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Mohd Shafi Bhat

Islamic University of Science and Technology, Auburn University, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Kashmir

ORCID iD 0000-0002-5351-3702
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About

I am interested in fossil vertebrate evolution using their morphology (taxonomy) and bone microstructure (histology) to reconstruct palaeobiology (e.g. feeding mechanism, growth regimes, lifestyle adaptations, and evolutionary trends) and palaeoecology. I am especially intrigued about how bone growth varies among different elements of the skeleton and how this has shaped the evolution of animal diversity and lifestyle adaptations. My doctoral research work gave a comprehensive description of the protocols applied for systematic exploration and extraction of vertebrate fossils. The study revealed a rich and diverse Late Triassic vertebrate fauna including numerous new taxa of vertebrates which were previously unknown. The research concluded that Indian landscapes during Late Triassic were dominated by different types of herbivore and carnivore/omnivore tetrapods, whereas the aquatic realms were rich in various types of freshwater sharks and bony fishes. Currently, I am studying fossilised bone tissue (histology) of angulate tortoises from archaeological or historical sites of South Africa to deduce their palaeobiology (e.g. life history strategies and lifestyle adaptations). I am interested to assess age structure of archaeological bones selected by early humans and determine the season of death of the tortoise and deduce information about early human foraging behaviour. I am also working on bone histology of wide range of middle Permian dinocephalian taxa. These were large-bodied basal mammal-like graviportal animals that thrived more than 260 million years ago in the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of the Karoo Basin of South Africa. The group includes carnivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous forms, of which herbivorous animals were the most abundant in the middle Permian fossil record. Until now, there has hardly been any comprehensive histological and microanatomical studies on these animals and very little is known about their life history and palaeobiology.

Employment

  • Islamic University of Science and Technology Ramanujan Fellow
    2026 - Present
  • Auburn University Postdoctoral Fellow
    2024 - 2025
  • University of Kashmir Lecturer
    2022 - 2023
  • University of Cape Town Postdoctoral Fellow
    2018 - 2021

Education

  • Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Ph.D, Vertebrate Palaeontology)
    2012 - 2018
  • Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur M. Tech. (Earth System Science and Technology)
    2010 - 2012
  • Aligarh Muslim University M. Sc. (Applied Geology)
    2007 - 2009
  • Aligarh Muslim University B. Sc. (Hons.) Geology
    2004 - 2007

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (17)