Ricardo Araújo
Museu da Lourinhã
Rua João Luís de Moura, 95
2530-158 Lourinhã
PORTUGAL

Ricardo has been involved in Paleontology in collaboration with the Museu da Lourinhã (Portugal) since he was fifteen. He has worked as a fossil preparator in Museu da Lourinhã where he coordinated the laboratory. Most of the preparation work has been focused on a bizarre stegosaurid dinosaur found in Lourinhã. Since then, he has collaborated in various preparation laboratories in Europe: Sauriermuseum (Switzerland) and Creatures & Features (Holland). Ricardo also works in the fossil replica business at Dinocasts.com, a brokerage company that helps small producers to trade their replicas.

Ricardo’s academic pathway went a little off the usual track for someone who is pursuing a career in Vertebrate Paleontology. He graduated from the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia from Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Geological Engineering. His experience in engineering has allowed him to study functional morphology and biomechanics, in particular assessing the mechanical proprieties of osteological material serving as the basis for finite-element models.

Ricardo has worked on
several projects since graduation, including; mammal-like reptiles from Mozambican Karroo, a historical overview and osteological review of the Alfred Leeds fossil vertebrate collection housed in Dublin, as well as technical papers in fossil vertebrate preparation. His ongoing projects include the study of: specimens from the Upper Jurassic of Lourinhã, a comprehensive study of the evolution of the teeth and mandibles of ornithopod dinosaurs, a new project focused on the search for microvertebrate fossils, and work with colleagues on fossil 'reptile' eggs and embryos (supported by the Jurassic Foundation).