Kirk J. Fitzhugh | |
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Born | 1957 Dallas, Texas |
Nationality | English, American |
Alma mater | George Washington University |
Known for | Systematics and evolutionary biology of polychaetes known as fan worms and the philosophical foundations of phylogenetic systematics. |
Awards | Thorne research fellow |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Evolution |
Institutions | Curator Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles County |
Doctoral advisor | V. A. Funk |
Kirk J. Fitzhugh is the curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, a position he has held since 1990. His research focuses on the systematics of polychaetes and on the philosophical foundations of evolutionary theory. [1] Fitzhugh is a critic of DNA barcoding methods as a technical substitute for systematics. [2] He attends Willi Hennig Society meetings where he has argued that "synapomorphy as evidence does not meet the scientific standard of independence...a particularly serious challenge to phylogenetic systematics, because it denies that the most severely tested and least disconfirmed cladogram can also maximize explanatory power." [3] : 429 His graduate supervisor was V. A. Funk, from the U.S. National Herbarium, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution MRC. He completed his doctoral thesis on Systematics and phylogeny of Sabellid polychaetes in 1988 while he was a research scientist at the LA County museum [4] He married a lawyer named Nancy E. Gold in 1989. [5]
Sabellidae, or feather duster worms, are a family of marine polychaete tube worms characterized by protruding feathery branchiae. Sabellids build tubes out of a tough, parchment-like exudate, strengthened with sand and bits of shell. Unlike the other sabellids, the genus Glomerula secretes a tube of calcium carbonate instead. Sabellidae can be found in subtidal habitats around the world. Their oldest fossils are known from the Early Jurassic.
The International Society for Phylogenetic Nomenclature was established to encourage and facilitate the development and use of, and communication about, phylogenetic nomenclature. It organizes periodic scientific meetings and is overseeing the completion and implementation of the PhyloCode.
Euryzygomatomys is a genus of South American rodents, commonly called guiaras, in the family Echimyidae. It contains two extant and one fossil species, found in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. They are as follows:
Terebellida make up an order of the Polychaeta class, commonly referred to as "bristle worms". Together with the Sabellida, the Spionida and some enigmatic families of unclear taxonomic relationship, they make up the subclass Canalipalpata, one of the three main clades of polychaetes. Like most polychaetes, almost all members of the Terebellida are marine organisms. Most are small, sessile detritivores which live in small tubes they build from mud or similar substrate, or burrow in the sand. Their central nervous system displays characteristic apomorphies.
Swima bombiviridis is a worm species that lives in the deep ocean. It is also known as the green bomber worm, green bomber worm, or bombardier worm. This deep ocean pelagic (free-swimming) annelid has modified bioluminescent gills that can be cast off from an individual. These discarded gills somewhat resemble green "bombs" that remain illuminated for several seconds after they have been discarded. It is thought that this is a defensive mechanism rather than reproductive, as it is seen in both mature and juvenile individuals. This species was the first of its genus, Swima, to be discovered, and was the only one with a formal scientific name as of 2010. The genus name, Swima, is derived from the Latin, referring to the animal's ability to swim. The species name, bombiviridis, is derived from the Latin prefix bombus, meaning humming or buzzing, and the suffix viridis, which is Latin for the color green. Swima bombiviridis therefore translates to "swimming green bomber".
Swima is a genus of marine polychaete worms found in the ocean at depths between 1,800 and 3,700 meters. Even if they are agile swimmers, they are often seen hanging immobile in the water column as they are neutrally buoyant. This deep ocean pelagic (free-swimming) genus has modified bioluminescent gills that can be cast off from an individual. These discarded gills somewhat resemble green "bombs" that remain illuminated for several seconds after they have been discarded. It is thought that this is a defensive mechanism rather than reproductive, as it is seen in both mature and juvenile individuals. And because they are eyeless, communicating with light would be difficult. Swima worms are closely related to the recently discovered genus Teuthidodrilus, another pelagic cirratuliform of the bathyal zone.
Cylindrobulla gigas is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cylindrobullidae.
Clyomys is a South American rodent genus in the family Echimyidae. It contains two species, found in tropical savannas and grasslands from circa 100 m (300 ft) to 1,100 m (3,600 ft) elevation in central Brazil and eastern Paraguay.
Diurodrilus is a genus of tiny marine animals that has traditionally been assigned to the annelid worms, although this affinity is not certain. With a maximum length of 0.45 mm, it has an unusual morphology with many traits not found in other annelids, including a ventral creeping foot. Analyses of DNA have both refuted and supported placement within the annelids, with the unusual morphology perhaps due to evolutionary progenesis, in which organisms develop sexual maturity while retaining the larval traits of their ancestors.
Xenacoelomorpha is a small phylum of bilaterian invertebrate animals, consisting of two sister groups: xenoturbellids and acoelomorphs. This new phylum was named in February 2011 and suggested based on morphological synapomorphies, which was then confirmed by phylogenomic analyses of molecular data.
Meroselenidium is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Species in this genus infect marine invertebrates.
Heronidrilus gravidus is a species of oligochaete worm, first found in Belize, on the Caribbean side of Central America.
Thalassodrilides bruneti is a species of oligochaete worm, first found in Belize, on the Caribbean side of Central America.
Pompiloidea is a superfamily that includes spider wasps and velvet ants, among others. in the order Hymenoptera. There are 4 families in Pompiloidea.
Tiphioidea is a suggested superfamily of stinging wasps in the order Hymenoptera. There are three families in Tiphioidea, Bradynobaenidae, Tiphiidae, and Sierolomorphidae.
Aberranta is a genus of polychaete thought to be related to the Nerillidae.
Phyllodoce lineata is a species of polychaete worm in the family Phyllodocidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it occurs in the intertidal and shallow sub-tidal zones on soft sediment.
Leocratides is a genus of marine hesionid polychaete worms dwelling in hexactinellid sponges.
Neopolynoe is a genus of marine polychaete worms belonging to the family Polynoidae, the scaleworms. Neopolynoe contains 4 species, all known from the Atlantic Ocean from shallow water to depths of about 2500 m.
Frenulata, "beard worms", is a clade of Siboglinidae, "Tube Worms". They are one of four lineages with numerous species. They are most closely related to Monilifera. Despite being the first tube worms to be encountered and described, they remain the least studied class. This is because of their slender shape, they often get destroyed as a result of being caught as bycatch or poor preservation. They are found primarily in deep, muddy sediments, cold seeps, and anoxic firth sediments.