Dr. Marcelo Carvalho

Dr. Marcelo Carvalho is a former postdoctoral research fellow of the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). He studies the anatomy and systematics of sharks and rays, both fossil and recent, in order to better understand which species exist or have existed, their characters and evolutionary relationships, and how they have evolved over time.

Marcelo grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, surrounded by a rich local biodiversity. He fell in love with nature at an early age, with a particular interest in fishes. His curiosity was encouraged by his family through numerous camping and fishing trips. Marcelo studied biology at St. Ursula University in Rio, concentrating on zoology, marine biology, and botany. Brazil's wealth of biodiversity increased Marcelo's interest in anatomy as a way of studying the historical relationships between species and encouraged him to pursue a career in systematics and taxonomy.

While in college, Marcelo met some fishermen from a village near Rio, who caught mako sharks that they sold to local markets. Marcelo accompanied them on their fishing trips. In return for beers, the fishermen would give Marcelo the sharks' heads. Back in the lab, Marcelo dissected the shark heads and studied the anatomy of their skulls and muscles, and the patterns of their nerves and veins.

At about this time, Marcelo began an internship at another university, where he further pursued his studies of shark anatomy, including shark systematics, or the study of the evolutionary relationships between sharks. He also started to focus on stingrays and electric rays at this point in his career. In 1992, he applied for and was awarded a fellowship by the Brazilian government that allowed him to travel to the United States to work on a Ph.D. in the systematics of electric rays, in the AMNH's Department of Ichthyology. After successfully completing his Ph.D. in 1999, Marcelo continued to work at the Museum as a postdoctoral research fellow, where he collaborated with curator Dr. John Maisey in the Division of Paleontology.