Early Foundations Although established in 1917, the Florida Museum of Natural History Fish Collection was small and parochial in character until the late 1950s. Leonard Giovannoli served as part-time curator during the 1930s and 1940s while teaching in the University of Florida Department of Bi
surveyed the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas basins, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Guinea
See full directory profile > Research Statement We live at a critical time for biodiversity. The biosphere is undergoing profound alterations as a result of human activities, with a mass extinction erasing much of our biological heritage before it is even documented. My research program is defi
Reefs of Guam Freshwater Snails of Florida ID Guide Land Snails of Papua New Guinea
iDigBio, the National Science Foundation-sponsored project to help digitize the nation’s natural history collections, now houses more than 100 million specimen records in its online database, offering access to one of the largest virtual collections of life on Earth. Natural history collections w
Now extinct, it was native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.
The mammals collection staff and students contribute to museum exhibits and media presentations about research projects, and students regularly do presentations on their works and public outreach.
places, such as Socotra (an island in the Indian Ocean) and the highlands of Papua Guinea
Triaenodon obesus The Whitetip Reef Shark is a smaller, greyish brown shark with a distinctive white tip on its dorsal and caudal fins. (Compagno, 2005) It prefers caves and coral reefs, often be found resting by the bottom of the ocean by day and hunting by night (Compagno, 2005). Unlike many sh
Burma, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Riu Kiu Islands, Philippines, Australia and New Guinea
There’s a longstanding debate simmering among biologists who study porcupines. There are 16 porcupine species in Central and South America, but only one in the United States and Canada. DNA evidence suggests North America’s sole porcupine belongs to a group that originated 10 million years ago, but
ever set foot on the continent, where they evolved into well-known groups like guinea
Istiophorus platypterus The sailfish is one of the faster of the marine creatures, and one of the more popular in recreational fishing, despite the meat being of little value. This highly recognizable fish can grow to be over 10 feet long, including its elongated bill and its forked caudal fin. I
Sailfish are especially abundant off Papua New Guinea and the Philippines as well
Orectolobus ornatus This type of carpet shark has a flat head and stocky body with a stout tail. It has nasal barbels and dermal lobes forming a fringe along the front of its face (Compagno 2001) and is usually a golden brown with dark broad saddles (Compagno 2005). A nocturnal hunter, it prefers
such as Compagno (2001) describe their range as including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
Carcharhinus limbatus This medium sized, stocky shark is dark grey to brown on top transitioning to white underneath. It has characteristically marked black-tipped fins. Blacktip sharks prefer to hunt small schooling fishes, taking out prey as they move quickly through the school, often breac
known as blackfin (Guam, Micronesia, Trinidad and Tobago), black-tipped (Papua New Guinea
Carcharhinus melanopterus A small-medium sized shark with recognizable black fin tips with white highlights. Blacktip reef sharks are abundant on coral reefs, making them a popular species in reef and dive tourism. They are also frequently displayed in aquaria. Order – Carcharhiniformes Famil
surrounding Thailand, China, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea
