Zixiao Yang

I have always been fascinated by how ancient creatures have survived millions of years and come to tell their very own life stories, ones that were written not just in bones but also in delicate flesh and feathers. Therefore I consider myself very lucky to be able to study the Mesozoic Yanliao and Jehol biotas in China, which have yielded thousands of exquisite fossils of early birds, feathered dinosaurs, pterosaurs and early mammals, among others. I am particularly interested in the possible mechanisms responsible for their famous exceptional soft-tissue preservation (e.g. feathers, hair, skin, gill arches, eyespots, etc.), and the potentially rich biological and evolutionary information enclosed within the soft-tissue remains.