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Palaeobiology at the University of Oxford
Oxford hosts a vibrant palaeobiological research community across the University, including at the Department of Earth Sciences and the Museum of Natural History. The Museum holds world-leading palaeontological collections. This site describes our current research, lists events around the University, and provides advice on how to study palaeobiology at Oxford.
Research News
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Integrating living species and the fossil record to unravel cnidarian evolution
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Integrating living species and the fossil record to unravel cnidarian evolution
29 October 2024
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: The impact of ocean warming on nutrient and carbon acquisition of marine plankton
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: The impact of ocean warming on nutrient and carbon acquisition of marine plankton
29 October 2024
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: The meiofauna frontier: pushing the limits of computed tomography in invertebrate morphology
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: The meiofauna frontier: pushing the limits of computed tomography in invertebrate morphology
29 October 2024
Golden bugs: Spectacular new fossil arthropods preserved in fool's gold
Golden bugs: Spectacular new fossil arthropods preserved in fool's gold
29 October 2024
2025 DTP/Dhil Project: Unravelling the deep homology of gill slits and the origin of bilaterian body plans
2025 DTP/Dhil Project: Unravelling the deep homology of gill slits and the origin of bilaterian body plans
18 October 2024
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Milankovitch, tides and marine mixing: drivers of plankton speciation and productivity
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Milankovitch, tides and marine mixing: drivers of plankton speciation and productivity
18 October 2024
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Palaeoecology and palaeophysiology of early flowering plants from the mid Cretaceous of West Greenland
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Palaeoecology and palaeophysiology of early flowering plants from the mid Cretaceous of West Greenland
18 October 2024
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: The stars are out: a palaeontological perspective on the early evolution of the Asterozoa
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: The stars are out: a palaeontological perspective on the early evolution of the Asterozoa
18 October 2024
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Do clay-rich environments bias the early fossil record?
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Do clay-rich environments bias the early fossil record?
3 October 2024
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Disentangling extinction risk in deep time
2025 DTP/DPhil Project: Disentangling extinction risk in deep time
9 September 2024
Professor Erin Saupe presented with Paleontological Society's Schuchert Award
Professor Erin Saupe presented with Paleontological Society's Schuchert Award
12 August 2024
Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of molluscs
Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of molluscs
2 August 2024
Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowships - Expressions of interest open
Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowships - Expressions of interest open
31 July 2024
Oxford researchers uncover remarkable archive of ancient human brains
Oxford researchers uncover remarkable archive of ancient human brains
20 March 2024
New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change
New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change
8 March 2024
Free spatial methods workshop for analysing the fossil record at Oxford
Free spatial methods workshop for analysing the fossil record at Oxford
15 December 2023
Recreation of ancient seawater reveals which nutrients shaped the evolution of early life
Recreation of ancient seawater reveals which nutrients shaped the evolution of early life
14 November 2023
Katherine Faulkner wins AWG Undergraduate Excellence in Paleontology Award
Katherine Faulkner wins AWG Undergraduate Excellence in Paleontology Award
19 October 2023
Erin Saupe promoted to Professor of Palaeobiology
Erin Saupe promoted to Professor of Palaeobiology
8 August 2023
New Oxford study sheds light on the origin of animals
New Oxford study sheds light on the origin of animals
28 June 2023
Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in Experimental Geobiology Opportunity
Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in Experimental Geobiology Opportunity
18 May 2023
Large-scale fossil study reveals origins of modern biodiversity gradient
Large-scale fossil study reveals origins of modern biodiversity gradient
17 February 2023
Fossil study brings us one step closer to revealing how ‘flying dinosaurs’ took flight
Fossil study brings us one step closer to revealing how ‘flying dinosaurs’ took flight
19 January 2023
Fossil CSI: Analysis of giant marine reptile graveyard suggests ancient birthing grounds
Fossil CSI: Analysis of giant marine reptile graveyard suggests ancient birthing grounds
4 January 2023
Ross Anderson awarded Royal Society University Research Fellowship
Ross Anderson awarded Royal Society University Research Fellowship
24 November 2022
Julie Cosmidis awarded ERC Starting Grant
Julie Cosmidis awarded ERC Starting Grant
22 November 2022
500 million year-old fossils reveal answer to evolutionary riddle
500 million year-old fossils reveal answer to evolutionary riddle
2 November 2022
Collections Manager (Earth Collections) Opportunity
Collections Manager (Earth Collections) Opportunity
1 November 2022
New Scottish fossil sheds light on the origin of lizards
New Scottish fossil sheds light on the origin of lizards
27 October 2022
Fossil bird’s skull reconstruction reveals a brain made for smelling and eyes made for daylight
Fossil bird’s skull reconstruction reveals a brain made for smelling and eyes made for daylight
25 October 2022
Associate Professor/Professor of Palaeobiology Opportunity
Associate Professor/Professor of Palaeobiology Opportunity
17 October 2022
Armoured worm reveals the ancestry of three major animal groups
Armoured worm reveals the ancestry of three major animal groups
28 September 2022
Earliest evidence of fruit-eating by birds
Earliest evidence of fruit-eating by birds
16 August 2022
560-million-year-old fossil is first animal predator
560-million-year-old fossil is first animal predator
27 July 2022
DPhil student Alexandra Morton-Hayward awarded a Scholarship from the Anglo-Danish Society
DPhil student Alexandra Morton-Hayward awarded a Scholarship from the Anglo-Danish Society
27 May 2022
New study finds giant predatory dinosaurs could hunt underwater
New study finds giant predatory dinosaurs could hunt underwater
21 March 2022
Iron integral to the development of life on Earth
Iron integral to the development of life on Earth
7 December 2021
Life on Mars search could be misled by false fossils
Life on Mars search could be misled by false fossils
18 November 2021
Researchers find climate change impacts plankton
Researchers find climate change impacts plankton
28 April 2021
Luke Parry wins Geological Society of London Lyell Fund
Luke Parry wins Geological Society of London Lyell Fund
1 March 2021
Experiments show the record of early life could be full of “false positives”
Experiments show the record of early life could be full of “false positives”
29 January 2021
Associate Professor Erin Saupe wins the Palaeontological Association's Hodson Award
Associate Professor Erin Saupe wins the Palaeontological Association's Hodson Award
18 December 2020
Clay-organic bonds key to Burgess Shale fossilisation
Clay-organic bonds key to Burgess Shale fossilisation
1 December 2020
Gwen Antell wins best student presentation
Gwen Antell wins best student presentation
24 November 2020
Eigg beach runner stumbles on dinosaur bone
Eigg beach runner stumbles on dinosaur bone
26 August 2020
Oldest relative of ragworms and earthworms discovered
Oldest relative of ragworms and earthworms discovered
11 June 2020
Ocean biodiversity has not increased substantially for hundreds of millions of years
Ocean biodiversity has not increased substantially for hundreds of millions of years
24 April 2020
Sandy Hetherington awarded UKRI Future Leader Fellowship
Sandy Hetherington awarded UKRI Future Leader Fellowship
23 April 2020
Sandy Hetherington appointed PalAss Exceptional Lecturer
Sandy Hetherington appointed PalAss Exceptional Lecturer
27 March 2020
Thread-like associations connected ancient animals more than half-a-billion years ago
Thread-like associations connected ancient animals more than half-a-billion years ago
5 March 2020
Skull evolution – the key to success for Darwin’s finches
Skull evolution – the key to success for Darwin’s finches
4 February 2020
Species that survive mass extinction events do not take over the space of fallen competitors
Species that survive mass extinction events do not take over the space of fallen competitors
12 December 2019
Earth Sciences DPhil Graduate Awarded Alfred Sherwood Romer Prize in Vertebrate Palaeontology
Earth Sciences DPhil Graduate Awarded Alfred Sherwood Romer Prize in Vertebrate Palaeontology
31 October 2019
Greater species diversity at the equator linked to variations in precipitation
Greater species diversity at the equator linked to variations in precipitation
9 September 2019
Earth Sciences postgraduate awarded Best Student Presentation at the NAPC 2019
Earth Sciences postgraduate awarded Best Student Presentation at the NAPC 2019
6 August 2019
Past climate change pushed birds from the northern hemisphere to the tropics
Past climate change pushed birds from the northern hemisphere to the tropics
13 June 2019
Oxygen linked with the boom and bust of early animal evolution
Oxygen linked with the boom and bust of early animal evolution
6 May 2019
Tentacled ‘Cthulhu’ fossil reconstruction reveals monstrous relative of modern sea cucumbers
Tentacled ‘Cthulhu’ fossil reconstruction reveals monstrous relative of modern sea cucumbers
10 April 2019
Ledumahadi mafube – New Jurassic Giant of South Africa
Ledumahadi mafube – New Jurassic Giant of South Africa
27 September 2018
Half-a-billion-year-old fossil offers new clues to how life exploded on sea floor
Half-a-billion-year-old fossil offers new clues to how life exploded on sea floor
14 September 2018
New species of rare ancient ‘worm’ discovered in fossil hotspot
New species of rare ancient ‘worm’ discovered in fossil hotspot
8 August 2018
Fish bone structure reveals surprising parallel evolution of warming mechanism
Fish bone structure reveals surprising parallel evolution of warming mechanism
3 July 2018
Soft tissue fossil clues could help search for ancient life on Earth and other planets
Soft tissue fossil clues could help search for ancient life on Earth and other planets
16 February 2018
Dr Sam Giles awarded Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship
Dr Sam Giles awarded Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship
4 October 2017
New mathematical analysis confirms ‘Dickinsonia’ was an animal
New mathematical analysis confirms ‘Dickinsonia’ was an animal
14 September 2017
“Dinosaur fish” sheds new light on the fish family tree
“Dinosaur fish” sheds new light on the fish family tree
14 September 2017
First evidence of Scottish mammals producing milk
First evidence of Scottish mammals producing milk
5 May 2017
Fossil plankton may be the key to understanding prehistoric climate change
Fossil plankton may be the key to understanding prehistoric climate change
2 March 2017
Professor Paul Smith wins royal award for work in the Arctic
Professor Paul Smith wins royal award for work in the Arctic
1 February 2017
Fossilised dinosaur brain tissue identified for the first time
Fossilised dinosaur brain tissue identified for the first time
28 October 2016
New study provides strongest evidence that oxygen levels were key to evolution of early animals
New study provides strongest evidence that oxygen levels were key to evolution of early animals
23 September 2016
Sam Giles wins L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowship
Sam Giles wins L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowship
11 July 2016
Scientists discover oldest plant root stem cells
Scientists discover oldest plant root stem cells
2 June 2016
4th year undergraduate project reveals hint of origin of life on Earth
4th year undergraduate project reveals hint of origin of life on Earth
8 April 2016
Slower evolution and climate change drove ichthyosaurs to extinction
Slower evolution and climate change drove ichthyosaurs to extinction
10 March 2016
Isle of Skye fossil makes three species one
Isle of Skye fossil makes three species one
19 November 2015
DPhil fieldwork contributes to Nature paper
DPhil fieldwork contributes to Nature paper
14 September 2015
Two-faced fish clue that our ancestors 'weren't shark-like'
Two-faced fish clue that our ancestors 'weren't shark-like'
12 January 2015