Zhe-Xi Luo (Chinese 骆泽喜; pinyin: Luò Zéxǐ) is an American paleontologist of Chinese origin, specializing in

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

paleontology, particularly mammal evolution,

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, and

systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

Background

Luo gained his Bachelor's in Geology, Stratigraphy and Paleontology in 1982 from

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

's Department of Geology, before completing his PhD in Paleontology at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

, Museum of Paleontology in 1989. He then completed a

postdoctoral fellowship A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

in Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, Museum of Comparative Zoology in 1991. He currently has a lab as Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy.

Research

In 1983 Luo met Polish paleontologist

Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska Zofia Emilia Kielan-Jaworowska (25 April 1925 – 13 March 2015) was a Polish paleobiologist. In the mid-1960s, she led a series of Polish-Mongolian paleontological expeditions to the Gobi Desert. She was the first woman to serve on the executi ...

, and they co-authored many books and scientific publications. He has since published prolifically and is one of the leading experts in mammal evolution, particularly

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

. He has worked extensively on the origins of mammal ear and jaw anatomy, and has been involved in key research highlighting their unexpected ecological diversity. Luo is known recently for his work on new mammal specimens from China including '' Docofossor'' and '' Agilodocodon'' and '' Microdocodon'', and the earliest eutherian mammal, ''

Juramaia ''Juramaia'' is an extinct genus of a therian mammal, possibly a very basal eutherian mammal, known from the Late Jurassic ( Oxfordian stage) or Early Cretaceous deposits of western Liaoning, China. It is a small shrew-like mammal weighing aro ...

''.''Zhe-xi Luo on Jurassic Mothers from China and the Origins of Mammals'' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWz3R4J4OZA He works in close collaboration with researchers around the world, including at the

Beijing Museum of Natural History The National Natural History Museum of China (NNHM; ), previously the Beijing Museum of Natural History, is a municipal public natural history museum in Dongcheng, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Beijing Academy of Science and Technolo ...

, and on specimens from around the world, including ''

Haramiyavia ''Haramiyavia'' is a genus of synapsid in the clade Haramiyida that existed about 200 million years ago in the Rhaetian stage of the Triassic. Like other haramiyidans, it was likely a non-mammalian mammaliaform. It contains a single species, ''H ...

''.

Selected publications

*Luo ZX, Yuan CX, Meng QJ, Ji Q A. 2011. Jurassic eutherian mammal and divergence of marsupials and placentals. ''Nature''. 2011 Aug 24; 476(7361): 442–5. *Luo ZX, Ji Q, Yuan CX. 2007. Convergent dental adaptations in pseudo-tribosphenic and tribosphenic mammals. ''Nature''. 450(7166): 93–7. *Luo ZX, Ji Q, Wible JR, Yuan CX. 2003. An Early Cretaceous tribosphenic mammal and metatherian evolution. ''Science''. 302(5652):1934–40. *Luo ZX, Crompton AW, Sun AL 2001. A new mammaliaform from the early Jurassic and evolution of mammalian characteristics. ''Science''. 292(5521):1535–40.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Zhe-Xi 1958 births Living people American paleontologists Nanjing University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Chicago faculty Place of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people) Chinese emigrants to the United States Vertebrate paleontologists Harvard University alumni