Paleobiology & Evolution

Paleobiology & Evolution research at UCSB covers a wide range of times and organisms, including the fossil record of early life,, the Cambrian explosion and the early history of animals, the evolution of land plants, especially angiosperms of the last 65 million years, and the evolution of mammals.

Phylogenomic tree that illustrates the origins of microbial species that we see on Earth today since the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA).
Tiny skull
among the oldest evidence for predation - drill holes in 750 Myr old fossils
Dickinsonia from the Flinders Ranges, Australia

Susannah Porter

Professor

Focuses on the rise of complex life, from the fossils of early eukaryotes to the first widespread appearance of skeletal animals.

Biogeochemistry & Geobiology

Paleobiology & Evolution

Andre Wyss

Chair

Professor

Field collection of fossil synapsids, mostly mammals. Description of their anatomy, often dental, placing these taxa into their phylogenetic and stratigraphic context.

Paleobiology & Evolution

Carolina Martinez Gutierrez

Assistant Professor

Application of genomics and phylogenomics to explore the past and current evolution of life in the context of Earth's history.

Biogeochemistry & Geobiology

Paleobiology & Evolution