Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology (ztm)

The West Indies is an archipelago located on the Atlantic Ocean, close to central portion of the Americas. The West Indies consist of the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahaman Islands in the north. Due to its geological complexity, the region has been considered a natural laboratory for studying species formation, adaptive radiation, and niche space occupation. While many plants groups are highly diverse, most faunal groups inhabiting the nearby continent are depauperated or completely absent from the islands including good dispersers like insects, birds, and bats.

The CellGen project is composed of two main parts. The first part investigates whether cell cultures accumulate mutations with progressive number of passages. One of the advantages of cell culture is to provide best quality of DNA/RNA and metaphases. Hence, we expect that cell culture will experience a renaissance in the light of high throughput sequencing techniques. However, it is still not clear how the number of passages (i.e., the number of times cells are transferred from vessel to vessel) can affect genetic and chromosomal composition.

High-quality genomes are an important basis for biological and evolutionary research. However, generating assemblies of high completeness and contiguity requires ideally fresh, flash-frozen samples. The availability of such samples has become a major limitation for biodiversity genomics, in particular for rare or endangered species, or species inhabiting remote regions. On the other hand, museum collections house millions of samples in Germany and worldwide.

Blind snakes represent the extant basalmost snakes of the evolutionary radiation of modern snakes and include fully fossorial species with bizarre skeletal traits. Despite their relevant phylogenetic position in the snake tree, little is known about their ontogeny and what it might reveal about the origin of their skull anatomy. In the context of recently proposed phylogenetic relationships two hypotheses were raised about the evolution of worm snakes. On one hand, some authors proposed that they represent very old phenotypes inherited from the last common ancestor of extant snakes. On the other hand, other authors argued on the basis of morphological information that each worm snake group represents an independent specialization for fossorial habits, as a result of miniaturization, deviating considerably from evolutionary trends of snakes. The aim of this project is to conduct a comprehensive characterization and specific analyses on skull morphology of blind snakes, incorporating ontogenetic data of blind snakes and alethinophidians. Additionally, the first description of the embryonic development of the skull of a worm snake (Epictia australis) will be addressed. Thus, this project will contribute with novel data on the ontogenetic skull changes in different clades of snakes using 3D reconstructions based on micro-CT data. In addition, a morphological and morphometric approach of the development of the skull of blind snakes will allow us to test hypotheses of homology of cranial elements in snakes, to propose developmental patterns for this group, as well as to reveal similarities or differences with respect to the development of alethinophidian snakes and to depict their evolutionary significance. On a broader scale, this project aims to describe the general patterns of skull diversity of snakes, and to elucidate if the blind snakes correspond to derived forms or are a highly plesiomorphic group.

Blind snakes are the most basal group of extant snakes and one of the least known in terms of morphology, biogeography and ecology. They are small snakes of fossorial habits that exhibit tubular bodies, smooth scales and a remarkable reduction of eyes and head escalation. The morphology of their skull is highly modified with respect to the rest of the snakes and is conditioned both by a particular system of feeding mechanism, as well as by the mechanical demands imposed by the fossorial habits. The aim of this project is to provide new information about the evolution of the snake skull through the analysis of the complete ontogenetic sequence of the skull of Amerotyphlops brongersmianus, which is a relatively large (SVL = 300 mm on average), oviparous, blind snake species belonging to the family Typhlopidae. The study was carried out entirely on the basis of 3D reconstructions based on micro-CT data, which allowed the accurate representation of anatomical structures with their natural shapes, orientations and spatial relations in minute size embryos.

NFDI4Biodiversity – NFDI Consortium for Biodiversity, Ecology and Environmental DataNFDI4Biodiversity is a consortium under the umbrella of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) dedicated to the mobilising biodiversity and environmental data for collective use.The partners pool their scientific and technical expertise to provide a broad service portfolio for handling biodiversity and environmental data and to develop it further in close cooperation with users from research and practice. 

In biodiversity research, little is known so far about how hybridizations of a native and a non-native species can lead to the evolution of an invasive hybrid. A group of researchers led by Dr Madlen Stange is now studying this aspect in a project at the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig – Leibniz Institute for Animal Biodiversity (ZFMK). The group is investigating the spread of Phoxinus, an ecologically important schooling fish, in the River Sieg, a 155 km tributary of the River Rhine.

Understanding coloration and its variation among species, especially in Lepidoptera, has fascinated scientists since the beginning of natural history. In this project we want to compare two genera that have different ecological strategies for protecting themselves from predators using their wing patterns. Hyles moths aim at camouflage while Zygaena show aposematic coloration warning predators of their toxicity.

How to overcome this recent biodiversity dilemma and speed up the availability of material with undescribed diversity?!?

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A Georgian-Armenian-German initiative to build research infrastructures and to explore and barcode the biodiversity of the Caucasus

The BMBF-funded GBOL, the German Barcode of Life initiative, has been run successfully over the last eight years. It delivered an operative DNA barcode reference library for German animals, fungi and plants. However, a significant proportion of insect taxa has so far been excluded from GBOL and merely all biodiversity research, because no or only very insufficient expertise and information are available that allow to get a grip on them. They are called “Dark Taxa”.

This work aims to understand the biogeographic and biodiversity dynamics driven by Plio-Pleistocene dry/humid climatic cycles in the Sahara-Sahel desert. The main objectives are to test: i) climate-induced allopatric speciation as the main diversification agent; ii) biodiversity refugia and dispersal corridors; iii) relationships between genetic diversity and environmental-dependent taxa persistence in refugia.

Bothrops jararacussu is the largest species within the genus Bothrops and one of which has the venom more toxic to humans. Its distribution covers Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and four Brazilian states: Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais and Bahia. According to Official List of Fauna Species Endangered by the State of Bahia, Brazil, this species is endangered. For this species, little information is known about activity, environment use, feeding ecology and standard displacement under natural conditions.

Fragmentation of the natural environment has contributed to major biodiversity loss in South East Asia. Reptiles represent a significant biomass and occupy important functions in our ecosystem. However, these organisms are highly sensitive to relatively minor changes in temperature and habitat alteration. In this study we will investigate the effects of habitat fragmentation and potentially climate change on agamids at several sites in Southeast Asia. We will identify the species richness of agamids, their habitat use, and their diet.

Millipedes (Diplopoda) were probably among the first animals evolving complex chemical defense secretions as defense mechanism. Thus fossils, showing openings (ozopores) of defense glands (ozadenes), date back to the carboniferous more than 300 million years ago. Unraveling the composition of these secretions and the morphology of the defense glands is important for the understanding of the evolution of chemical defense in millipedes, as well as for a correct reconstruction of the phylogeny of the Diplopoda.

Project start: 2012 This project deals with the precise and comparative descriptions of tadpoles of different species with the help of developmental biology comparisons as well as micro-CT scans. Project lead: Dr. Dennis Rödder

A "Weatherstation" counting species diversity (AMMOD = Automated Multisensor Station for Monitoring of Species Diversity).

In this project we study two Ethiopian francolin species, focusing on proper conservation and land use management.

Chromodorididae is a sea slug group known for the most colorful members. The aposematic coloration is usually discussed in the light of their toxicity. While feeding on sponges, they take up the toxic compounds and store them in special structures along the notum margin. They are used as defense against predators, like fish or crabs. We investigate the evolution and efficiency of these so-called mantle dermal formations within Chromodorididae

The implementation of the permanent "Rainforest" exhibition is one of the most complex exhibition projects at the ZFMK. As the first part, the "Understorey" could be inaugurated in April 2016.

The goal of this project is to infer a phylogeographical hypothesis of a selected group of Lepidoptera, the subtribe Pronophilina, based on comprehensive phylogenetic and distributional data, and by doing so, to propose spatial and temporal patterns for the evolution of Andean faunas. The hypothesis is that the study group evolved in South America, and that its radiation is congruent with the uplift of the Andes and changing paleoclimates, hence with the availability of suitable habitats in South and continental Central America. ​

The bristle millipedes (Penicillata: Polyxenida) differ from all other millipedes (Diplopoda) by possessing a non-calcified cuticle, trichobothria and bristles arranged in tufts. In all present phylogenetic analyses the Polyxenida are retrieved as sistertaxa to all remaining millipedes. Therefore, understanding the morphology of bristle millipedesis essential for our understanding of the millipede evolution.

One female Caucasian Tur (Capra caucasica) was equipped with a collar that detected head movement using acceleration sensors in 3D. The animal was observed for up to two hours per day for several months and the noted behaviour was correlated with the sensor data in order to train an algorithm for automated behaviour detection. The analyses were done in R with the Random Forrest algorithm. The results show that over 20 different classes of behaviour (including head postures, rumination, different locomotion types) can be identified with very high accuracy (>95%).

M.S. Merian is known for her expedition to Suriname and her book Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensius 1705

This study aims to understand morphological variation and its potential influence on the distribution of 26 species of Neotropical parrots along an elevation gradient in the Manú National Park in southern Peru.

Among antelopes, the gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) is unique since it browses almost exclusively on tree-foliage at great heights by standing on its hind legs. In addition to this peculiar behavior, the gerenuk is exceptional in having a distinct adult cranial morphology including a very elongate and thick occiput. The development of the typical shape of the occipital bone is a postnatal process, but to date the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We use 3D geometric morphometric for investigating the changes in skull shape from juvenile t adult gerenuks.

This project focuses on the spider subfamily Ninetinae, tiny cryptic ground-dwellers that are largely restricted to arid habitats. They seem to be ‘basal’ within Pholcidae and thus crucial for reconstructing the evolutionary history of the family.

1) Species delimitation of entirely or partially sympatric and taxonomically difficult species complexes in the light of genome-wide data2) Species delimitation under allopatry with no or limited gene flow at present3) Species delimitation of parapatric populations with hybridization zone and reduced gene flow4) Species delimitation in presence of asexuality​

The goal of this project is to assess the Trichoptera diversity in Ghana, and especially of the Ankasa Conservation area. Additionally, we want to generate a reference Barcode library for Ghanean caddisflies, since very few barcodes exists from species occurring in Ghana.

Parnassius apollo (Papilionidae) is an iconic butterfly species with a wide distribution from Spain to China. The distribution is, however, very spotwise, and e.g. in Germany only a few populations remain. It is the only non-tropical butterfly protected under the CITES The goal of this project is to use whole genome sequencing to investigate the genetic diversity of Parnassius apollo across space and time. To do this we will use both fresh and museum specimens collected across the range of the species, and during the last 120 years.

The main objective of the BMBF-funded project is the diversification of an international research consortium, consisting mainly of partners from Eastern and Southeastern Europe, in order to apply for funding for a multinational R&D project within the framework of Horizon 2020 or other EU programme.

Sulawesi, formerly known as Celebes, is the 11th largest island of the world and represents the largest landmass of the Wallacea biodiversity hotspot in Central Indonesia. Due to its geographic position and spatial isolation, Sulawesi harbours a unique mixture of typical Asian and Australian species with a high degree of endemism. The herpetofauna of Sulawesi has long been neglected despite various contributions by earlier scientists. Therefore, the goal of the project is to enhance our knowledge about the diversity and biology of the amphibians and reptiles of this interesting island.

Der Iran mit seiner durch Gebirgszüge und Wüsten geprägten Landschaft ist Heimat für vier Gazellenarten (Gazella subgutturosa, G. bennettii, G. arabica und G. marica). Das Projekt soll dazu beitragen, mithilfe molekularer Methoden die Taxonomie der Gattung Gazella besser zu verstehen und den Schutz dieser Tiere im Iran voranzubringen.

Within the genus Torymus (Chalcidoidea: Torymidae), very diverse parasitoid strategies and adaptations to its hosts have evolved. Its larvae are ectoparasitoids and attack mostly larvae of various gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) and gall midges (Cecidomyiidae). We study the coevolution of the genus Torymus and its hosts and target the question what kind of host shifts occurred during the evolution of the group. For this, we reconstruct the first phylogenomic tree for the the genus Torymus.

Animal locomotion is replete with examples of elaborate behavioral and morphological novelties that enhance performance. The adhesive apparatus of geckos is one such innovation, permitting locomotion in challenging micro-environments, such as on vertical or inverted smooth surfaces including smooth leaves, bamboo, and banana. This remarkable system generally involves a complex hierarchy of components: setae (microscopic beta-keratin hair-like structures), scansors (expanded digital scales), and modified skeletal elements, muscles and tendons of the foot and other parts of the limb.

Andean dry forests are among the least investigated biotopes worldwide. The project involves a herpetological inventory and an exemplary phylogeographic analysis on the basis of selected groups.

As soil organisms, millipedes have limited dispersal abilities. Probably for this reason are many tropical species restricted to small areas of distribution, with a high-level of species turnover. In the course of this project the Pilbara area in Western Australia will be investigated for its millipede species of the genus Austrostrophus (Spirobolida).

In this project we investigate how we efficiently can use old, dried, museum materil for phylogenomic studies. A hybrid enrichment kit for Lepidoptera is being designed and first test are promising, indicating that hundreds of genes can be successfully seqeunced for over 130 year old material.

In this project, we investigate different nutcracker subspecies by comparing diet and other ecological traits using classical morphometric measurements and digital three-dimensional methods.

This study looks at using mitochondrial genes to construct a first comprehensive phylogenetic tree for the oystercatchers (Haematopodidae), a monotypic family of waders with worldwide distribution.

Although millipedes play, as one of the first groups of animals conquering land, a major role in terrestrial ecosystems since more than 400 Million years, the fossil record documenting their evolution and diversity is relatively scarce. This is especially true for the Age of the Dinosaurs, the Mesozoic, from which only slightly more than a dozen fossil forms are known. Burmesian amber from the late Cretaceous gives us insight into the diverse fauna that existed during the reign of the dinosaurs.

Leibniz-Forschungsmuseen stellen erstmals gemeinsam aus: Das Museum Koenig wird vom 08.11.2016 bis zum 30.06.2017 (ebenso wie die anderen sieben Museen der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft) die Sonderausstellung „8 Objekte 8 Museen“ der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft präsentieren.

In the course of this project, a Master OEP student of the University of Bonn will learn how to do an integrative taxonomic description of an animal species. The student will do dissections and prepare samples for an integrative taxonomic description of two species of giant pill-millipedes from Madagascar, including DNA extraction, scanning electron microscopy, and micro-CT scans. The student will be required to thoroughly research the methods and suggest alternatives or modifications of the procedure to improve the results. This study will not only educate the student in doing scietific taxonomic descriptions using a variety a methods. The study is of additional relevance in the age of the international "biodiversity crisis", as rainforests in many countries are removed before their unique fauna can be scientifically named and described.

The main objective of the BMBF-funded project was to establish an international research consortium, consisting mainly of partners from Eastern and South-eastern Europe, in order to apply for funding for a multinational R&D project within the framework of Horizon 2020 or other EU programme.

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Southern Chinca is especially rich in caves. These caves are inhabited by a unique, still little-known fauna, especially diverse are different groups of millipedes. These cave millipedes, all show similar adaptation to the life inside a cave and look vastly different from their close relatives which live in the forests on the surface. Currently, a joint team of researchers from Russia, China and Germany studies general adaptations of millipedes to the life inside caves using comparative morphology.

The main objective of this project will be the study of the species of the family Syrphidae from New Caledonia. Entomological collections will be surveyed to complete the revision of the fauna of this country. I will especially focus on unidentified material in order to study their morphology and to report new species for this country and, ultimately, to find new species to science.

In the course of the GBOL- German Barcode of Life project, most millipede and centipede species of Germany were barcoded. This included the common blind Scolopendromorpha of the genus Cryptops. Here we expected to find three species, two common ones and one recently introduced, for Germany and Central Europe. However, our barcoding results show at least eight species to live in central Europe. Two of those could be identified to species level, represening first records for Germany and Austria.

The INDOBIOSYS project (financed by the BMBF through the Naturkundemuseum Berlin) deals with the integrative inventory of different animal groups at the Halimun-Salak Nationalpark on Java, Indonesia. A special focus lies on a fast inventory combining molecular and morphological data. The aim of the project is an inventory of the biodiversity of the park for the Indonesian state. Successively, pharmaceutical research for relevant substances in the animal taxa can then be conducted.The INDOBIOSYS Myriapoda part of the project will inventorize the millipedes.

Syrphidae, commonly called hover or flower flies, is one of the most diverse families of Diptera very attractive for citizen-scientists. Phylogenetic relationships among its main subfamilies and genera are still not totally understood; especially large genera such as Allobaccha Curran and Asarkina Macquart. This project aims to review both genera in order to describe the new species using new publishing tools, as well as to study their phylogenetic placement among other Syrphidae with the development of a workflow for Ultra-Conserved Elements or Anchored Hybrid Enrichment technique.

Interdisciplinary project on Maria Sibylla Merian and the strategies of visualisation of natural scientific knowledge.

Pill millipedes of the order Glomerida are especially species-rich in Europe. The collection of a conspicuous black pill millipede led after a long literature search to the discovery of the name Glomeris apuana Verhoeff, 1911. This name is apparently forgotten, not mentioned after 1927, and it does not appear in Fauna Europeae, recent Italien species lists, or recent European millipede atlases. Apparently, the species occurs in the Apuan Alps, and area renown for its Carrara Marble. A molecular genetic analysis, as well as a comparison with type material, will now help us to elucidate the status, distribution, and the relationships of this unusual pill millipede species.

Among the pill millipedes of the genus Glomeris only one species whose distribution is restricted to Germany, Glomeris malmivaga, can be found. Only a short time ago was G. malmivaga elevated to the rank of a full species. A genetic analysis of G. malmivaga and other species will now be conducted with the hope to clarify whether G. malmivaga is a true endemic or just a colour morph of a more widespread species of pill millipede.

The pill millipede Glomeris marginata is 'the' model organism inside the Myriapoda. Most embryonic studies, as well as important studies focussing on the development of segmentation (Evo-Devo) use Glomeris marginata as their study object. In this study,using DNA barcode fragments, the phylogeography of G. marginata is studied to get insights into the distribution of different genetic lineagues of the species accross Europe. G. marginata is the only species of Glomeris reaching the North of Europe, such as Great Britain, southern Skandinavia and northern Germany.

Rictal bristles apparently evolved convergently in many different bird families without necessarily having the same function. The aim of this comparative project is to interpret the occurrence of rictal bristles among different bird families with respect to their phylogeny and ecology.

Searching for the Golden-Eared Pill-Millipede (Glomeris aurita) - alpine high-altitude endemicsAlready in 2011 came a large collection of pill millipedes (order Glomerida), collected by the spider expert Dr. Axel Schönhofer, into our possession. This collection included an unusual species from northern Italy, collected from alpine meadows, an unusual habitat for millipedes which are usually found in forests.

The World Syrphidae Phylogeny (WSP) project is a community effort with the goal to provide the most robust molecular backbone to understand the evolution of the family Syrphidae.

Herpetological project

Erfassung der Fischfauna des Mesangat Feuchtgebietes, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesien

Small Mammal Monitoring for an Iron Ore Mining project in the Putu Mountains of Liberia.

The project explores the Speciation of these archaic beetles that survived since Tertiary only on the ancient islands rifting on the Thyrrenian sea.

In a long-term study, including study visits at European museums lasting several months, all Siberian species of Noctuidae are secured, studied, described and figured. All results will be published as a book-series.

The millipede fauna of Laos and Thailand is very little known. We discover and describe many new species together with colleagues from Frankfurt and Thailand.

Landsnails of the genus Theba show an endemic radiation on the Canary Islands and the adjacent West African Continent.

Chalcidoidea are a very species rich group of parasitoid wasps. Many representatives are very small, and the taxonomy of many groups is not well-studied. In this project we conduct taxonomic studies, especially in the family Pteromalidae.

Analysing the impact of different landuse on mammals, birds and reptiles in the arid Otjimbinge Area of Namibia.

Ricefish taxonomy.

The main objective of this study is to infer the molecular phylogeny of one of the most economical important genus of fruit flies, Anastrepha (Tephritidae).

The discovery of rare ancient millipede species (Glomeridesmida) in Brazilian caves, now endangered by mining activites, prompted quick inventories to promote a conservation of their habitat.

Adaptive radiation of sailfin silversides (Telmatherinidae) in Sulawesi's ancient Malili Lakes.