About me

Hi, I am Alex, welcome to my homepage!

I am a postdoctoral researcher in Palaeontology at the Palaeontological Institute of the University of Zurich, Switzerland. On this website, you can learn about my past and ongoing research projects.

My research mainly focuses on better understanding phylogenetic relationships of fossil cephalopods. During my PhD at the Palaeontological Institute and Museum of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, I mainly studied Cambrian to Devonian “nautiloid” cephalopods, covering different topics such as phylogeny, taxonomy and palaeobiology. Afterwards, I moved to the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, Department Sediment and Isotope Geology for a postdoc, where I was working on reconstructing phylgenetic relationships of belemnites and other fossil coleoids. During this time, I also acquired a better understanding of geochemistry and microanalytical methods, sparking my interest in biomineralization of fossil cephalopods, in particular the enigmatic cameral deposits of orthoceratoids.

Fig. 1. Reconstruction of some Ordovician cephalopods. Credit: Evelyn Friesenbichler & Alexander Pohle

Back in Zurich for another postdoc, I now focus on deciphering ammonoid phylogeny within a large collaborative project led by my former PhD supervisor Prof. Christian Klug. Thus, I have worked on all three of the “classic” groups of cephalopods, the “nautiloids” (paraphyletic, including the extant Nautilus and all other externally shelled cephalopods except for the ammonoids), the coleoids (including squid, octopus, cuttlefish and several fossil groups such as the belemnites) and the ammonoids (representing some of the most iconic and recognisable fossil organisms).

In my research, I use phylogenetic software such as BEAST2 and RevBayes and further statistical tools in R. Furhtermore, I am always interested on how to improve methods of phylogenetic inference for morphological data.

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in my research or looking for collaboration.