Leif Moritz

Bernstein, fossilisierter Harz, kann wie in einer Zeitkapsel Biodiversität aus einer längst vergangenen Zeitperiode konservieren und erlaubt damit die Erforschung uralter Ökosysteme. Burmesischer Bernstein entstand bereits vor 100 Millionen Jahren während des Zeitalters der Dinosaurier in Waldgebieten welche sich im heutigen Myanmar befinden.

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.

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.