Ph.D. student in Geoscience and Environment at the Earth Science Department at the University of Pisa.
In my Ph.D. project, I will study the assemblage of fossil vertebrates (mostly odontocetes: dolphins and closely related cetaceans) from the Early Miocene rocks of the Belluno area (Friulan-Venetian basin), working on historical and newly found fossils.
The main aims of the project will be:
- the taxonomic identification of these fossils and the taxonomic revision of the historical collections.
- palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental considerations on the fauna which inhabited the Friulan-Venetian basin during the Early Miocene, supported by isotopic analyses and morphofunctional studies.
- Comparisons on the aforementioned odontocete fauna with other fossil assemblages of the Early Miocene (Pietra Leccese Formation, southern Italy; Calvert Formation, East Coast US; Chilcatay Formation, Perù), in order to evaluate the endemicity of the Belluno fossil fauna and the represented ecomorphotypes.
To achieve these results, I will work with prof. Giovanni Bianucci and dr. Alberto Collareta, who have both worked for long time, and are still actively working, on fossil cetaceans.
My academic formation has been centered on palaeobiological issues (morphometrics, functional morphology, taxonomy, phylogenetics), mainly addressing the phenomenon of convergent evolution: its usefulness for morphofunctional and palaeoecological considerations, and how to recognize this phenomenon in the fossil record.
These topics were present in both my B.Sc. and M.Sc. theses. I got my B.Sc. degree at La Sapienza University of Rome in 2019, with a thesis titled: “Convergent evolution of defensive structures in ankylosaurs and glyptodonts”, whereas my M.Sc. degree was obtained at the University of Pisa in 2022, with the thesis: “Stenopterygius (Ichthyosauria) in the Italian museum collections: species level identification and trophic niche reconstruction”. In the latter thesis project, I was able to apply innovative imaging techniques on fossils, such as 3D models obtained by photogrammetry, structured light scanning and CT scans.
My additional interests include GIS cartography and palaeoichnology, digging since 2022 with the University of Cork and the Natural History Museum of Magdeburg, on a site in Germany (Saxony-Anhalt) bearing amazing ichnofossils.
RESEARCH INTEREST
- Palaeobiology
- Convergent evolution
- Systematics
- Palaeoecology
- Functional morphology
- Biomechanics
Research project: The odontocete cetaceans of the Lower Miocene of the Venetian-Friulian Basin: systematics, palaeoecological characterisation and palaeoenvironmental contextualisation.
Supervisors:
Professor Giovanni Bianucci (DST-UNIPI)
Dr Alberto Collareta (DST-UNIPI)
Francesco Nobile
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Università di Pisa
Via Santa Maria 53
56126 Pisa
Italia