Dr. Fabio Alfieri

Fabio Alfieri is an evolutionary biologist, palaeontologist, and anthropologist studying the morphological evolution and adaptation of the mammalian - and especially primate - skeleton. His work combines collection-based research on extant and extinct taxa with virtual anatomical methods (imaging techniques such as μCT and photogrammetry, segmentation, and fossil specimen restoration) and quantitative analyses of bone external shape and internal structure, with a particular focus on diaphyseal cross-sectional properties and trabecular bone. He applies and implements phylogenetic comparative methods and analytical protocols in R to recover the functional and ecological signal preserved in bone architecture across vertebrates, from primates and other mammals to birds. 

EDUCATION 

• PhD in Zoology (magna cum laude), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany (2018-2022). 
  Thesis: Convergent evolution of humeral and femoral functional morphology in slow arboreal mammals (supervisors: Prof. John Nyakatura, HU Berlin, and Dr. Eli Amson, State Museum of Natural History, Stuttgart). 
• MSc in Conservation and Evolution (cum laude), University of Pisa, Italy (2014-2017). 
  Thesis on the trabecular structure of the human and non-human primate fibula and its relationship with locomotor behaviour (supervisor: Prof. Damiano Marchi). 
• BSc in Natural and Environmental Sciences (cum laude), University of Pisa, Italy (2011-2014). 

SUPERVISOR

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Macho

MAIN PUBLICATIONS

• Nguyen U., Alfieri F., Veneziano A. Licht A., Nyakatura J.A. Whole-epiphysis trabecular bone in tamarin limbs suggests effects of leaping distance alongside non-biomechanical factors. Am. J. Biol. Anthropol. 190(2), e70293   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70293
• Alfieri F., Arias-Martorell J., Argilés-Esturgó C., Marchi D. (2026) The locomotor behavior of subfossil Malagasy sloth-lemurs (Strepsirrhini: Indriidae) and koala-lemurs (Strepsirrhini: Megaladapidae): new insights from limb trabecular bone. 206(3), zlag021. Zool. J. Linn. Soc.  https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlag021
• Alfieri F., Demuth O., Steell E.M., Fabre A-C., Field D.J. (2025) Constrained variation in the internal architecture of avian wing bones. 39(12), 3611-3627, Funct. Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70178 
• Widrig K., Alfieri F., Kuo P-C., James H., Field D. (2025) Quantitative analysis of stem-palaeognath flight capabilities sheds light on ratite dispersal and flight loss. 21: 20250320. Biol. Lett. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0320
• Alfieri F., Veneziano A., Panetta D., Salvadori P.A., Amson E., Marchi D. (2025) The relationship between primate distal fibula trabecular architecture and arboreality, phylogeny and size. 246(6), 907-935, J. Anat. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14195
• Berles P., Wölfer J., Alfieri F., Botton-Divet L., Guery, J.P., Nyakatura J.A. (2024), Linking morphology, performance, and habitat utilisation: adaptation across biologically relevant 'levels' in tamarins. 24(1), 22. BMC Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-023-02193-z
• Alfieri F., Botton-Divet L., Wölfer J., Nyakatura J.A., Amson E. (2023). A macroevolutionary common-garden experiment reveals differentially evolvable bone organization levels in slow arboreal mammals. 6, 995. Commun. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05371-3 
• Alfieri F., Botton-Divet L., Nyakatura J.A. Amson E. (2022). Integrative approach uncovers new patterns of ecomorphological convergence in slow arboreal xenarthrans. 29, 283-312. J. Mamm. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-021-09590-5
• Landi F., Alfieri F., Towle I., Profico A. Veneziano A. (2021).  Fluctuating asymmetry and stress in Macaca fuscata: does captivity affect morphology? 11(17), 7879. Appl. Sci.; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177879 

• Alfieri, F., Nyakatura, J. A., Amson, E. (2021). Evolution of bone cortical compactness in slow arboreal mammals. 75 (2). Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14137