q.M., Ji, Q., Zhang, Y.G., Neander, A.I. (2015). Evolutionary development in basal mammaliaforms as revealed by a docodontan Science, 347(6223), 760-764. DOI: 10.1126/science.1260880 Meng, Q.M., Ji, Q., Zhang, Y.G., Liu, D., Grossnickle, D.M., Luo,...