Welcome to the home page of Z. Jack Tseng and the Functional Anatomy and Vertebrate Evolution Laboratory.

We are located in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley.

May 2024: Congratulations to Dr. Chris Law on his Science cover publication, "Tool use increases mechanical foraging success and tooth health in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)" (https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj6608)

May 2024: Congratulations to Dr. Narimane Chatar on her Current Biology publication, "Evolutionary patterns of cat-like carnivorans unveil drivers of the sabertooth morphology"  (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.055)

April 2024: Congratulations to FAVE PhD candidate Tara Lepore for landing a postdoctoral position in science education at Western Michigan University!

Recent FAVE Lab Research News and Media Interviews:

• • Sabre tooth cats had baby-tooth backup: Quirks and Quarks with Bob McDonald (CBC Radio One).

  • The bizarre tooth growth of sabertooth cats: A video on The Skullywag Lab YouTube channel by Dr. Rex Mitchell.

  • The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats: By Bob Sanders for UC Berkeley.

  • KCBS news radio interviews Jack about the scientific significance of the acquisition of a dinosaur track site by US Forest Service.

  • News story by Bob Sanders on a recent mammalian jaw study by FAVE researchers and collaborators: A jaw-dropping conundrum: Why do mammals have a stiff lower jaw?

  • New video highlight of our undergraduate researcher Leah Kahn: Finding a place in Integrative Biology at Cal.

  • New video highlight of our department, with appearances by FAVE Lab students: Exploring Life at All Levels: Integrative Biology.

  • Getting to the Bare Bones of CT Scans: By Emily Bogner (FAVE PhD student) for Berkeley Science Review.

  • Young T. rexes had a powerful bite, even if only one-sixth that of their parents: By Bob Sanders for UC Berkeley

  • FAVE researcher Emily Waldman's art featured in new study of early desert amniote fossil trackways: Fallen Boulder at the Grand Canyon Reveals Prehistoric Reptile Footprints

  • Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre Science Talks series: A Brief History of Time -- Hyena Time!

  • East Tennessee State University PaleoTalks series: A Tale of Two Miocene Amphibious Shell Crushers. 

  • Hyena fossils in the Arctic: New York Times, BBC, CNN, National Geographic, Smithsonian, LiveScience, The Atlantic, IFLScience, Gizmodo, Vice, Discover Magazine, Science News.

  • The fight for control over virtual fossils: By Dyani Lewis for Nature

  • Extinct Doggos' Bone-Crushing Diet Preserved in Fossil Poop: By Mindy Weisberger @LiveScience

  • WAMC program "Academic Minute" features podcast on recent Science Advance study.

  • Rare Otter Fossil Found in the Mexican Desert: By Shaena Montanari @NationalGeographic.

  • Ancient otter tooth found in Mexico: By Grove Potter at University at Buffalo.

  • How Did Sabercats Use Those Outlandish Fangs? By Brian Switek @Smithsonian.com

  • A segment on my beardog paper with Susumu Tomiya in The Brain Scoop (segment begins at 4:06)!

  • Fossil “beardogs” shed light on evolution of dogs and their relatives: Story @AMNH.

  • Diminutive Fossil 'Bear Dogs' Reveal Early Days Of Canine Evolution: Shaena Montanari @Forbes.

  • ‘Bear dogs’ once lived in southern Texas: Sid Perkins for Science Magazine.

  • From unknown to beardog: Findings rescue fossils from ‘trashbin’ genus: University at Buffalo News.

  • North America Used to Have its Very Own Hyena: by Brian Switek for Smithsonian.

  • Jaw-Dropping: Extinct Sea Bear Chowed Down Like a Saber-Toothed Cat: by Mindy Weisberger @LiveScience.

  • Extinct Carnivorous 'Marine-Bear' Crushed Shells With A Vengeance: by Shaena Montanari @Forbes.

  • Prehistoric Animal Bit Like a Sabercat, Crunched Like a Bear: by Brian Switek @Natgeo.

  • Great Dane to Chihuahua: How Do We Know Dogs Are the Same Species?: by Laura Geggel @LiveScience.

  • ‘Hack the Dinos’ Helps Paleontologists: New York Times.

  • Dogs evolved with climate change: Story @AMNH.

  • Instagram Takeover: Dog Edition! @AMNH (This Instagram series was a 2016 honoree of the Webby Awards).

Videos:

National Geographic: The Oldest Known Big Cat Fossil (link to external video).