Jaime Villafaña Navea - Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción

Cursos que dicta

Pregrado

Bioestadística
Ecología General
Introducción a la Paleontología
Métodos y análisis para evaluar el cambio climático en ambientes marinos
Genetica y Evolución

Postgrado

Unidad de Investigación

Líneas de investigación

Paleobiología de la conservación
Taxonomía, biogeografía y ecología de peces
Dinámicas macroevolutivas de vertebrados marinos

Mi campo de especialización es el estudio de la historia evolutiva de los vertebrados marinos, con énfasis en los peces óseos y cartilaginosos. Mis lineas de investigación son la taxonomía, biogeografía, ecología y macroevolución de vertebrados marinos del pasado y reciente.

También estoy interesado en el modelamiento de la distribución geográfica de los organismos marinos del pasado y presente. Utilizo esta información para realizar proyecciones de la potencial distribución de especies que en la actualidad se encuentran en peligro de extinción o son de importancia comercial. Esto ultimo con la finalidad de evaluar el efecto del calentamiento global sobre la distribución de las especies en los próximos años.

Publicaciones académicas

Body-size structure and aggregation patterns of Neogene shark Carcharhinus from the Bahía Inglesa Formation, northern Chile. Palaeoworld. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2026.201212.
FINS —A Global Occurrence Dataset of Fossil Neoselachians From the Cretaceous to the Quaternary. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70315.
Revised Geographic Distribution of the Pacific Guitarfish Pseudobatos planiceps Based on Occurrence Records and Species Distribution Modelling. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.70417.
Into new depths: climate-driven habitat expansion of the endangered skate Dipturus chilensis (Chondrichthyes, Rajiformes). Marine Environmental Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2026.108037.
Robust evidence for modest neoselachian diversity loss across the K/Pg: Response to Guinot et al. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.08.716966.
Into new depths: climate-driven habitat expansion of the endangered skate Dipturus chilensis (Chondrichthyes, Rajiformes). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.26.714520.
The fossil record of chondrichthyans (Elasmobranchii, Holocephali) from the Cretaceous–Eocene in Chile: diversity and palaeobiogeographic implications. Historical Biology. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2530141.

Global extinction events and persistent age-dependency in sharks and rays over the past 145 million years. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2272.
FINS - A global occurrence dataset of fossil neoselachians from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.21.689757.
Diving into the past: a new assemblage of Neogene elasmobranch microfossils from the eastern Pacific of South America. Papers in Palaeontology. https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70043.
New evidence confirms the presence of the diamond stingray Hypanus dipterurus (Jordan & Gilbert 1880) in Chile and extends its southern range. Journal of Fish Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.16039.
The Juan Fernández Wrasse Malapterus reticulatus in the Continental Shelf of Chile. Austral Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.70027.
What do we know about Neogene bony fishes from Chile? Diversity and biogeographic implications. Palaeontologia Electronica. https://doi.org/10.26879/1385.

The extinct marine megafauna of the Phanerozoic. Cambridge Prisms: Extinction. https://doi.org/10.1017/ext.2024.12.
The fossil distribution of two pelagic lamniform sharks Alopias vulpinus and Lamna nasus , from South America. Historical Biology. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2023.2259409.

Diversification trajectories and paleobiogeography of Neogene chondrichthyans from Europe. Paleobiology. https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2022.40.
The Neogene record of cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali, Elasmobranchii) from northern Chile: A review and identification guide. Journal of South American Earth Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2023.104230.
Challenges and directions in analytical paleobiology. Paleobiology. https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2023.3.

The Neogene Record of Cartilaginous Fishes (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali, Elasmobranchii) from Northern Chile: A Review and Identification Guide. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4261936.
The confirmed fossil record of the blue shark Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758) from the South Eastern Pacific. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology. https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.25576.

Rise and fall of †Pycnodontiformes: Diversity, competition and extinction of a successful fish clade. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7168.
Neogene Bony Fishes from the Bahía Inglesa Formation, Northern Chile. Ameghiniana. https://doi.org/10.5710/amgh.26.05.2021.3375.
THE FIRST FOSSIL RECORD OF THE SAWSHARK PLIOTREMA (PRISTIOPHORIDAE) FROM THE NEOGENE OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN PACIFIC (CHILE). Ameghiniana. https://doi.org/10.5710/amgh.01.03.2021.3389.

Sharks, rays and skates (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the Upper Marine Molasse (middle Burdigalian, early Miocene) of the Simssee area (Bavaria, Germany), with comments on palaeogeographic and ecological patterns. PalZ. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-020-00518-7.
Diversity and paleoenvironmental implications of an elasmobranch assemblage from the Oligocene–Miocene boundary of Ecuador. PeerJ. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9051.
First evidence of a palaeo-nursery area of the great white shark. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65101-1.

The Neogene fossil record ofAetomylaeus(Elasmobranchii, Myliobatidae) from the southeastern Pacific. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2019.1577251.
Early Miocene cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali, Elasmobranchii) from Chile: Diversity and paleobiogeographic implications. Journal of South American Earth Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2019.102317.

Neogene ‘Horn Sharks’ Heterodontus (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) from the Southeastern Pacific and Their Paleoenvironmental Significance. Ameghiniana. https://doi.org/10.5710/amgh.19.10.2018.3202.
The modulating role of traits on the biogeographic dynamics of chondrichthyans from the Neogene to the present. Paleobiology. https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2018.7.

Geographic patterns of diversification and the latitudinal gradient of richness of rocky intertidal gastropods: the ‘into the tropical museum’ hypothesis. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12328.
Late Neogene Elasmobranch Fauna From The Coquimbo Formation, Chile. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE PALEONTOLOGIA. https://doi.org/10.4072/rbp.2015.2.07.

Rise and fall in diversity of Neogene marine vertebrates on the temperate Pacific coast of South America. Paleobiology. https://doi.org/10.1666/13069.