News

Professor Charles Ellington 1952-2019

2 August 2019

charlie_ellington_and_r_e_d_holder.jpg Members of the Department were saddened to hear of the death of Professor Charles Ellington, FRS, on Tuesday 30th July 2019. Charlie first joined the Zoology Department as a PhD student in 1973. He subsequently became a lecturer and went on to become Professor. He was elected as a...

Fossils and the Tree of Life

22 July 2019

heliscomys_cover.png Researchers in the Department have discovered that the bones and teeth from the oldest, most complete rodent fossils related to pocket mice and squirrels are consistent with DNA from living mammals in supporting one evolutionary Tree of Life. Two ancient fossils found in Wyoming have been rigorously...

Graduation (C) Sir Cam, University of Cambridge

End of Academic Year Congratulations

26 June 2019

As the graduation ceremonies commence today, 26 June 2019, the Department offers its hearty congratulations to all our finalists. This year we are delighted to report that 56 students took Part II Zoology of which 32% were awarded first-class degrees. The annual Frank Smart for Zoology Prize for the Natural Sciences Tripos...

ZSL Thomas Henry Huxley Award and Marsh Prize Winner

13 June 2019

The Department is delighted to send its congratulations to Dr Erasmus zu Ermgassen whose PhD thesis ‘ Strategies for sustainable livestock production in Brazil and the European Community ' has won this year's Thomas Henry Huxley Award and Marsh Prize , given jointly by the Zoological Society of London and the Marsh...

UK Parliament Select Committee comes to town

11 June 2019

The Environmental Audit Committee met in St Catharine’s College Cambridge yesterday (11th June 2019) to take evidence on the threat to the UK and UK Overseas Territories from invasive species. The committee, chaired by Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield, questioned leading experts in this field on the best ways to manage or...

Sydney Brenner, 1927-2019

15 May 2019

Sydney Brenner, the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner died last month. He was a colleague and friend of several members of the Department. In 1969 Dr Peter Lawrence , MRC Emeritus Scientist now based here in the Department, was recruited by Brenner and Francis Crick and he worked with them for many years...

Evolution as Inspiration - Summer art exhibition at the Museum of Zoology

13 May 2019

An exhibition of artworks by one of the world’s leading naturalists – Jonathan Kingdon – is set to open at the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, on 17th May, and will run until 15th September. Kingdon was born in Tanzania in 1935 and lived and worked in East Africa for many years. As well as being one of the world’s...

Reconstructed skull and lower jaw of Acherontiscus caledoniae (c) Prof Jenny Clack

Research reveals surprisingly powerful bite of tiny early tetrapod

13 May 2019

Micro-CT scanning of a tiny snake-like fossil discovered in Scotland has shed new light on the elusive creature, thought to be one of the earliest known tetrapods to develop teeth that allowed it to crush its prey. Detailed scans of Acherontiscus caledoniae showed a unique combination of different tooth shapes and sizes as...

Testing the role of trait reversal in evolutionary diversification using song loss in wild crickets

1 May 2019

Bursts of rapid evolutionary diversification are widely observed, but their underlying causes are controversial. Nathan Bailey, University of St Andrews, Sonia Pascoal , Department of Zoology and Fernando Montealegre-Z, University of Lincoln, tested whether secondary loss of sexual traits could play a role in rapid...

Student Conference for Conservation Science celebrates its 20th Birthday in style

28 March 2019

"How do you think we can stay optimistic in our research when faced with so many bad news and events happening in recent years?" Inês Maria Simões Silva from Portugal asked Sir David Attenborough, he replied: "We must be optimistic - we don't have an option, we have to point out successes, and show that we are happier...

Department of Zoology

Professor Charles Ellington 1952-2019

Fossils and the Tree of Life

End of Academic Year Congratulations

ZSL Thomas Henry Huxley Award and Marsh Prize Winner

UK Parliament Select Committee comes to town

Sydney Brenner, 1927-2019

Evolution as Inspiration - Summer art exhibition at the Museum of Zoology

Research reveals surprisingly powerful bite of tiny early tetrapod

Testing the role of trait reversal in evolutionary diversification using song loss in wild crickets

Student Conference for Conservation Science celebrates its 20th Birthday in style

Postal Address

Contact us

Quick Links

Social Media

Study at Cambridge

About the University

Research at Cambridge