Professor Stephen Wroe

Professor in Evolutionary Biology - School of Environmental and Rural Science

Stephen Wroe

Phone: +61 2 6773 3261

Mobile: 0432349049

Email: swroe@une.edu.au

Twitter: @StephenWroe

Biography

Professor Wroe is the Director of the Function, Evolution & Anatomy Research (FEAR) Lab - a multidisciplinary team that includes collaborators from the University of Newcastle and University of New South Wales as well as the University of New England. Understanding how animals (living and extinct) function and how this shapes and constrains their evolution is our mission. We use 3D models, typically based on CT scans, to answer a wide range of questions in fields spanning from palaeontology and zoology to physical anthropology, as well as biomedicine.

Awards

  • ARC Discovery Outstanding Researcher Award Fellow 2014-2016
  • ARC QEII Research Fellow Univ. NSW 2006-2010
  • U2000 Postdoctoral Fellow Univ. Sydney 2000-2005

Teaching Areas

I have supervised over two dozen higher degree researchers and taught a range of courses in the fields of both zoology and palaeontology. I currently co-ordinate ZOOL100 at UNE.

Primary Research Area/s

palaeontology; physical anthropology; biomechanics

Research Interests

I have been awarded 5 large Australian Research Council grants, including prestigious QEII and Discovery Outstanding Researcher fellowships. I am currently involved in a wide range of projects incorporating 3D imaging, shape analysis and biomechanics. Groups currently studied by myself and members of my team include reptiles and Cainozoic mammals (e.g., fossil humans, marsupial and placental carnivores), as well as birds, sharks, and invertebrates. We have increasingly applied novel and innovative new approaches to the field of biomedicine.

Research Supervision Experience

I have acted as primary supervisor to 14 PhD students and 3 Honours students and as co-supervisor to 10 PhDs.

Publications

Edited book chapters
1. Wroe, S., and Parr, W. 2018. “Understanding killing behavior in Smilodon fatalis: the role of computational biomechanics” in Sabertooth (G. McDonald ed.) Johns Hopkins University Press.

2. Fry, B.G., Scheib, H., Messenger, K., Hocknull, S., Wroe, S., Sunagar, K., Goldstein, E.J.C., Tyrrell, K.L., Citron, D.M., Jackson, T.N.W. 2015. “Poisons and bacteria” in Venomous reptiles and their toxins: evolution, pathophysiology and biodiscovery (B. Fry ed.). Oxford University Press, Oxford.

3. Wroe, S. 2010. Cranial mechanics of mammalian carnivores: Recent advances using a Finite Element approach In Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form, and Function (A. Goswami and A. Friscia, eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pages 466-485.

4. Wroe, S., and Archer, M. 2006. Origins and early radiations of marsupials. Pp. 517-540 in Merrick, J. Archer, M., Hickey, G. M., & Lee, M. S. Y. (eds). Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates, Auscipub Pty Ltd: Sydney.

5. Wroe, S. 2003. Australian marsupial carnivores: Advances in palaeontology, palaeoecology and phylogeny. Pp. 71-94 in M. Jones, C. Dickman & M. Archer (eds), Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials, CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

Refereed journal articles

1. AH van Heteren, S Wroe, LR Tsang, DR Mitchell, P Ross, JA Ledogar 2021 New Zealand's extinct giant raptor (Hieraaetus moorei) killed like an eagle, ate like a condor. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288 (1964), 20211913.

2. D Rex Mitchell, Stephen Wroe, Matthew J Ravosa, Rachel A Menegaz. 2021. More Challenging Diets Sustain Feeding Performance: Applications Toward the Captive Rearing of Wildlife. Integrative Organismal Biology. https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obab030

3. Silvia Castiglione, Marina Melchionna, Antonio Profico, Gabriele Sansalone, Maria Modafferi, Alessandro Mondanaro, Stephen Wroe, Paolo Piras, Pasquale Raia 2021. Human face‐off: a new method for mapping evolutionary rates on three‐dimensional digital models. Palaeontology  https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12582

4. Silvia Castiglione, Carmela Serio, Martina Piccolo, Alessandro Mondanaro, Marina Melchionna, Mirko Di Febbraro, Gabriele Sansalone, Stephen Wroe, Pasquale Raia. 2021. The influence of domestication, insularity and sociality on the tempo and mode of brain size evolution in mammals. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa186.

5. Marie RG Attard, Anna Lewis, Stephen Wroe, Channing Hughes, Tracey L Rogers. 2021. Whisker growth in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and applications for stable isotope studies. Ecosphere  https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3846

6. Marina Melchionna, Antonio Profico, Silvia Castiglione, Carmela Serio, Alessandro Mondanaro, Maria Modafferi, Davide Tamagnini, Luigi Maiorano, Pasquale Raia, Lawrence M Witmer, Stephen Wroe, Gabriele Sansalone. 2021. A method for mapping morphological convergence on three‐dimensional digital models: the case of the mammalian sabre‐tooth. Palaeontology https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12542

7. Weisbecker, V., Rowe, T., Wroe, S., Macrini, T., Garland, G., Travouillon. K., Black, K., Archer, M., Hand, S., Berlin, S., Beck, Ladevèze, R., Sharp, A., Mardon, K., Sherratt, E. 2021. Global elongation and high shape flexibility as an evolutionary hypothesis of accommodating mammalian brains into skulls. Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14163

8. Castiglione, S., Serio, C., Piccolo, M., Mondanaro, Melchionna, M., Di Febbraro, M., Sansalone, G., Wroe, S., Raia, P. 2021.The influence of domestication, insularity and sociality on the tempo and mode of brain size evolution in mammals, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 132, Issue 1, Pages 221–231.

9. Bicknell, R. D. C., Holmes J. D., Edgecombe G. D., Losso, S. R., Ortega-Hernández J., Wroe S. and Paterson J. R. 2021. Biomechanical analyses of Cambrian euarthropod limbs reveal their effectiveness in mastication and durophagy. Proc. R. Soc. B. 28820202075

10. Goatley, C., Brandl, SJ., Wroe S. 2020 Simple larvae sustain the world’s smallest marine vertebrates Coral Reefs, 1-8.

11. Stein, MD., Hand, SJ., Archer, M, Wroe, S., Wilson LAB. 2020 Quantitatively assessing mekosuchine crocodile locomotion by geometric morphometric and finite element analysis of the forelimb PeerJ 8, e9349.

12. Mitchell, DR., Sherratt, E., Sansalone, G., Ledogar, JA., Flavel, RJ ., Wroe S. 2020 Feeding biomechanics influences craniofacial morphology at the subspecies scale among Australian Pademelons (Macropodidae: Thylogale) Journal of Mammalian Evolution 27 (2), 199-209.

13. Hu, H., O’Connor, JK., McDonald, PG., Wroe S. 2020 Cranial osteology of the Early Cretaceous Sapeornis chaoyangensis (Aves: Pygostylia) Cretaceous Research, 104496.

14. R Sorrentino, KJ Carlson, E Bortolini, C Minghetti, F Feletti, S Wroe L Fiorenza 2020 Morphometric analysis of the hominin talus: Evolutionary and functional implications Journal of Human Evolution 142, 102747.

15. G Sansalone, S Castiglione, P Raia, M Archer, B Dickson, S Hand, S Wroe 2020 Decoupling Functional and Morphological Convergence, the Study Case of Fossorial Mammalia Frontiers in Earth Science 8, 112.

16. Hu, H., O’Connor, JK., Wang, M., Wroe, S., McDonald, PG. 2020 New anatomical information on the bohaiornithid Longusunguis and the presence of a plesiomorphic diapsid skull in Enantiornithes. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 1-15.

17. Sorrentino, R., Stephens, N., Carlson, K., Figus, C., Fiorenza, L., Frost, P., Harcourt-Smith, W., Parr,  W., Saers, J., Turley, K., Wroe, S., Maria G. Benazzi, S. 2020. The influence of mobility strategy on the modern human talus. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 171 (3), 456-469.

18. Klinkhamer, A., Woodley, N., Neenan, J., Parr, W., Clausen, P., Sánchez-Villagra, M., Sansalone, G., Lister, A., Wroe, S. 2019. Head to head: the case for fighting behaviour in Megaloceros giganteus using finite-element analysis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286 (1912), 20191873.

19. Sansalone, G., Colangelo, P., Loy, A., Raia, P., Wroe, S., Piras, P. 2019. Impact of transition to a subterranean lifestyle on morphological disparity and integration in talpid moles (Mammalia, Talpidae). BMC Evolutionary Biology 19 (1), 179.

20. Hu, H., Sansalone, G., Wroe, S., McDonald, P., O’Connor, JK., Zhiheng L., Xu, X., Zhou, Z. 2019. Evolution of the vomer and its implications for cranial kinesis in Paraves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116 (39), 19571-19578.

21. Joannes-Boyau, R., Adams, J., Austin, C., Arora, M., Moffat, I., Herries, A., Tonge, M., Benazzi, S., Evans, A., Kullmer, O., Wroe, S., Dosseto, A., Fiorenza, L. 2019. Elemental signatures of Australopithecus africanus teeth reveal seasonal dietary stress. Nature 572 (7767), 112-115.

22. Tsang, L., Wilson, L., Ledogar, J., Wroe, S., Attard, M., Sansalone, G. 2019. Raptor talon shape and biomechanical performance are controlled by relative prey size but not by allometry. Scientific Reports 9 (1), 7076.

23. Klinkhamer, A., Mallison, D., Poropat, S., Sloan, T., Wroe, S.2019. Comparative Three‐Dimensional Moment Arm Analysis of the Sauropod Forelimb: Implications for the Transition to a Wide‐Gauge Stance in Titanosaurs. The Anatomical Record 302 (5), 794-817.

24. Mitchell, DR, Wroe, S. 2019. Biting mechanics determines craniofacial morphology among extant diprotodont herbivores: dietary predictions for the giant extinct short-faced kangaroo, Simosthenurus occidentalis. Paleobiology 45 (1), 167-181.

25. Neaux, D., Wroe, S., Ledogar, J., Heins Ledogar, S., Sansalone, G. 2019. Morphological integration affects the evolution of midline cranial base, lateral basicranium, and face across primates. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 170 (1), 37-47.

26. Wroe, S., Parr, W., Ledogar, JA, Bourke, J., Evans, SP, Fiorenza, L., Benazzi, S., Hublin, J., Stringer, C., Kullmer, O., Curry, M., Rae, T., Yokley, TR. 2018. Computer simulations show that Neanderthal facial morphology represents adaptation to cold and high energy demands, but not heavy biting. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0085.

27. Bicknell, R., Ledogar, J., Wroe S., Watson, W., and Paterson, J. 2018. Computational biomechanical analyses demonstrate similar shell-crushing abilities in modern and ancient arthropods. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1935.

28. Klinkhamer, A. J., Mallison, H., Poropat, S., Sloan, T., Wroe S. 2018. Comparative three‐dimensional moment arm analysis of the sauropod forelimb: Implications for the transition to a wide‐gauge stance in titanosaurs. The Anatomical Record. DOI: 10.1002/ar.23977

29. Klinkhamer, A. J., Mallison, H., Poropat, S., Sinapius, G., S Wroe, S. 2018. Three‐dimensional musculoskeletal modelling of the sauropodomorph hind limb: the effect of postural change on muscle leverage. The Anatomical Record. doi: 10.1002/ar.23950.

30. Mitchell, D. R., Sherratt, E., Ledogar, J. A., Wroe, S. 2018. The biomechanics of foraging determines face length among kangaroos and their relatives. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B (1881), 20180845. DOI: 10.25952/5bda8ca8e3325

31. Mitchell DR, Sherratt E, Sansalone G, Ledogar JA, Flavel RJ, Wroe S (2018) Feeding biomechanics influences craniofacial morphology at the subspecies scale among Australian pademelons (Macropodidae: Thylogale). Journal of Mammalian Evolution 27, 199–209.

32. Mitchell, DR., Wroe, S. 2019. Biting mechanics determines craniofacial morphology among extant diprotodont herbivores: Dietary predictions for the giant extinct short-faced kangaroo, Simosthenurus occidentalis. Paleobiology. 10.25952/5bda8ca8e3325

33. Attard, M., Sherratt, E., McDonald, P., Young, I., Vidal-García, M., Wroe, S. 2018. A new, three-dimensional geometric morphometric approach to assess egg shape. PeerJ 6, e5052.

34. Veitschegger, K., L Wilson, B Nussberger, G Camenisch, LF Keller, Wroe, S. Sánchez-Villagra, M. 2018. Resurrecting Darwin’s Niata-anatomical, biomechanical, genetic, and morphometric studies of morphological novelty in cattle. Scientific Reports 8, 9129.

35. Neaux, D., Sansalone, G., Ledogar, J., Ledogar, S. H., Luk, T. H. Y., Wroe, S. 2018. Assessing the impact of morphological integration on primate evolution. Journal of Human Evolution.

36. Goatley CHR, Wroe S, Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR. 2018. An evaluation of a double-tailed deformity in a coral reef surgeonfish (Acanthuridae) using micro-CT. Journal of Fish Biology

37. Bicknell, R.D.C., Klinkhamer, A.J., Flavel, R.J., Wroe, S. & Paterson, J.R., 2018. A 3D anatomical atlas of appendage musculature in the chelicerate arthropod Limulus polyphemus. PLoS ONE, 13(2), e0191400.

38. Ledogar, J. A., T. H. Y. Luk, J. M. G. Perry, D. Neaux and Wroe, S. 2018. Biting mechanics and niche separation in a specialized clade of primate seed predators. PLOS ONE 13(1): e0190668. DP140102659 2014-17

39. Neaux, D., Bienvenu, T., Guy, F., Sansalone, G., Ledogar, JA., Rae, T. Wroe, S. 2017. Relationship between foramen magnum position and locomotion in extant and extinct hominoids. Journal of Human Evolution 113, 1-9. DP140102659 2014-17

40. TG Davies, IA Rahman, S Lautenschlager, JA Cunningham, Wroe, S., RJ Asher. 2017. Open data and digital morphology. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 284 (1852), 20170194. DP140102656 3 2014-17

41. Klinkhamer, A., Wilhite, DR., White, MA., Wroe, S. 2017. Digital dissection and three-dimensional interactive models of limb musculature in the Australian estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). PloS one 12 (4), e017507. DP1400102656 2014-17

42. DeSantis, L.R.G., Field, J., Wroe, S. (2017). Dietary responses of Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) megafauna to climate and environmental change. Paleobiology. DOI: 10.1017/pab.2016.50

43. Ledogar, J., Dechow, P.C., Wang, Q., Gharpure, P., Gordon, A.D., Baab, K.L., Smith, A. L., Weber, G.W., Grosse, I.R., Ross, C. F., Richmond, B.G., Wright, B.W., Byron, C., Wroe, S., Strait., D.S., (2016). Human feeding biomechanics: performance, variation, and functional constraints. PeerJ.

44. Johnston, P., Parr, W.C.H., and Wroe, S. (2016). Moa diet fits the bill: virtual reconstruction incorporating mummified remains and prediction of biomechanical performance in avian giants. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B, 283, 2015-2043.

45. Ramírez-Chaves, H., Wroe, S., Selwood, L., Hinds, L., Leigh, C., Koyabu, D., Kardjilov, N., and Weisbecker, V. (2016). Mammalian development does not recapitulate suspected key transformations in the evolution of the mammalian middle ear. Proceedings of Royal Society B. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2606.

46. Parr, W., Wilson, L.A.B., Wroe, S., Colman, N.J., Crowther, M.S., and Letnic, M. (2016). Cranial Shape and the Modularity of Hybridization in Dingoes and Dogs; Hybridization Does Not Spell the End for Native Morphology. Evolutionary Biology, 171-187.

47. Ramírez-Chaves, H., Weisbecker, V., Wroe, S., Phillips, M.J. (2016). Resolving the evolution of the mammalian middle ear using Bayesian inference. Frontiers in Zoology, 13: 39.

48. Wilson, L.A.B., Hand, S.J., Lopez-Aguirre, C., Archer, M., Black, K.H., Beck, R.M.D., Armstrong, K.N., Wroe, S. (2016). Cranial shape variation and phylogenetic relationships of extinct and extant Old World leaf-nosed bats. Alcheringa. 40: 509-524.

49. Harmer, A.M.T., Clausen, P.D., Wroe, S., Madin, J.S. (2015). Large orb-webs adapted to maximise total biomass not rare, large prey. Scientific Reports, 5, 14121; doi: 10.1038/srep14121

50. Aquilina, P., Wroe, S., Clausen, P., Chamoli, U., Parr, W. (2015). Finite Element Analysis of Patient-Specific Condyle Fracture Plates. Cranial Maxillofacial Trauma Reconstruction. 8, 111-116.

51. McCurry, M., Mahony, M., Clausen, P.D., Quayle, M.R., Walmsley, C.W., Jessop, T.S., Wroe, S., Richards, H., and McHenry, C.R. (2015). The relationship between cranial structure, biomechanical performance and ecological diversity in varanoid lizards. PLoS ONE DOI: 10137/journal.pone 0130625.

52. Fiorenza, L., Benazzi, S., Henry, A.G., Salazar-García, D.C., Blasco, R., Picin, A. Wroe, S. 2015. To meat or not to meat? New perspectives on Neanderthal ecology. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 156, 43-71.

53. Aquilina, P, Wroe, S., Clausen, P, Chamoli, U, Parr, W (2014). Finite Element Analysis of Patient-Specific Condyle Fracture Plates. Cranial Maxillofacial Trauma and Reconstruction. 4, 251-232.

54. Parr, W.C., Soligo, C., Chaterjee, H.J., Cornish, R.A., and Wroe, S. (2014) Three-dimensional shape variation of talar surface morphology in hominoid primates. Journal of Anatomy. 225, 42-59.

55. Aquilina P, Wroe, S., Clausen P, Chamoli U, Parr W (2014). A biomechanical comparison of three 1.5mm plate and screw configurations and a single 2.0mm plate for internal fixation of a mandibular condylar fracture. Craniomaxillofacial Trauma and Reconstruction, 7, 218-223. DP140102659 2014-17

56. Attard, M. R. G., Parr, W. C. H., Wilson, L. A. B., Archer, M., Hand, S. J., Rogers, T. L., Wroe, S. (2014) Virtual Reconstruction and Prey Size Preference in the Mid Cenozoic Thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). PLoS ONE, 9 (4), e93088.

57. D’Anastasio, R., Wroe, S., Tuniz, C., Mancini, L., Cesana, D.T., Dreossi, D., Ravichandiran, M., Attard, M., Parr, W.C.H., Agur, A. and Capasso, L. (2013). Micro-Biomechanics of the Kebara 2 Hyoid and Its Implications for Speech in Neanderthals. PLoS ONE, 8, e82261.

58. Wroe, S., Field, J., Archer, M., Grayson, D. K., Price, G.J., Louys, J., Faith, J.T., Webb, G.E., Davidson, I., and Mooney, S. (2013). Climate change frames debate over the extinction of megafauna in Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 110: 8777-8781.

59. Parr, W., Chamoli, U., Walsh, W., Jones, A., and Wroe, S. (2013) Finite element micro-modelling of a human ankle bone reveals the importance of the trabecular network to mechanical performance: and new methods for the generation and comparison of 3D models. Journal of Biomechanics, 46: 200-205. DP0987985 2009-11

60. Wroe S., Chamoli U., Parr W., Clausen P., Ridgely R., Witmer L. (2013) Comparative Biomechanical Modeling of Metatherian and Placental Saber-Tooths. PLoS ONE 8, e66888

61. Walmsley, C. W., Smits, P. D., Quayle, M. R., McCurry, M. R., Richards, H. S., Oldfield, C. C., Wroe, S., Clausen, P. D., and McHenry, C. R. (2013) Why the Long Face? The Mechanics of Mandibular Symphysis Proportions in Crocodiles: PLoS ONE, 8, e53873. DP0987985 2009-11

62. Wroe, S., Field, J., Archer, M., Grayson, D. K., Price, G.J., Louys, J., Faith, J.T., Webb, G.E., Davidson, I., and Mooney, S. No empirical evidence for human overkill of megafauna in Sahul. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 2013, doi:10.1073/pnas.1310440110

63. Field, J., Wroe, S., Trueman, C., Garvey, J., & Wyatt-Spratt, S. (2013) Looking for the Archaeological Signature in Australian Megafaunal Extinctions. Quaternary International, 285, 76-88

64. Aquilina P., Wroe, S., Clausen P., Parr W. (2013) Finite element analysis of three patterns of internal fixation of mandibular condyle fractures. The British Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, 51: 326-331. DP0987985 2009-11

65. Ferrara T., Boughton P., Slavich E., and Wroe S. (2013) A novel method for single sample multi-axial nanoindentation of hydrated heterogeneous tissues based on testing great white shark jaws. PLoS ONE 8 | Issue 12 | e82261

66. Lawn, B., Bush, M., Barani, A., Constantino, P., and Wroe, S. (2013) Inferring Biological Evolution from Fracture Patterns in Teeth. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 338, 59-65. DP0987985 2009-11

67. Parr, W., Wroe, S., Chamoli, U., Richards, H. S., McCurry, M., Clause, P. D., and McHenry, C. R. (2012) Toward integration of geometric morphometrics and computational biomechanics: New methods for 3D virtual reconstruction and quantitative analysis of Finite Element Models: Journal of Theoretical Biology, 301: 1-14. DP0987985 2009-11

68. Evans, S, Parr, W., Clausen, P., Jones, A., & Wroe, S. (2012). Finite Element Analysis of a micromechanical model of bone and a new 3D approach to validation. Journal of Biomechanics, 45: 2702-2705. DP0987985 2009-11

69. Field, J., & Wroe, S. (2012) Aridity, Faunal Adaptations and Australian Late Pleistocene Extinctions. World Archaeology, 44: 46-74.

70. Oldfield, C.C., McHenry, C.R., Clausen, P.D., Chamoli, U., Parr, W.C.H., Stynder, D.D., Wroe, S. (2012) Finite Element Analysis of ursid cranial mechanics and the prediction of feeding behaviour in the extinct giant Agriotherium africanum. Journal of Zoology, 286: 163-170.

71. Curnoe, D., J., X., Herries, A., Kanning, B., Tacon, P., Zhende, B., Fink, D., Yunsheng, Z., Hellstrom, J., Yun, L., Cassis, G., Bing, S., Wroe, S. (2012). Human remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition of southwest China suggest a complex evolutionary history for East Asians. PLoS ONE 7(3): e31918. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031918.

72. Chamoli, U. and Wroe, S. (2011) Allometry in the distribution of material properties and geometry of the felid skull: why larger species may need to change and how they may achieve it. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 283: 217-226.

73. Goswami, A., Milne, N., and Wroe, S. (2011) Biting through constraints: Cranial morphology, disparity and convergence across living and fossil carnivorous mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 278: 1831-1839.

74. D’Amore, C. D., Moreno, K., McHenry, C. R., and Wroe, S. (2011) The effects of biting and pulling on the forces generated during feeding in the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). PLoS ONE, 6(10): e26226.

75. Ferrara, T. L., Clausen, P., Huber, D. R., McHenry, C. R., Peddemours, V., Wroe, S. (2011) Mechanics of biting in great white and sandtiger sharks. Journal of Biomechanics, 44: 430-435.

76. Tsafnat, N., & Wroe, S. (2011) An Experimentally Validated Micromechanical Model of a Rat Vertebra Under Compressive Loading. Journal of Anatomy, 218: 40-46. DP0987985 2009-11

77. Wroe, S., Ferrara, T., McHenry, C., Curnoe, D., Chamoli, U. (2010). The craniomandibular mechanics of being human. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 277: 3579-3586.

78. Cosgrove, R., Field, J., Garvey, J., Brenner-Coltrain, J., Goede, J., Charles, B., Wroe, S., Pike-Tay, A., Grün, R., Aubert, M., & W., O’Connell, J. (2010) Overdone overkill – the archaeological perspective on Tasmanian megafaunal extinctions. Journal of Archaeological Science, 37: 2486-2503.

79. Fry, B. G., Wroe, S., Teeuwisse, W., Matthias J., Osch, P., Moreno, K., et al. 2009. A central role for venom in predation by Varanus komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) and the extinct giant Varanus priscus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106, 8969-8974.

80. Wroe, S. 2008. Cranial mechanics compared in extinct marsupial and extant African lions using a finite-element approach. Journal of Zoology, 274:332-339.

81. Wroe, S., Huber, D.R., McHenry, C.R., Moreno, K., Clausen, P.D., Ferrara. T.L. 2008. 3D computer analysis of white shark jaw mechanics: how hard can a great white bite? Journal of Zoology 276: 336–342.

82. Weisbecker, V., Goswami, A. Wroe, S., Sánchez-Villagra, M. 2008. Ossification heterochrony in the mammalian skeleton and the marsupial-placental dichotomy. Evolution 62: 2027–2041.

83. Clausen, P. D., Wroe, S.; McHenry, C. R.; Moreno, K; Bourke, J. 2008. The vector of jaw muscle force as determined by computer generated 3D simulation: A test of Greaves’ model. Journal of Biomechanics, 41: 3184-3188.

84. Wroe, S., Clausen, P., McHenry, C., Moreno, K., and Cunningham, E. 2007. Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo: a novel test for convergence and niche overlap. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London), Series B, 274: 2819-2828.

85. Wroe, S., and Milne, N. 2007. Convergence and remarkably consistent constraint in the evolution of carnivore skull shape. Evolution, 61: 1251-1260.

86. McHenry, C., Wroe, S., Clausen, P., Moreno, K., and Cunningham, E.2007. Super-modeled sabercat, predatory behaviour in Smilodon fatalis revealed by high-resolution 3-D computer simulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 104: 16010-16015.

87. Christiansen, P., and Wroe, S. 2007. Bite forces and evolutionary adaptations to feeding ecology in carnivores. Ecology, 88: 347-358.

88. Wroe, S., Moreno, K., Clausen, P., McHenry, C., and Curnoe, D. 2007. High-resolution computer simulation of hominid cranial mechanics. The Anatomical Record, 290: 1248-1255.

89. Wroe, S. 2007. High-resolution 3-D computer simulation of feeding behaviour in marsupial and placental lions. Journal of Zoology, 274:332-339.

90. Wroe, S., Field, J., and Grayson, D. K. (2006). Megafaunal extinction: climate, humans and assumptions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 21: 61-62.

91. Wroe, S., and Field, J. (2006). A review of the evidence for a human role in the extinction of Australian megafauna and an alternative interpretation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 25: 2692-2703.

92. Wroe, S., McHenry, C., and Thomason, J. (2005). Bite club: Comparative bite force in big biting mammals and the prediction of predatory behaviour in fossil taxa. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London), Series B, 272: 619-625.

93. McHenry, C., Cook, A., and Wroe, S. (2005). Bottom feeding plesiosaurs. Science, 310: 75.

94. Trueman, C. N., Field, J. H, Dortch, J., Charles, B., and Wroe, S. (2005). Prolonged co-existence of humans and megafauna in Pleistocene Australia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 182: 8381-8385.

95. Wroe, S., Argot, C., Crowther, M., and Dickman, C. (2004). On the rarity of big fierce carnivores. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London), Series B, 271: 1203-1211.

96. Wroe, S., Crowther, M., Dortch, J., and Chong, J. (2004). The size of the largest marsupial and why it matters. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London) Series B (Suppl.), 271: S34-S36.

97. Wroe, S., Myers, T., Seebacher, F., Kear, B., Gillespie, A., Crowther, M., and Salisbury, S. (2003). An alternative method for predicting body-mass: The case of the marsupial lion. Paleobiology, 29: 404-412.

98. Johnson, C., and Wroe, S. (2003). Causes of extinctions of vertebrates during the Holocene of mainland Australia: arrival of the dingo or human impact? The Holocene, 13: 109-116.

99. Wroe, S. (2002). "A review of terrestrial mammalian and reptilian carnivore ecology in Australian fossil faunas and factors influencing their diversity: The myth of reptilian domination and its broader ramifications." Australian Journal of Zoology 49: 603-614.

100. Wroe, S. (2001). "Maximucinus muirheadae, gen. et sp. nov. (Thylacinidae: Marsupialia), from the miocene of Riversleigh, north-western Queensland, with estimates of body weights for fossil thylacinids." Australian Journal of Zoology 49(6): 603-614.

101. Wroe, S. and A. Musser (2001). "The skull of Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae : Marsupialia)." Australian Journal of Zoology 49(5): 487-514.

102. Wroe, S. (2001). A new genus and species of dasyuromorphian from the Miocene of Riversleigh, northern Australia. Memoirs of the Australian Association of Palaeontologists 25. 53-5.

Further Information

PhD and Honours projects

Below are some potential projects that we’d be very happy to help Higher Degree students complete. But we’d also like to point out that the techniques we use can be applied to any animal group. In short, as long as we can obtain relevant CT scans, if there is an animal that you’re particularly interested in, then we can almost certainly design a project to accommodate it.

  1. Big Biting Carnivores: It has been suggested that mammalian predators that take relatively big prey have more powerful bites. If this is correct, then we would expect carnivores that kill large prey to have skulls that are also able to handle high stresses. We have built over 40 skull models that can be digitally ‘crash-tested’ to answer this question. The student would also expand on this database, building new models from CT scans, including fossil species such as giant cave bears, saber-toothed cats and marsupial lions.
  2. Giant ‘killer’ rat-kangaroos: Living rat-kangaroos are small, timid creatures, but throughout most of the last 20 million years or so some rat-kangaroos were giants. And it has been argued that some of these were carnivorous. We have CT scans of the skull of two specimens of the oldest giant rat-kangaroo species, Ekaltadeta ima. The student will use these to reconstruct the skull and address questions about the diet of this enigmatic roo. 
  3. Humans and other primates: The relationship between the shapes of different primate species skulls and their diets has proven difficult to untangle. We have CT and 3 dimensional models for every primate family, from gorillas to marmosets, as well as fossil human species. These can be used to easily make simulations of actual mechanical performance and examine whether there are relationships between mechanical performance and diet.
  4. Thickheads: The shape of mammal skulls may vary with size, i.e., skulls get relatively thicker with increasing body mass. This could mean that the skulls of larger species are disproportionately heavy. However, there are two kinds of bone, heavy, stiff cortical bone and lighter, less stiff cancellous bone. It has been proposed that as skull thickness increases, the proportions of light cancellous bone also increases, meaning that the skull itself may be relatively light. To test this hypothesis the student would use medical imaging technology to determine proportions of cortical and cancellous bones in a wide range of mammalian carnivore and primates.