About me
I am a theoretical biologist and evolutionary biologist with strong interests in human and animal evolution, evolutionary medicine, biological anthropology, statistics, and the philosophy of science.
I have studied the development and evolution of human and primate anatomy, including the individual variation and perception of human faces, with medical applications to orthodontics. I am particularly interested in the interaction of developmental, environmental, and evolutionary processes. Another current research focus is on human childbirth: an evolutionary conundrum involving biological, environmental, and sociocultural dynamics.
I am fascinated by the analysis of complex biological data, including morphological, behavioral, and genetic data. I have contributed to modern morphometrics, the statistical analysis of biological form, as well as to multivariate biostatistics and quantitative genetics.
I am teaching morphometrics, statistics, theoretical and evolutionary biology at the University of Vienna and the University of Graz, and I am a directorial board member of the KLI Institute for Evolution & Cognition Research.
Publication list
2026
Mitteroecker, P. (2026). Genetic variance in reproductive timing contributes to trait evolvability. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 39(3), 362-371. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voaf145
Schwarz, L., Mitteröcker, P., & Bertl, M. H. (2026). Leveling and alignment of ectopically erupted maxillary canines with continuous archwires: Insights from geometric morphometric analysis. Korean journal of orthodontics, 56(4), 327-334. https://doi.org/10.4041/kjod25.291
Stansfield, E., Egner, C., Mitteroecker, P., & Kainz, H. (2026). Did energy costs of walking limit the evolution of a larger human birth canal? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 293(2064). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2895
Waltenberger, L., Rebay-Salisbury, K., Desideri, J., Mitteroecker, P., Spannagl-Steiner, M., & Pany-Kucera, D. (2026). The invisible evidence of birth: evaluating the relationship between pelvic shape and parity with a pelvic pattern index. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 18(9). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-026-02533-2
2025
Mitteroecker, P., Collyer, M. L., & Adams, D. C. (2025). Exploring Phylogenetic Signal in Multivariate Phenotypes by Maximizing Blomberg's K. Systematic Biology, 74(2), 215-229. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syae035
2024
Grunstra, N., Hollinetz, F., Bravo Morante, G., Zachos, F., Pfaff, C., Winkler, V., Mitteroecker, P., & Le Maitre, A. (2024). Convergent evolution in Afrotheria and non-afrotherians demonstrates high evolvability of the mammalian inner ear. Nature Communications, 15(1), Article 7869. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3125661/v1, https://doi.org/10.1038/S41467-024-52180-1, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52180-1, https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3125661/v1, https://doi.org/10.1038/S41467-024-52180-1
Mitteroecker, P., & Fischer, B. (2024). Evolution of the human birth canal. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 230(3), S841-S855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.010
Mitteroecker, P., & Merola, G. P. (2024). The cliff edge model of the evolution of schizophrenia: Mathematical, epidemiological, and genetic evidence. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews , 160, 105636. Article 105636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105636
2023
Grunstra, N. D. S., Betti, L., Fischer, B., Haeusler, M., Pavlicev, M., Stansfield, E., Trevathan, W., Webb, N. M., Wells, J. C. K., Rosenberg, K. R., & Mitteroecker, P. (2023). There is an obstetrical dilemma: Misconceptions about the evolution of human childbirth and pelvic form. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 181(4), 535-544. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24802
Nemec, M., Schwarz, L., Bertl, M. H., Bertl, K., Gahleitner, A., Mitteroecker, P., & Jonke, E. (2023). Maxillary lateral incisor agenesis is associated with maxillary form: a geometric morphometric analysis. Clinical oral investigations, 27(3), 1063-1070. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-022-04690-9
Stansfield, E., Mitteroecker, P., Umek, W., & Fischer, B. (2023). The variation in shape and thickness of the pelvic floor musculature in males and females: a geometric-morphometric analysis. International Urogynecology Journal, 34(2), 453-461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-022-05311-5
Weber, G., Lukeneder, A., Harzhauser, M., Mitteroecker, P., Hollaus, L.-M., Kainz, S., Haack, F., Antl-Weiser, W., & Kern, A. (2023). A possible connection between Gravettian populations north and south of the Alps: the Venus from Willendorf. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, (180), 192. Article 180.
2022
Mitteroecker, P., & Schäfer, K. (2022). Thirty years of geometric morphometrics: Achievements, challenges, and the ongoing quest for biological meaningfulness. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 178(S74), 181-210. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24531
Waltenberger, L., Rebay-Salisbury, K., & Mitteroecker, P. (2022). Age dependent changes in pelvic shape during adulthood. Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 79(2), 143-156. https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1463
Waltenberger, L., Rebay-Salisbury, K., & Mitteroecker, P. (2022). Are parturition scars truly signs of birth? The estimation of parity in a well-documented modern sample. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 32(3), 619-629. Article 3090. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3090
Weber, G. W., Lukeneder, A., Harzhauser, M., Mitteroecker, P., Wurm, L., Hollaus, L.-M., Kainz, S., Haack, F., Antl-Weiser, W., & Kern, A. (2022). The microstructure and the origin of the Venus from Willendorf. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 2926. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06799-z
2021
Fischer, B., Grunstra, N. D. S., Zaffarini, E., & Mitteroecker, P. (2021). Sex differences in the pelvis did not evolve de novo in modern humans. A facilitated variation hypothesis. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(5), 625–630 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01425-z
Fornai, C., Krenn, V. A., Mitteroecker, P., Webb, N. M., & Haeusler, M. (2021). Sacrum morphology supports taxonomic heterogeneity of "Australopithecus africanus" at Sterkfontein Member 4. Communications Biology, 4(1), Article 347. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01850-7
Grunstra, N., Bartsch, S., Le Maitre, A., & Mitteroecker, P. (2021). Detecting Phylogenetic Signal and Adaptation in Papionin Cranial Shape by Decomposing Variation at Different Spatial Scales. Systematic Biology, 70(4), 694–706 . https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa093
Mitteroecker, P., & Stansfield, E. (2021). A model of developmental canalization, applied to human cranial form. PLoS Computational Biology, 17(2), Article e1008381. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008381