Evolutionary biologist and functional morphologist focusing on the evolution of bone morphology in vertebrates. Currently looking for a post-doc
Fabio Alfieri
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I’m very happy to share that our work on bone inner structure of Madagascar’s subfossil sloth- and koala-lemurs is finally out 🦴🐒 on @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social
A big thank you to co-authors @julsam.bsky.social Carla Argilés Esturgó and Damiano Marchi!
academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
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New paper out! 🦴🐒 In the trabecular bone of tamarin limbs, we found that beyond non-locomotor factors, leaping distance leaves a signal! Thanks to @aveneziano.bsky.social, and colleagues from the lab led by @johnnyakatura.bsky.social
Open Access on American Journal of Biological Anthropology
academic.oup.com
Abstract. The locomotion of Malagasy Quaternary subfossil lemurs, including palaeopropithecines (‘sloth-lemurs’) and megaladapids (‘koala-lemurs’), has bee
Strikingly, the largest koala-lemur emerges as a suspensory taxon. This would place it among the largest mammals known with this locomotor specialization, rivalled today only by orangutans!
Stay tuned for more work on these bizarre extinct primates!
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Me...
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Finally out. More of our work on tamarins 🤩. Whole‐Epiphysis Trabecular Bone in Tamarin Limbs Suggests Effects of Leaping Distance Alongside Non‐Biomechanical Factors - Nguyen et al. - 2026 - American Journal of Biological Anthropology - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Femoral data identify suspensory/bridging arboreal species (tree sloths, orangutans, lorises). Inferring extinct taxa's locomotion, we confirmed previously proposed sloth-lemurs' suspensory habits
(Figure from Alfieri et al. 2026 (CC BY 4.0), doi.org/10.1093/zool...)
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We first identified links between limb trabecular bone and locomotion in a broad mammalian sample. We used published quantitative behavioural data to define ad-hoc locomotor categories.
(Figure from Alfieri et al. 2026 (CC BY 4.0), doi.org/10.1093/zool...)
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Very happy to share the preprint of our work on Quaternary subfossil lemur trabecular structure! Thanks to co-authors @julsam.bsky.social, Carla Argilés Esturgó and Damiano Marchi
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Fabio Alfieri
Objectives
Beyond non-biomechanical factors, the trabecular architecture of long bone epiphyses variably underlies functional adaptations to locomotor behavior. A recent study, characterizing tamari.....
We then quantified humeral/femoral trabecular bone in extant mammals and extinct lemurs. For the latter, we used traditional and more recent approaches to clean fossil trabecular bone structure.
(Figure from Alfieri et al. 2026 (CC BY 4.0), doi.org/10.1093/zool...)
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This allowed us to assess and statistically test how this anatomical level co-varies with locomotion in extant species.
(Figure from Alfieri et al. 2026 (CC BY 4.0), doi.org/10.1093/zool...)
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Fabio Alfieri
Fabio Alfieri
Fabio Alfieri
Fabio Alfieri
Fabio Alfieri
It was very rewarding collaborating on a citizen science project dealing with City Nature Challenge 2025 in Turin🌿! Thanks to all the colleagues!
Paper now out as Open Access on Urban Ecosystems #CitizenScience #CityNatureChallenge #UrbanEcology #Turin
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The locomotion of Malagasy Quaternary subfossil lemurs - including palaeopropithecids (sloth-lemurs) and megaladapids (koala-lemurs) -has been investigated on abundant postcranial remains. Proposed st...
Citizen science is increasingly used to document biodiversity in urban ecosystems while simultaneously promoting public engagement with nature. However, how institutional coordination relates to parti...
