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Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Home>SCIENTISTS>Faculty and Staff
Title: Professor
Fax:
E-mail: wangshiqi@ivpp.ac.cn
Education
• B.S. (1998.09 – 2002.07) Tsinghua University
Major: Engineering Structures
• Ph.D. (2002.09 – 2008.07) Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Major: General and Fundamental Mechanics
Postdoctoral Experience
• Postdoctoral Fellow (2008.08 – 2010.08)
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Research & Academic Appointments
• Associate Researcher (2010.09 – 2015.12)
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Researcher (2016.01 – Present)
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
I specialized in the comparative anatomy, systematic evolution, and related biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental studies of Cenozoic mammals. By studying the specialized neck morphology common among giraffoids, represented by Discokeryx xiezhi, which adapts to high-intensity sexual competition, I provided a principled explanation for sexual selection as a driver for the extreme elongation of the giraffe's neck. I established a systematic phylogenetic comparative method for faunas, demonstrating that Central Asia was an evolutionary center for large mammals in the Late Cenozoic. I discovered the mechanism by which changes in feeding behavior in early proboscideans drove the co-evolution of the mandible and trunk, explaining the acquired evolution of the trunk's grasping function. Through the research on Linxiangus dengi, I uncovered the origin of the modern African savanna fauna in China 10 million years ago. I have published over 120 papers in domestic and international academic journals.
• Wang Shiqi (1/5): "Sexual Selection Promotes Specific Evolution of Giraffoid Head and Neck" – Selected as one of the Top 10 Advances in Chinese Paleontology in 2022. Chinese Society of Paleontology, 2023.
• Wang Shiqi (1/1): Third Youth Paleontology Award of the Chinese Society of Paleontology, 2015.
• Shi-Qi Wang (1/5): TAYLOR & FRANCIS PRIZE, 2019.
• Wang Shiqi (3/7): Award for "Research on Paleontological Fossil Resources in Ningxia". Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 2021.
Wang, S.-Q.*, Ye, J., Meng, J., Li, C., Costeur, L., Mennecart, B., Zhang, C., Zhang, J., Aiglstorfer, M., Wang, Y., Wu, Y., Wu, W.-Y., Deng, T. (2022). Sexual selection promotes giraffoid head-neck evolution and ecological adaptation. Science, 376(6597), 1–11. (First Author, Co-Corresponding Author)
Wang, S.-Q.*†, Jiangzuo, Q.†, Bibi, F., Zhang, C., Li, C., Li, S., Fu, J., Xing, L., Jiang, H., Guo, D., Zhang, Y., Ni, X.*, Meng, J.*, & Deng, T.* (2025). Central Asian radiation of modern large-mammal faunas in Miocene. Science Advances, 11(43), eadt5079. (First Author, Co-Corresponding Author)
Jiangzuo, Q., Madurell-Malapeira, J., Li, X., Estraviz-Lopez, D., Mateus, O., Testu, A., Li, S., Wang, S.-Q.*, Deng, T. (2025). Insights on the evolution and adaptation toward high-altitude and cold environments in the snow leopard lineage. Science Advances, 11(3). (Co-Corresponding Author)
Jiangzuo, Q.*, Georgios Lyras, Camille Grohe, Lars Werdelin, Kecheng Niu, Shijie Li, Hao Jiang, Jiao Fu, Yang Wan, Jinyi Liu, Wang, S.-Q.*, Tao Deng* (2025). A new ecomorph of Nimravidae, and the early macrocarnivorous niche exploration in Carnivora. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Biological Sciences. 292: 20251686. (Corresponding Author)
Li, C., Deng, T.*, Wang, Y., Sun, F., Wolff, B., Jiangzuo, Q., Ma, J., Xing, L., Fu, J., Zhang, J.*, Wang, S.-Q.*. (2024). Longer mandible or nose? Co-evolution of feeding organs in early elephantiforms. eLife, 12. (Co-Corresponding Author)
Wang, S.-Q.*, Li, C., Zhang, X., & Quan, Y. (2025). A new genus of amebelodonts from the Miocene of China and a re-examination of the phylogeny of the Amebelodontidae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 205(1), zlaf116. (First Author, Corresponding Author)
Wang, S.-Q.*, Sun, J., Li, C., Li, S.-J., Fu, J., Jiangzuo, Q., Xing, L., Yang, R. (2023). Discovery of a fossil dwarf antelope outside of Africa and its implications for the late Miocene ecosystem in the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Gondwana Research, 113, 102–115. (First Author, Corresponding Author)
Wang, S.-Q.*, Ye, J. (2023). The enigmatic spherical-horned Tsaidamotherium reveals an unsuccessful grazing adaptation of early giraffoids. The Innovation Life, 1(3). (First Author, Corresponding Author)
• Ministry of Science and Technology, National Key R&D Program
Project No.: 2023YFF0804500
Title: Big Data Research on the Integrated Evolution of Late Cenozoic Hominins, Paleontology, and Paleoenvironments
Duration: 2023.12 – Present
Role: Principal Investigator (In Progress)
• National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), General Program
Project No.: 42472004
Title: Study on Extinction and Reorganization of Neogene Mammals in the Qaidam Basin
Duration: 2025.01 – 2028.12
Role: Principal Investigator (In Progress)
• Chinese Academy of Sciences, Strategic Priority Research Program (B Class)
Project No.: XDB26030302
Title: Evolution of Neogene Mammals in China – The Emergence of Modern Patterns in Differentiation and Exchange
Duration: 2018.07 – 2023.05
Role: Principal Investigator (Finished)