I am a vertebrate palaeontologist, also passionate about wildlife, zoology and conservation biology. My research focus on mammalian ecomorphology and functional adaptation in the vertebrate skeleton.
I employ methods such as geometric morphometrics and comparative approaches to reveal ecology and evolution of extant and fossil species.
The aim of my research is to promote an integrated approach to our understanding of animal diversity on earth in the past, the present and the future.
Highlighted Significant Publications since 2013
Charters, D., Abrams, G., De Groote, I., Di Modica, K., Bonjean, D., & Meloro, C. (2019). Temporal variation in cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) dentition: The stratigraphic sequence of Scladina Cave, Belgium. Quaternary Science Reviews 205:76-85 [IF:4.80]
Watson, P., Fitton, L., Meloro, C., Fagan, M., & Gröning, F. (2018). Mechanical adaptation of trabecular bone morphology in the mammalian mandible. Scientific Reports 8(1):7277 [IF:4.26]
Raia, P., Boggioni, M., Carotenuto, F., Castiglione, S., Di Febbraro, M., Di Vincenzo, F., Melchionna, M., Mondanaro, A., Papini, A., Profico, A., Serio, C., Vero, V.A., Rook, L., Meloro, C., & Manzi, G. (2018). Unexpectedly rapid evolution of mandibular shape in hominins. Scientific Reports 8(1):7340. I contributed to writing & data analysis [IF:4.26, Altmetrics: 7]
Meloro, C., & Marques De Oliveira, A. (2017). Elbow Joint Geometry in Bears (Ursidae, Carnivora): a Tool to Infer Paleobiology and Functional Adaptations of Quaternary Fossils. Journal of Mammalian Evolution ISSN 1573-7055 [IF:2.27, Altmetrics: 13]
Meloro, C., Guidarelli, G., Colangelo, P., Ciucci, P., & Loy, A. (2017). Mandible size and shape in extant Ursidae (Carnivora, Mammalia): A tool for taxonomy and ecogeography. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 55(4):269-287 [IF:2.44, Altmetrics: 32, Cit: 4]
Meloro, C., Hunter, J., Tomsett, L., Portela Miguez, R., Prevosti, F. J., & Brown, R. P. (2017). Evolutionary ecomorphology of the Falkland Islands wolf Dusicyon australis. Mammal Review 47(2):159-163 [IF:3.29, Altmetrics: 23]
Clauss, M., Nurutdinova, I., Meloro, C., Gunga, H. C., Jiang, D., Koller, J., Hellwich, O. (2017). Reconstruction of body cavity volume in terrestrial tetrapods. Journal of Anatomy 230(2):325-336. I contributed to writing & data analysis [IF:2.18, Altmetrics: 236, Cit: 2]
Van Valkenburgh, B., Hayward, M. W., Ripple, W. J., Meloro, C., & Roth, V. L. (2015). The impact of large terrestrial carnivores on Pleistocene ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA 113(4):862-867 [IF:9.66, Altmetrics: 256, Cit: 30]
Meloro, C., Caceres, N. C., Carotenuto, F., Sponchiado, J., Melo, G. L., Passaro, F., & Raia, P. (2015). Chewing on the trees: Constraints and adaptation in the evolution of the primate mandible. Evolution 69(7):1690-1700 [IF:4.20, Altmetrics: 11, Cit: 18]
Louys, J., Meloro, C., Elton, S., Ditchfield, P., & Bishop, L. C. (2015). Analytical framework for reconstructing heterogeneous environmental variables from mammal community structure. Journal Of Human Evolution 78:1-11 [IF:3.93, Altmetrics: 3, Cit: 6]
Other significant publications (out of 47)
Tamagnini, D., Stephenson, J., Brown, R., & Meloro, C. (2018). Geometric morphometric analyses of sexual dimorphism and allometry in two sympatric snakes: Natrix helvetica (Natricidae) and Vipera berus (Viperidae). Zoology. doi:10.1016/j.zool.2018.05.008
Veneziano, A., Meloro, C., Irish, J., Stringer, C., Profico, A., & De Groote, I. (2018). Neuromandibular integration in humans and chimpanzees: implications for dental and mandibular reduction in Homo. American Journal of Physical Anthropology https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23606
Bubadue, J., Caceres, N., Carvalho, R., & Meloro, C. (2016). Ecogeographical Variation in Skull Shape of South-American
Canids: Abiotic or Biotic Processes? Evolutionary Biology 43(2):145-159.
Elton, S., Jansson, A. -U., Meloro, C., Louys, J., Plummer, T., & Bishop, L. C. (2016). Exploring morphological generality in the Old World monkey postcranium using an ecomorphological framework. Journal of Anatomy 228(4):534-560
Meloro, C., Clauss, M., & Raia, P. (2015). Ecomorphology of Carnivora challenges convergent evolution. Organisms Diversity and Evolution, 15(4):711-720.
Meloro, C., Hudson, A., & Rook, L. (2015). Feeding habits of extant and fossil canids as determined by their skull geometry. J Zoology 295(3): 178-188.
Meloro, C., Cáceres, N., Carotenuto, F., Sponchiado, J., Melo, G. L., Passaro, F., & Raia, P. (2014). In and Out the Amazonia: Evolutionary Ecomorphology in Howler and Capuchin Monkeys. Evolutionary Biology 41(1):38-51.
Piras, P., Maiorino, L., Teresi, L., Meloro, C., Lucci, F., Kotsakis, T., & Raia, P. (2013). Bite of the Cats: Relationships between Functional Integration and Mechanical Performance as Revealed by Mandible Geometry. Systematic Biology 62(6):868-900 [IF:8.92, Altmetrics: 12, Cit: 40]
Meloro, C., & Kovarovic, K. (2013). Spatial and ecometric analyses of the Plio-Pleistocene large mammal communities of the Italian peninsula. Journal of Biogeography 40(8):1451-1462.
Meloro, C., Elton, S., Louys, J. C., Bishop, L. C., & Ditchfield, P. (2013). Cats in the forest: predicting habitat adaptations from humerus morphometry in extant and fossil Felidae (Carnivora). Paleobiology 39(3):323-344.
Clauss, M., Dittmann, M. T., Müller, D. W. H., Meloro, C., & Codron, D. (2013). Bergmann’ s rule in mammals: a cross-species interspecific pattern. Oikos 122:1465-1472.
Meloro, C., & Jones, M.E.H. (2012). Tooth and cranial disparity in the fossil relatives of Sphenodon (Rhynchocephalia) dispute the persistent 'living fossil' label. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25(11):2194-2209. [IF:2.79, Altmetrics: 74, Cit: 26]
Meloro, C. (2012). Mandibular shape correlates of tooth fracture in extant Carnivora: implications to inferring feeding behaviour of Pleistocene predators. Biological J Linnean Society 106(1), 70-80.
Meloro, C., & Slater, G. J. (2012). Covariation in the Skull Modules of Cats: the challenge of growing saber-like canines. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32(3): 677-685.
Louys, J., Ditchfield, P., Meloro, C., Elton, S., & Bishop, L. C. (2012). Stable isotopes provide independent support for the use of mesowear variables for inferring diets in African antelopes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 279:4441-4446 [IF:4.94, Cit: 21]
Louys, J., Meloro, C., Elton, S., Ditchfield, P., & Bishop, L. C. (2011). Mammal community structure correlates with arboreal heterogeneity in faunally and geographically diverse habitats: implications for community convergence. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20:717-729 [IF:6.05, Cit: 17, Submitted to REF2014]
Meloro, C. (2011). Feeding habits of Plio-Pleistocene large carnivores as revealed by the mandibular geometry. Journal Of Vertebrate Paleontology 31(2):428-446.
Meloro, C., & O'Higgins, P. (2011). Ecological Adaptations of Mandibular Form in Fissiped Carnivora. J Mammalian Evolution 18(3):185-200.
Meloro, C., & Raia, P. (2010). Cats and Dogs Down the Tree: The Tempo and Mode of Evolution in the Lower Carnassial of Fossil and Living Carnivora. Evolutionary Biology 37(4):177-186.
Meloro, C., Raia, P., Piras, P., Barbera, C., & OHiggins, P. (2008). The shape of the mandibular corpus in large fissiped carnivores: allometry, function and phylogeny. Zoological J. Linnean Society 154(4):832-845
Book Chapter
Kitchener, A., Meloro, C., & Terry, W. (2017). Form and function of the musteloids. In D. W. Macdonald, C. Newman, & L. A. Harrington (Eds.), Biology and Conservation of Musteloids (pp. 92-128). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Conferences Published Abstracts (selected out of 26)
Giacomini, G., Scaravelli, D., Herrel, A., Russo, D., Veneziano, A., & Meloro, C. (2018). Murciélagos en 3D: fotogrametría como un método de escaneo portátil y confiable. In COLAM - II Congreso LatinoAmericano Y del Caribe de Murciélagos. El Salvador.
Giacomini, G., Scaravelli, D., Herrell, A., Brown, R., & Meloro, C. (2017). Echo from the skulls: is there a trade-off between echolocation and feeding function in bats. In 14th European Bat Research Symposium - EBRS 2017 Abstract book (pp. 98). Hizki Inprimategia, Zarautz.
Rafiq, K., Stephens, P., Golabek, K., & Meloro, C. (2016). Risk-driven behaviour in the African leopard. In 96th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. Minneapolis.
Marques de Oliveira, A., & Meloro, C. (2016). Paleobiology of ground sloths and other Pleistocene South American mammals: evidences. In 96th Annual Meeting of the american Society of Mammalogists. Minneapolis
Meloro, C. (2016). Macroevolution of the mammalian mandible: primates, ungulates and carnivorans compared. In 96th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. Minnesapolis.
Veneziano, A., Meloro, C., Irish, J. D., Stringer, C., & De Groote, I. (2016). A primate viewpoint on mandibular reduction in Homo: the impact of allometry and encephalisation. In American Journal of Physical Anthropology Vol. 159 (pp. 322). Atlanta, GA: WILEY-BLACKWELL
