Collecting millipedes (photo by Nona Chiariello)

Current Research

My research focuses on examining relationships among millipedes in the order Spirobolida. I am currently pursuing a revision of this group at the family level using an exemplar approach. The goal of this project is to provide a hypothesis of relationships among spirobolid families based on morphological and molecular datasets; these preliminary relationships will be used as a guide for future studies of intrafamilial relationships as well.

As part of this research, I am currently working towards producing a morphological atlas for Spirobolida using three species, Floridobolus penneri, Narceus americanus, and a member of Trigoniulidea yet to be determined. This atlas will be serve as a basis for character discovery and as a resource for an illustrated glossary of millipede terminology.

Lateral view of spirobolid millipedes (photos by John Weinstein)