Nationality: Mozambican
Institution: University of the Witwatersrand
Department: Evolutionary Studies Institute
PAST programme support: Degree support
Project: The early evolution of Gorgonopsia (Therapsida, Synapsida), new data from the middle Permian of South Africa and early late Permian of Mozambique.
Facebook: Zanildo Macungo
Zanildo Macungo is a second-year PhD Candidate in vertebrate palaeontology at the Evolutionary Studies Institute, working on middle and late Permian gorgonopsians from South Africa and Mozambique. He recently studied cistecephalid dicynodonts providing extensive anatomical descriptions and interpretations of the fossorial behaviour through their braincase. Zanildo’s work has also contributed toward improving our understanding of the comparative anatomy and taxonomy of the genus Endothiodon using specimens from his country of origin, Mozambique. Zanildo graduated with a Master’s with distinction from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Zanildo worked at the Laboratory of Palaeontology of the National Museum of Geology in Maputo, where he supervised students on fossil preparation as well as Honours research projects and co-organised field trips focused on fossil prospection. Zanildo has received support from PAST to conduct his Master’s and Doctoral degrees and was also granted a Postgraduate Merit Award by Wits University to support his Doctoral degree. Zanildo is an active researcher who has already 10 peer-reviewed publications including three as a first author.