What can teeth tell us about the evolution of mammals? Quite a lot, as it turns out. In a new interview on The Skullywag Lab, Narimane Chatar talks about her research on the evolution of teeth and skulls in carnivorans and other mammals. The conversation covers the idea of macroevolutionary ratchets, where some lineages become so specialised (for example towards a meat-only diet) that there is no easy way back. It also covers saber-tooths, one of the most iconic morphologies

The SCAR Lab is proud to share that our team member, Davide Tamagnini, has been awarded the BE-FOR-ERC grant by Sapienza University of Rome. This highly competitive grant supports research projects with exceptional scientific merit and a strong potential to secure an ERC Starting Grant in the short term. The skull is a complex, multifunctional structure involved in feeding, protection and sensory perception. MORPHOCOFE uses it to explore how predators and their prey have shap

Could you slice a steak and crack a nut with the very same tool? A thin blade can easily penetrate soft material, but it does not withstand heavy loads very well. A crushing tool, by contrast, needs to be broad and robust, but is much less effective at cutting. Yet over the course of their evolution, the vast majority of living mammals have combined these two functions within a single structure: a specialized molar. But how far can a single tooth reconcile two opposing functi

The WESTWOLF project aims to extend our research on large carnivores by investigating morphological variation across European wolf populations. Building on previous work carried out on French wolves, the project will broaden the geographical scale of the dataset to explore how population history, geography and environmental conditions may have contributed to shaping cranial morphology across Europe. Initiated by Emmanuelle HUET, this collaborative project brings together Coll

In March 2026, members of SCAR took part in the Fossil Carnivore Specialist Group (FCSG) Meeting held in Florence, Italy, from 4–6 March. The meeting brought together researchers working on fossil carnivorans and showcased a wide range of approaches, including virtual palaeontology, neuroanatomy, functional morphology and ecomorphology. Narimane Chatar presented a study investigating how carnassial tooth shape constrains the balance between slicing and crushing performance ac

The JAGUARS collection includes tissue samples, alcohol-preserved specimens and osteological material from species found in French Guiana. Built through the long-term work of the wildlife conservation organisation Kwata, it represents an important resource for documenting regional biodiversity and for studying the anatomy of local wildlife. In august 2026, the GUYANAT project built on this collection through a two-week scientific mission in French Guiana dedicated to the anat