Herpetofauna of Southern Chinese Caves
In the Summer of 2015 I was sponsored by the NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Fellowship program (EAPSI) to visit the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing, China. Numerous herpetological remains from Pleistocene caves of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, were recovered and are under investigation.
Salamanders of the Gray Fossil Site
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Master's Thesis Title: Additional Research and Taxononomic Resolution of Salamanders (Amphibia: Caudata) from the Mio-Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, TN
Abstract available online Learn more about the Natural History Museum at the Gray Fossil Site 2013 Field Season Highlights |
Ambystoma maculatum
Yellow-Spotted Salamander |
The 'Plethodontid Gap'
Near the Rio Grande Gorge outside Taos, NM
June 2012 |
Most plethodontids, or lungless salamanders, live in one of three regions: the Eastern USA, the Western USA, and Central to South America. But outside of these regions live three plethodontid species in the mountains of New Mexico and Sonora, and are said to live in the 'Plethodontid Gap'.
These relic populations could tell us a great deal about the origin and early dispersal of the largest salamander family. However, there is no fossil record of these organisms in this region. As skin respirators, plethodontids can be useful indicators of paleoclimate. Size-based sampling bias as well as a lack of sediment sampling at higher elevations may contribute to this gap in our knowledge. Current efforts seek to rule out these biases. Initial findings presented at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2014 meeting in Berlin: Darcy, H., Mead, J., and Morgan, G. Overview and new finds of Ambystoma (Amphibia: Caudata) from the Plio-Pleistocene of Arizona and New Mexico, USA. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 2014, 117. |
Other Interests
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Restoration of Borophagus, by Jay Matternes
Public domain, Smithsonian Museum |
Notophthalmus viridescens
Red eft (juvenile stage) of the Eastern Red-Spotted Newt
Red eft (juvenile stage) of the Eastern Red-Spotted Newt
