Pasquale Raia

Pasquale Raia

Professor of Paleontology and Paleoecology, University of Naples Federico II

My main research interests are the evolution of Cenozoic mammals phenotypes and communities, the insular biology and vertebrates, major trends in the evolution of the clade Mammalia, and evolutionary anthropology.

Articles by: Pasquale Raia

A Neanderthal skull next to a human skull.

Human and Neanderthal brains have a surprising 'youthful' quality in common, new research finds

By Stephen Wroe published

Modern humans have a youthful brain, and this "Peter Pan syndrome" is also seen in Neanderthals.

Homo floresiensis, whose skull is shown here, stood at about 3 foot, 6 inches tall and had tiny brains and relatively big feet.

Why Humans' Extinct 'Hobbit' Relatives Were So Small

By José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho, Pasquale Raia published

The diminutive size of the extinct human relative called the Hobbit, or Homo floresiensis, could come down to really fast evolution.