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Thomas Püschel

Thomas Püschel

Areas of interest

Primate evolution, Palaeoanthropology, Vertebrate palaeontology, Mammalian evolution, Morphometrics, Biomechanics, Phylogenetic comparative methods, Phylogenetics

Expertise

3D morphometrics, virtual biomechanical techniques, computational simulations, statistical modelling, phylogenetic comparative methods, phylogenetic inference, and fieldwork.

Background

I am a palaeoprimatologist and vertebrate palaeobiologist mainly focused on human, primate, and mammalian evolution. My main interest is to study organismal evolution by reconstructing and comparing the palaeobiology of fossils to their living ecological relatives. To do this, I apply a combination of 3D morphometrics, virtual biomechanical techniques, computational simulations, statistical modelling, phylogenetic comparative methods, phylogenetic inference, and fieldwork.

Awards and honours

  • SYNTHESYS+ Transnational Access (BE-TAF-8207). To fund a research stay at the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium. 2020
  • Award for Excellence 2020, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford. In recognition of my exceptional contribution to the department. 2020
  • The Boise Trust Fund Research Award. Department of Zoology of the University of Oxford. 2019
  • The Boise Trust Fund Research Award. Department of Zoology of the University of Oxford. 2018
  • Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (ECF-2018-264). Postdoctoral fellowship. 2018-2021
  • SYNTHESYS+ Transnational Access (BE-TAF-4459) To fund a research stay at the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium. 2015

Selected publications

  1. Benítez, H. A., Lemic, D., Bažok, R., Bravi, R., Buketa, M., & Püschel, T. (2014). Morphological integration and modularity in Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) hind wings. Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology, 253(6), 461–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2014.06.001
  2. Benítez, H. A., Lemic, D., Püschel, T. A., Virić Gašparić, H., Kos, T., Barić, B., … Pajač Živković, I. (2018). Fluctuating asymmetry indicates levels of disturbance between agricultural productions: An example in Croatian population of Pterostichus melas melas (Coleptera: Carabidae). Zoologischer Anzeiger, 276, 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2018.07.003
  3. Benítez, H. A., & Püschel, T. A. (2014). Modelando la Varianza de la Forma: Morfometría Geométrica Aplicaciones en Biología Evolutiva. International Journal of Morphology, 32(3), 998–1008. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-95022014000300041
  4. Benítez, H. A., Püschel, T. A., & Suazo, M. J. (2022). Drosophila Wing Integration and Modularity: A Multi-Level Approach to Understand the History of Morphological Structures. Biology, 11(4), 567. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11040567
  5. Benítez, H. A., Püschel, T., Lemic, D., Čačija, M., Kozina, A., & Bažok, R. (2014). Ecomorphological Variation of the Wireworm Cephalic Capsule: Studying the Interaction of Environment and Geometric Shape. PLoS ONE, 9(7), e102059. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102059
  6. Benítez, H. A., Vargas, H. A., & Püschel, T. A. (2015). Left–right asymmetry and morphological consequences of a host shift in the oligophagous Neotropical moth Macaria mirthae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Journal of Insect Conservation, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-015-9779-0
  7. Bucchi, A., Püschel, T. A., Lorenzo, C., & Marcé-Nogué, J. (2020). Finite element analysis of the proximal phalanx of the thumb in Hominoidea during simulated stone tool use. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 19(2), 26–39.
  8. Bucchi, A., Püschel, T. A., & Manríquez, G. (2016). Artificial Cranial Modification in San Pedro de Atacama and the Loa Basin: A Quantitative Approach to Its Role as a Marker of Social Identity (PDF Download Available). Revista Chilena de Antropología, 34(2), 19–30.
  9. Coatham, S. J., Sellers, W. I., & Püschel, T. A. (2021). Convex hull estimation of mammalian body segment parameters. Royal Society Open Science, 8(6), 210836. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210836
  10. Marcé Nogué, J., Püschel, T. A., Daasch, A., & Kaiser, T. (In press). Broad scale morpho-functional traits of the mandible suggest no hard food adaptation in the hominin lineage. Scientific Reports.
  11. Marcé-Nogué, J., Esteban-Trivigno, S. D., Püschel, T. A., & Fortuny, J. (2017). The intervals method: A new approach to analyse finite element outputs using multivariate statistics. PeerJ, 5, e3793. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3793
  12. Marcé-Nogué, J., Püschel, T. A., Daasch, A., & Kaiser, T. M. (2020). Broad-scale morpho-functional traits of the mandible suggest no hard food adaptation in the hominin lineage. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63739-5
  13. Marcé-Nogué, J., Püschel, T. A., & Kaiser, T. M. (2017). A biomechanical approach to understand the ecomorphological relationship between primate mandibles and diet. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 8364. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08161-0
  14. Morley, J., Bucchi, A., Lorenzo, C., & Püschel, T. A. (2022). Characterizing the body morphology of the first metacarpal in the Homininae using 3D geometric morphometrics. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 177(4), 748–759. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24473
  15. Núñez-Cortés, R., Cruz-Montecinos, C., Torres-Castro, R., Tapia, C., Püschel, T. A., & Pérez-Alenda, S. (2021a). Effects of cognitive and mental health factors on the outcomes following carpal tunnel release: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2021.10.026
  16. Püschel, H. P., Bertrand, O. C., O’Reilly, J. E., Bobe, R., & Püschel, T. A. (2021). Divergence-time estimates for hominins provide insight into encephalization and body mass trends in human evolution. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01431-1
  17. Püschel, H. P., Püschel, T. A., & Rubilar-Rogers, D. (2017). Taxonomic Comments of a Glossotherium Specimen from the Pleistocene of Central Chile. Boletín Del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Chile, 66(2), 223–262.
  18. Püschel, T. (2014). Modularidad e Integración Morfológica en Cráneos Humanos: Un Enfoque Morfométrico Geométrico. International Journal of Morphology, 32(1), 299–304. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-95022014000100048
  19. Püschel, T. A., & Benítez, H. A. (2014). Femoral Functional Adaptation: A Comparison Between Hunter Gatherers and Agriculturalists Using Geometric Morphometrics. International Journal of Morphology, 32(2), 627–633. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-95022014000200041
  20. Püschel, T. A., Espejo, J., Sanzana, M.-J., & Benítez, H. A. (2014). Analysing the Floral Elements of the Lost Tree of Easter Island: A Morphometric Comparison between the Remaining Ex-Situ Lines of the Endemic Extinct Species Sophora toromiro. PLoS ONE, 9(12), e115548. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115548
  21. Püschel, T. A., Friess, M., & Manríquez, G. (2020). Morphological consequences of artificial cranial deformation: Modularity and integration. PLOS ONE, 15(1), e0227362. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227362
  22. Püschel, T. A., Gladman, J. T., Bobe, R., & Sellers, W. I. (2017). The evolution of the platyrrhine talus: A comparative analysis of the phenetic affinities of the Miocene platyrrhines with their modern relatives. Journal of Human Evolution, 111, 179–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.07.015
  23. Püschel, T. A., Marcé-Nogué, J., Chamberlain, A. T., Yoxall, A., & Sellers, W. I. (2020). The biomechanical importance of the scaphoid-centrale fusion during simulated knuckle-walking and its implications for human locomotor evolution. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60590-6
  24. Püschel, T. A., Marcé-Nogué, J., Gladman, J., Patel, B. A., Almécija, S., & Sellers, W. I. (2020). Getting Its Feet on the Ground: Elucidating Paralouatta’s Semi-Terrestriality Using the Virtual Morpho-Functional Toolbox. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00079
  25. Püschel, T. A., Marcé-Nogué, J., Gladman, J. T., Bobe, R., & Sellers, W. I. (2018). Inferring locomotor behaviours in Miocene New World monkeys using finite element analysis, geometric morphometrics and machine-learning classification techniques applied to talar morphology. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 15(146), 20180520. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2018.0520
  26. Püschel, T. A., Marcé‐Nogué, J., Kaiser, T. M., Brocklehurst, R. J., & Sellers, W. I. (2018). Analyzing the sclerocarpy adaptations of the Pitheciidae mandible. American Journal of Primatology, 80(5), e22759. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22759
  27. Püschel, T. A., & Sellers, W. I. (2016). Standing on the shoulders of apes: Analyzing the form and function of the hominoid scapula using geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 159(2), 325–341. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22882

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