Curriculum vitae

Mammal ecomorphology and osteology, fossil recognition and Pleistocene mammal faunas

Description of research and teaching

Mammal ecomorphology, osteology, paleoecology and ecometrics. I work as an Academy of Finland research fellow at the department of geosciences and geography in the University of Helsinki. I'm a paleontologist and my main research topics involve exploring how functional traits of large herbivorous mammals (such as dental and postcranial bone traits, body size and diet) have chanced in different parts of the world during the last ca. 66 million years, and what the distribution of such traits in fossil mammal communities tells us about changes in climate and environments (e.g. vegetation). I also study the evolutionary history and fossil record of proboscideans and other large herbivorous mammals. As a Docent, I teach on many courses at the department of Geosciences and Geography, especially on courses of the Paleontology and Global Change master's programme, and I supervise Bachelor's, Master's and PhD theses. I also work as the coordinator of body mass estimate data in the NOW-database of fossil mammals.