Research Interests
I have a background in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, and vertebrate comparative anatomy. I use the fossil record to determine the past composition of bird faunas, focusing on research questions on the palaeobiology, functional morphology, phylogenetic relationships, and other aspects of the evolutionary history of different avian lineages, especially shorebirds, seabirds, and other aquatic and semi-aquatic birds. My work is currently focused on understanding the links between patterns in avian evolution, ecology, and extinction, and environmental changes driven by climate fluctuations during the pre-Quaternary (before 2.5 million years ago), particularly in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Recent Publications
- Mayr G., De Pietri VL. and Kitchener AC. (2023) Narrow-beaked trogons from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). Journal of Ornithology 164(4): 749-764. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02071-x.
- Worthy TH., De Pietri VL., Scofield RP. and Hand SJ. (2023) A new Eocene species of presbyornithid (Aves, Anseriformes) from Murgon, Australia. Alcheringa http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2023.2184491.
- De Pietri VL., Mayr G., Costeur L. and Paul Scofield R. (2022) New records of buttonquails (Aves, Charadriiformes, Turnicidae) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Europe. Comptes Rendus - Palevol (11): 235-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/cr-palevol2022v21a11.
- Mayr G., De Pietri V. and Paul Scofield R. (2022) New bird remains from the early Eocene Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia (USA), including the first records of the Messelasturidae, Psittacopedidae, and Zygodactylidae from the Fisher/Sullivan site. Historical Biology 34(2): 322-334. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2021.1910820.
- WORTHY TH., Scofield RP., HAND SJ., DE PIETRI VL. and Archer M. (2022) A swan-sized fossil anatid (Aves: Anatidae) from the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna of New Zealand. Zootaxa 5168(1): 39-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5168.1.3.