Principal Investigator
Dr. Carlos Mauricio Peredo (2022–Present)
I am a paleontologist and a storyteller. I use the fossil record as a window into the earth’s past to tell the earth’s story. Our lab uses marine mammals as a system to connect dynamic earth systems to macroevolutionary change across lineages.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Coming Soon
If you’d like to postdoc in the Peredo Comparative Morphology Lab, please reach out!
Graduate scholars
Rebecca strauch, MS student, geology (2023–present)
Rebecca is an MS student in Geology. As an undergraduate at Whitworth University, she studied biology and philosophy. Her work examines the evolution of fusion in the mandibles of whales. She hopes this will contribute to our understanding of how mandibular morphology relates to broader feeding ecology.
kayla huff, MS student, biology(2023–present)
Kayla is an MS student in Biology. Her work examines the degree and nature of tooth wear in manatees. She hopes to use this study to better understand the mechanisms that drive manatee tooth replacement.
Undergraduate Scholars
Isabel Tuckett (2022–2023)
Isabel is a Microbiology and Premedical Studies major, and an undergraduate researcher in our lab. Isabel volunteers on our projects at the Hefner Museum of Natural History. She has mastered specimen photography and 3D surface scanning using a laser light scanner. Her efforts have been instrumental in digitizing the collection.
Lab Alumni
Bri Groves (2019–2020)
Bri was a summer intern at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in 2019. She collected morphological data, conducted photogrammetry scans, and learned fossil preparation. Bri is currently working on a project studying the allometry of cetacean ear bones.
Brenlee Shipps (2016–2017)
Brenlee and I began collaboration in the Spring of 2016, when she was funded by the Office of Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR) to study environmental patterns in the whale fossil record. Brenlee presented her research at the GMU Undergraduate Research Symposium, winning the Dean's Award for Undergraduate Research in Earth Science (3rd Place). Brenlee went on to name and describe Borealodon osedax, a new genus and species of fossil baleen whale, which you can read about here.
Cristina Robinson (2016)
Cristina visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as a two week intern to study fossil marine mammals. Cristina's primary project included collecting morphological data on mysticete mandibles. She also learned to make 3D models from CT scans and prepare fossils from matrix.
Jaimie Porta (2015)
Jaimie assisted with Historical Geology labs (GEOL 102) as a student teacher completing her Earth Science Lab Practicum. Jaimie worked closely with students and learned valuable science communication skills.
Laura Hauser (2014)
Laura assisted with Historical Geology labs (GEOL 102) as a student teacher completing her Earth Science Lab Practicum. Laura interacted closely with students to enhance their understanding of the material. Laura has gone on to teach Science and Oceanography at King William High School.