I investigate the microstructure of mammalian hard tissues to infer life history data. During the past nine years, I have investigated the link between bone histology and life history data in both extant and fossil mammals. By using that approach I analyse the life histories of different herbivore groups in response to past periods of climatic instability, and how island ecological conditions modulate mammal evolution on islands, especially the scaling relationships between body size and life history strategy in species that evolve under ecological release.
Keywords
Palaeohistology • Life history • Island mammals • Adaptive radiation • Environmental instability
MSCA project CREDE
Islands are evolution’s natural arenas. The Greek island of Crete provides one such successful example: the extinct genus of Pleistocene deer, Candiacervus. These deer, evolving through evolutionary change in under a million years, developed eight different species across six different body sizes, ranging from small to gigantic. However, how this diversity arose remains unknown. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions scheme, the CREDE project aims to reveal this mystery. By combining cutting-edge 3D bone imaging with isotopic analysis, scientists will unravel the history of these deer and their diets. This approach will reveal new insights into island mammal species evolution.
Key publications
Calderón, T., Cuccu, A., Morales, J., Rozzi, R., Azanza, B., & DeMiguel, D. (2026). Homogeneous life histories of Anchitherium in the face of Miocene climate changes. BMC Biology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-026-02698-1
Calderón, T., Cuccu, A., Morales, J., Azanza, B., & DeMiguel, D. (2026). Quantitative histological analysis of dental variability in Anchitherium: insights into growth dynamics and dental development. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 113557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113557
Cuccu, A., Calderón, T., Azanza, B., & DeMiguel, D. (2025). First insights into the life history of the early Miocene deer Procervulus ginsburgi from Spain. Journal of Anatomy 247, 842-855. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14220
Snoodijk, F., Calderón, T., Lyras, G. A., & van der Geer, A. A. (2025). Delayed skeletal maturity in dwarf, medium and giant Pleistocene insular deer (Candiacervus) indicating a slower life history regardless size shift. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, 144(1), 78. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00413-1
Cuccu, A., Calderón, T., Azanza, B., & DeMiguel, D. (2024). Hard tissue thin‐sectioning techniques in vertebrate paleohistology: review, synthesis and improvements. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 16(1), 66-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14469
Calderón, T. (2023). Local growth patterns in tibia correlate with restricted external fundamental system in Cervus elaphus. Implications for life history strategies in fossil groups. Historical Biology 36: 285-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2022.2162394
Calderón, T., Arnold, W., Stadler, G., Painer, J. & Köhler, M. (2021). Fluorescent labelling reveals important insights during the early growth of ruminants. Scientific Reports 11: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93547-4
Calderón, T., DeMiguel, D., Arnold, W., Stadler, G. & Köhler, M. (2019). Calibration of life history traits with epiphyseal closure, dental eruption and bone histology in captive and wild red deer. Journal of Anatomy 235: 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13016