Ilaria Paparella studies the anatomical structures and functional morphology of marine reptiles, comparing adaptations between living and fossil organisms. She is particularly interested in secondary aquatic adaptations and the transition from semi-aquatic to fully aquatic body plans in amniotes. Ilaria’s work investigates the morphology, phylogenetic relationships, and taphonomy of fossil marine reptiles to provide insights into their evolutionary history and how they thrived in their aquatic environments. Her recent research projects delved into the phylogeny of iguanian lizards, with a focus on the marine iguana of the Galápagos Islands as a model to understand aquatic adaptations in fossil lizards.
Research Interests
- Investigating anatomical characteristics in living and fossil reptiles that enable them to adapt to aquatic environments, using osteology, histology, and micro-computed tomography.
- Tissue-level anatomy of key joints in living and fossil reptiles.
- Exploring the development and evolution of tooth attachment tissues and implantation in living and fossil lizards, and how new data can be used to revise morphological characters for phylogenetic inference.
- Reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of various lizard clades, such as iguanians and mosasaurs.
- Mode of preservation and fossilization (taphonomy) of fossil vertebrates in marine deposits, with particular focus on the preservation of soft tissues.
Professional Highlights
- Lead author on the description of the first ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic of central Italy, Gengasaurus nicosiai.
- Lead author on the description of an exceptionally preserved marine lizard with soft tissues from the Late Cretaceous of southern Italy, Primitivus manduriensis.
- Organized and conducted fieldwork in southern Italy, in collaboration with Canadian and local institutions.
- Participated in various fieldwork activities across Italy, Spain, Ecuador, and Canada.
Education
Ph.D., University of Alberta, 2021
Ph.D., University of Rome, 2016
M.Sc., University of Rome, 2012
B.Sc., University of Rome, 2009
- Publications
Hamilton, S.M., Paparella, I., Bell, P.R., Campione, N.E., Fanti, F., Larson, D.W., Sissons, R.L., Vavrek, M.J., Balsai, M.J. & Sullivan, C. (2023). New lizard specimens from the Campanian Wapiti Formation of Alberta, Canada. Geosciences, 13(11), 337. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13110337
Paparella, I. & Caldwell, M.W. (2021). Cranial anatomy of the Galápagos marine iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus (Squamata: Iguanidae). The Anatomical Record, 305(7), 1739-1786. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24797
LeBlanc, A.R.H., Paparella, I., Lamoureux, D.O., Doschak, M.R. & Caldwell, M.W. (2020). Tooth attachment and pleurodont implantation in lizards: Histology, development, and evolution. Journal of Anatomy, 238(5), 1156-1178. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13371
Paparella, I., LeBlanc, A.R.H., Doschak, M.R. & Caldwell, M.W. (2020). The iliosacral joint in lizards: An osteological and histological analysis. Journal of Anatomy, 236(4), 668-687. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13132
Jimenez-Huidobro, P., Caldwell, M.W., Paparella, I. & Bullard, T.S. (2019). A new species of tylosaurine mosasaur from the upper Campanian Bearpaw Formation of Saskatchewan, Canada. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 17(10), 849-864. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2018.1471744
Paparella, I., Palci, A., Nicosia, U. & Caldwell, M.W. (2018). A new fossil marine lizard with soft tissues from the Late Cretaceous of southern Italy. Royal Society Open Science, 5(6), 172411. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.172411
Simões, T.R., Vernygora, O., Paparella, I., Jimenez-Huidobro, P. & Caldwell, M.W. (2017). Mosasauroid phylogeny under multiple phylogenetic methods provides new insights on the evolution of aquatic adaptations in the group. PLoS ONE 12, e0176773. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176773
Paparella, I., Maxwell, E.E., Cipriani, A., Roncacé, S. & Caldwell, M.W. (2016). The first ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic of the Umbrian–Marchean Apennines (Marche, central Italy). Geological Magazine 154(4), 837-858. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756816000455