Larisa DeSantis Archives
Koala teeth provide insights into diet
Aug. 22, 2018—Paleontologist Larisa DeSantis' latest research confirms that the shape of tooth wear best indicates the kind of food koalas and kangaroos ate, not whether it was covered in dust and dirt.
Vanderbilt students offer firsthand look at Nashville’s distant past during Fossils at the Fort April 7
Mar. 22, 2018—Kids of all ages can find and take home a 400-million-year-old souvenir and learn all about the hunt for clues to the ancient past at Fort Negley April 7.
Climate change took away ancient animals’ food supply; holds implications for today’s wildlife
Jun. 2, 2017—Analysis suggests that climate change had a significant impact on megafauna diets and was a primary factor in their extinction.
The tale teeth tell about the legendary man-eating lions of Tsavo
Apr. 19, 2017—Analysis of the microscopic wear on the teeth of three man-eating lions reveals that painful dental disease may have been what drove the cats to hunt humans instead of larger prey.
Fossils at the Fort is March 25
Mar. 15, 2017—Fossils at the Fort is happening on Saturday, March 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fort Negley Visitors Center and Park. The event is free and will take place rain or shine.
Climate change helped kill off super-sized Ice Age animals in Australia
Jan. 26, 2017—A new study has compared the diet of a variety of Australian megafaunal herbivores from the period when they were widespread (350,000 to 570,000 years ago) to a period when they were in decline (30,000 to 40,000 years ago) by studying their fossil teeth. The analysis suggests that climate change had a significant impact on their diets and may well have been a primary factor in their extinction.
Vanderbilt excavation begins to shed more light on the lives of early Peruvians
Oct. 4, 2016—Findings from archaeologist Tom Dillehay's dig at Huaca Prieta and Paredones include the world's earliest known use of indigo dye.
Fossils at the Fort is March 19
Mar. 10, 2016—Fossils at the Fort is a free annual event providing young and old with an opportunity to journey into Middle Tennessee's astonishing ancient past.
Kudos: Read about faculty, staff and student awards, appointments and achievements
Nov. 23, 2015—Read about faculty, staff and student awards, appointments and achievements.
VU paleontologist appears on Nat Geo Wild’s ‘Future Cat’ Nov. 30
Nov. 28, 2014—Larisa DeSantis, assistant professor of Earth and environmental sciences, is a featured expert on Nat Geo Wild’s Future Cat, part of the network’s Big Cat week.
VUCast: Cougar Cravings
Jul. 29, 2014—In the latest VUCast: See what cougars eat to help them avoid extinction; look inside Warren and Moore colleges, Vanderbilt’s newest living-learning community; and hear what Commodore football coaches are doing to create a winning team. Watch now!
Cougars’ diverse diet helped them survive the mass extinction that wiped out the saber-tooth cat, American lion
Apr. 22, 2014—Cougars may have survived a mass extinction that took place about 12,000 years ago because they were not particular about what they ate.