The aim of the present project was to reassess the systematics, phylogeny and biogeography of the Indo-Pacific taxa of the scorpion family Liochelidae Fet & Bechly, 2001 based on morphology and molecules. The morphological matrix comprised of 85 terminal taxa and 263 characters …
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The current dissertation project integrates revisionary taxonomy, comparative morphology, molecular phylogenetics and comparative evolutionary analyses to investigate the diversity and evolution of assassin bugs, focusing on the Malagasy Bekilya group (Peiratinae) and the New Wo…
My thesis work investigates the evolutionary history of Bovidae (antelope, sheep, and oxen), with a focus specifically on Bovinae, the clade comprising Bovini (oxen and buffaloes), Tragelaphini (spiral-horned antelopes), and Boselaphini (nilgai, chousinga, and fossil relatives).…
The Lecanicephalidea (Platyhelminthes: Cestoda) are a morphologically diverse group of elasmobranch (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) tapeworms. Currently, 95 species in 16 genera are recognized as valid. However, nine genera have previously been considered to be genera inquirend…
The Reduviidae (assassin bug) family is one of the largest families in the order Heteroptera within the true bugs (Hemiptera). Despite their prominence as insect predators in many habitats, the classification of the family is confused at all taxonomic levels. To begin to resolve…
One of the central goals of evolutionary biology is to understand the evolutionary relationships among organisms by constructing phylogenetic estimates, commonly known as evolutionary trees. The accuracy of phylogenetic estimates can be strongly affected by the particular evolut…
Sirenids are enigmatic in their biology, behavior, and phylogenetic relationships. These eel-like salamanders are morphologically unique, with slender bodies and absent lower extremities. Species in the genus Siren all maintain this body plan, with some slight variation in pheno…
Fireflies are a cosmopolitan group of bioluminescent beetles classified in the family Lampyridae. The first catalogue of Lampyridae was published in 1907 and since that time, the classification and systematics of fireflies have been in flux. Several more recent catalogues and cl…
Aplacophorans are shell-less, vermiform, marine mollusks that have a cuticle covered in calcareous scales or spines called sclerites. They are found worldwide in benthic marine habitats and are ecologically important to the deep sea. There has been a recent increase in aplacopho…
Widespread species often present taxonomic conundrums: are they truly a single panmictic species, or, is the widespread species in fact a polytypic species complex constituted by independently evolving, morphologically or otherwise cryptic species? One such broadly distributed t…
Since the acceptance of plate tectonics, no topic in historical biogeography has attracted so much interest as the breakup of the former Southern Hemisphere supercontinent Gondwana. As it separated, it was thought that widely-distributed low vagility organisms passively rafted a…
The creation and evaluation of known evolutionary histories and the implementation of student investigatory experiences on evolution are difficult endeavors that have only recently been feasible. The research presented in this dissertation is related in their shared use of digit…
Studying how island biotas evolve and are dynamically shaped by interactions between resident species, their immediate environments and neighboring continental communities have provided basic understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes operating in these ecosystems. H…
Loasaceae (21 gen., 330 spp.) are distributed across western North America and the Andes mountains in South America. Plants often grow in stressful environments such as gypsum soils, limestone outcrops, and rocky scree slopes. The two largest sub-families, Mentzelioideae and Loa…