Larisa DeSantis

Nine outstanding faculty members from across the university have been selected for the 2021 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. This group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. Read More

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Larisa DeSantis discusses pizzly bears (grizzy + polar bear hybrid species)! Read More

Chemical signatures and microscopic wear patterns in dental fossils show that the diet of sabertooth cats included mammoths. Read More

Dental analysis from Larisa DeSantis shows that polar bears may not be able to compete for food sources as their environment melts away. Read More

Isotope analysis of ancient Peruvian teeth gives anthropologists a clearer image of how cooperating societies function. Read More

Kids and lifelong learners can hear directly from paleontologists about bizarre creatures of the past during a free virtual National Fossil Day event on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 10 a.m. CT. Registration is required. Read More

International collaboration shows that marsupial saber-tooth cats were more closely related to possums than fearsome predators. Read More

Paleontologist and associate professor of biological sciences Larisa DeSantis finds answers about early hominin diets are with an unrelated group of mammals—tapirs. Read More

The quokka, a small marsupial native to Australia, is an example of a species vulnerable to extinction in the country’s harsh surroundings. In a new study, researchers at Vanderbilt University demonstrate evidence for the dramatic decline of quokkas over the past century. Read More

The most detailed study to date of ancient predators trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits is helping Americans understand why today we’re dealing with coyotes dumping over garbage cans and not saber-toothed cats ripping our arms off. Read More

The Vanderbilt community is invited to a panel discussion on Tuesday, March 12, titled “ZigZags: Honest STEM Career Paths.” The discussion will be held at the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center. Read More

When Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Larisa DeSantis was 9 years old, she had the opportunity to meet with then-President George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office. The interaction with the 41st president would have a profound effect on her life. Read More

The extinction of one of Australia’s top predators, the marsupial lion, was likely a result of changing weather patterns and loss of habitat rather than human impacts, a study led by Vanderbilt University paleontologist Larisa DeSantis has found. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Analysis suggests that climate change had a significant impact on megafauna diets and was a primary factor in their extinction. Read More

Nine outstanding faculty members from across the university have been selected for the 2021 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. This group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. “Our exceptionally talented faculty drive Vanderbilt’s mission of scholarship, teaching… Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More