Welcome to the
Evolutionary Morphology Lab
at University of Copenhagen
Our group uses high-dimensional, high resolution data to reconstruct morphological transformations in vertebrate history. We compare fossils and their living relatives in a phylogenetic framework, often using 3D imaging techniques like surface scanning and X-ray CT combined with geometric morphometrics. Increasingly we integrate morphological information with multi-omic data to identify the tempo and mode of evolution in modern groups. We tend to focus on animals but are interested in all biological forms. Check our Research and Ideas pages for more information.
Developmental constraints
Extinction biology
Evolutionary processes
Species descriptions
News
- Welcome to our new postdoc Sarah du Plessis from Cardiff University. Sarah will be working on the genomic side of our DFF-funded dog domestication project, using her experience on otter population genomics
- This week Stine & I attended the ESHE conference - European Society for the study of Human Evolution - in Aarhus, Denmark. Stine gave her first conference talk and I learned a lot about Neanderthals;)
- Another paper accepted by the prolific PhD student Marco Camaiti! New views on skink inner ear ecomorphology coming soon to Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
- PI Christy Hipsley received ~3 mio DKK from Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond to study dog origins, by integrating genomic and phenomic data across the canid family tree
- Next week PhD student Merin Joji will leave for a month of fieldwork at the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology in Chennai, India. There she will 3D surface scan living turtles for her research on shell asymmetry as a monitoring tool for turtle health
- PhD student Marco Camaiti submitted his thesis on limb reduction in skinks to Monash University, and will soon begin a postdoc with Anjali Goswami at the Natural History Museum in London. Congratulations Marco!
Who we are
Christy Hipsley Principal Investigator (she/her)
I’m an Associate Professor in the Section for Ecology & Evolution, Department of Biology at University of Copenhagen. I specialise in comparative anatomy and vertebrate paleontology – basically anything with bones (and sometimes without). I studied in museums in Europe and Australia before settling in Copenhagen, where I work with The Natural History Museum of Denmark and Danish Technical University (DTU) to document biodiversity in four dimensions.
What we do
We reconstruct morphological transformations in the 500-million year history of vertebrate life, such as limb loss in lizards and convergent evolution in mammals. These shifts involve fundamental changes in ecology, behaviour, physiology, and development that underlie the origins of major clades and have lasting consequences in the modern forms. Our research covers a range of taxonomic levels and geological ages, from group origins, DNA sequences and individual development, to within-species variation and biodiversity dynamics.
How we do it
Our research is grounded in natural history collections, where we record biological specimens to quantify morphological variation in space and time. We do this using non-invasive techniques like X-ray computed tomography (CT) and surface scanning to convert complex morphologies into geometric forms. The resulting digital models can be analysed using a growing toolkit of multivariate shape analyses, including landmark-based geometric morphometrics and stochastic modelling.
What we believe
We believe that all people should be treated equally.
We believe in LGBTQ+ rights.
We believe in feminism.
We believe in a safe work environment for the exchange of ideas.
We believe that knowledge should be shared for public benefit.
We believe in Open Data.
We believe in evolution by common descent.
We believe in science.