Education

Current Positions

• Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, CUHK
• Research Associate, Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, U.K.
• Research Associate, Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, CONICET, Tucumán, Argentina
• Research Associate, Paleontological Museum Egidio Feruglio, Trelew, Argentina
• Research Associate, Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, U.S.A.
• Honorary Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, HKU

Research Interests

• Dinosaur-to-bird transition – feathered dinosaur anatomy, systematics, biology and evolution especially soft anatomy, early flight development, feeding, diet and ecology
• Other dinosaur biology and evolution
• Lagerstätten & fossilised soft tissues – imaging, geochemistry and palaeobiology

Representative Publications

1. Pittman, M.*, Kaye, T.G., Wang, X.L., Zheng, X.T., Dececchi, T.A. & Hartman, S.A. 2022. Preserved soft anatomy confirms shoulder-powered upstroke of early theropod flyers, reveals enhanced early pygostylian upstroke, and explains early sternum loss. PNAS, 119(47):e2205476119 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2205476119
   Press release: CUHK palaeontologist confirms ancient flying dinosaurs used shoulder-powered wing upstroke in early flight evolution | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
   Cosmos Magazine: Chinese fossils confirm feathered dinosaurs powered flight
2. Pittman, M.*, Bell, P.R., Miller, C.V. (PhD Student), Enriquez, N.J., Wang, X.L.*, Zheng, X.T., Tsang, L.R., Tse, Y.T., Landes, M. and Kaye, T.G. 2022. Exceptional preservation and foot structure reveal ecological transitions and lifestyles of early theropod flyers. Nature Communications, 13: 7684 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35039-1
   Press release: CUHK palaeontologist uses evidence from feet to reveal Microraptor had a hawk-like lifestyle | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
   The Conversation: New fossil foot analysis reveals the surprising and varied lifestyles of dinosaur bird ancestors
3. Dececchi, T.A.*, Kim, K.S., Lockley, M.G., Larsson, H.C.E., & Holtz Jr., T.H. Farlow, J.O. & Pittman, M.*. 2024. Theropod trackways as indirect evidence of pre-avian aerial behavior. PNAS, 121 (44) e2413810121 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.241381012
   Press release: CUHK and Dakota State University palaeontologists reveal “flap running” widely distributed in pre-avian dinosaurs through fossil trackway research | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
   New Scientist: Preserved tracks suggest non-avian dinosaurs used their wings to run | New Scientist
4. Pittman, M.*, Kaye, T.G., Campos, H.B. & Habib, M.B.* 2022. Quadrupedal water launch capability demonstrated in small late Jurassic pterosaurs. Scientific Reports, 12: 6540 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10507-2
   Press release: CUHK suggests that pterosaurs took off from water 150 million years ago like ducks do | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
   Scientific American: Little Pterosaur Could Have ‘Pole-Vaulted’ into Flight from the Water | Scientific American
5. Kaye, T.G., Bąk, J., Marcelo, H.W. & Pittman, M.* 2025. Hidden artistic complexity of Peru’s Chancay culture discovered in tattoos by laser-stimulated fluorescence. PNAS, 122(4): e2421517122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2421517122
   Press release: CUHK collaborative study reveals hidden complexity of ancient Peruvian tattoos using laser-stimulated fluorescence technology | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
   Science: Scientists reveal 1200-year-old mummies’ tattoos in stunning detail | Science | AAAS
   Archaeology Magazine: News – Study Examines Tattoos of Peru’s Chancay Culture – Archaeology Magazine
6. Jagielska, N. (Postdoctoral Researcher), Kaye, T.G., Habib, M.B., Hirasawa, T. & Pittman, M.*. 2024. New soft tissue data of pterosaur tail vane reveals sophisticated, dynamic tensioning usage and expands its evolutionary origins. eLife, 13: RP100673. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.100673.3
   Press release: CUHK and University of Edinburgh palaeobiologists solve tail function mystery in the earliest flying vertebrates, revealing never-seen-before soft tissue details using laser imaging | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
   New York Times: Lasers, Waffle Fries and the Secrets in Pterosaurs’ Tails – The New York Times
7. Pol, D.*, Baiano, M.A. (Postdoctoral Researcher), Černý, D., Novas, F.E., Cerda, I.A. & Pittman, M.* 2024. A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the end Cretaceous of Patagonia and evolutionary rates among the Ceratosauria. Cladistics, 40(3): 307-356. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12583
   Press release: CUHK scholar and National Geographic Explorer discover a new carnivorous dinosaur species Koleken inakayali in Patagonia | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
   Wikipedia: Koleken – Wikipedia
8. Miller, C.V.* (PhD student), Bright, J.A., Wang, X., Zheng, X. & Pittman, M.*. 2024. Synthetic analysis of trophic diversity and evolution in Enantiornithes with new insights from Bohaiornithidae. eLife, 12: RP89871 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.89871.3
   Press release: CUHK palaeontologist uncovers the diverse diets of birds during the era of dinosaurs | CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office
9. Grosmougin, M. (PhD Student), Wang, X.L., Zheng, X.T., Kaye, T.G., Chotard, M. (PhD student), Barlow, L.A., Deccechi, T.A., Habib, M.B., Zariwala, J., Hartman, S.A., Xu, X. & Pittman, M.* 2025. Forelimb feathering, soft tissues, and skeleton of the flying dromaeosaurid Microraptor. BMC Ecology and Evolution, 25(1): 1-25 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-025-02397-5
10. Chotard, M. (PhD Student), Wang, X.L., Zheng, X.T., Kaye, T.G., Grosmougin, M. (PhD student), Barlow, L., Kundrát, M., Dececchi, T.A., Habib, M.B., Zariwala, J., Hartman, S., Xu, X. & Pittman, M.* New information on the Hind limb feathering, soft tissues and skeleton of Microraptor (Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae). BMC Ecology and Evolution, 25(1): 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-025-02372-0

Research Grants

• PI, General Research Fund 2023/24, Origins of the bird propatagium: combining new fossil imaging and developmental evidence to reconstruct key evolutionary changes in the leading-edge structure of the wing, RGC, HK$950,681, 01/10/2024 – 31/03/2027

• PI, General Research Fund 2022/23, Application of gated Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence to palaeobiology, RGC, HK$1,428,550, 01/09/2023 – 31/08/2025

• Co-I, General Research Fund 2023/24, Examining and re-designing assessment tasks challenged by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to uphold academic integrity and support learning, RGC, HK$591,790, 01/01/2025 – 30/06/2027

• PI, General Research Fund 2021/22, Quantitative investigation of diet of enantiornithines, RGC, HK$686,232, 09/08/2021 – 08/06/2023

• PI, General Research Fund 2020/21, Functional anatomy of the external and internal soft tissues of the wing of the gliding dinosaur Microraptor and the pteryology of its ‘hindwing’, RGC, HK$673,488, 01/09/2020 – 28/02/2023

Awards

• Science Faculty Young Researcher Award 2024
• 2018 finalist for edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning
• Award for Teaching Innovation in E-Learning, HKU Faculty of Science

Professional Activities

• Associate Editor, Cladistics (2020 – present)
• Council Member, The Willi Hennig Society (2024 – present)