Paleontology and Zoology

The Palaeontology and Zoology discipline investigates animal diversity, body organisation, and evolutionary history across both deep time and the present day. Vertebrate phylogenomics reconstructs the origin and diversification of species such as cichlid fishes and Antarctic notothenioids using genomic and bioinformatic approaches. Zoomorphological research traces the evolution of arthropod body plans, developmental diversity, and larval forms through comparisons of fossil and modern specimens, employing advanced 2D and 3D imaging techniques. Research on arthropod sensory systems and marine zoology — including sea spiders and other invertebrates from the Mediterranean and Southern Ocean — further deepens our understanding of animal form and function. Field ecology combined with next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics reveals patterns of biodiversity, species interactions, and the microbial communities associated with insects and other organisms. Together, the discipline connects morphology, systematics, genomics, and ecology to address fundamental questions about how animal diversity arose and is maintained.