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Rafe Brown
Curator in Charge
Herpetology
Associate Professor
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Kansas
Rafe works on evolutionary processes of diversification in island archipelagos, with a particular emphasis in Southeast Asia and Melanesia. Rafe's webpage.
Recent Blog Posts
January 1, 2010
Today we took a walk through old Manila and visited the National Museum. I've...
December 31, 2009
A major Midwest snowstorm during the Christmas holiday delayed the 36-hour...
Recent Publications
Aside from our individual research, we are currently involved in a number of collaborative projects focusing on phylogenetic systematics, biogeography, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles of SE Asia. See “Current Projects” for details and individual student webpages for descriptions of ongoing projects. Shown above: Barbourula busuangensis, Hemibungarus calligaster, Cyrtodactylus annulatus, and Draco bimaculatus, all from the Philippines.
Research Projects
Active Projects
Comprehensive Biotic Survey of Philippine Land Vertebrates and their Parasites
This project represents an integrated team effort to comprehensively survey, review, and summarize the biodiversity of terrestrial vertebrates and parasites from the megadiverse, global conservation hotspot, the Philippines.
...
Active
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Completed Projects
KU staff, students, and volunteers are inventorying, cataloging, labeling, and assimilating the the Bobby Witcher Memorial Collection of reptiles and amphibians into the KU Herpetology Collections. So far, 6,133 specimens have been added, making the...
Completed
Dyche Hall
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Primarily because of its unusual appearance and enigmatic behavior, the Philippine tarsier is now one of the country’s primary flagship species for conservation. Nevertheless, very little is known about its taxonomic diversity and conservation...
Completed
Philippines
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The genus Brachymeles consists of 18 recognized, burrowing species. All but one is endemic to the Philippines. This group of skinks is unusual in being one of only four genera that possess both fully limbed and limbless species (...
Completed
Philippines and Borneo
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Phylogenetic and Coalescent Analyses of Diversification in Frogs, Lizards, and Monkeys
We will investigate species diversification and biogeography of Sulawesi fauna by applying phylogenetic and biogeographic methodologies, along with recently developed coalescent-based population genetic approaches. The taxonomic focus will be...
Completed
Sulawesi
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This project explores correlations between heterochrony and morphological differences among species in relation to body miniaturization. Miniaturization of body form has been associated with the evolution of novel features, reduction and loss of...
Completed
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2010
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2010. Phylogeny and biogeography of Philippine bent-toed geckos (Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) contradict a prevailing model of Pleistocene diversification.. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55:699–710.
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2010. A new loam-swimming skink, genus Brachymeles (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from the Bicol faunal region, Luzon and Catanduanes islands, Philippines.. Journal of Herpetology. 44:49–60.
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2010. A new species of Gekko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from central Luzon Island, Philippines.. Zootaxa. 2396:37–94.
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2010. Species boundaries and cryptic lineage diversity in a Philippine forest skink complex (Reptilia; Squamata; Scincidae: Lygosominae).. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 56:572–585.
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2010. Phylogeography and historical demography of Polypedates leucomystax in the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines: evidence for recent human-mediated range expansion? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
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2010. Species boundaries in Philippine montane forest skinks (Genus Sphenomorphus): three new species from the mountains of Luzon and clarification of the status of the poorly known S. beyeri, S. knollmanae, and S. laterimaculatus.. Scientific Publications of the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas. 42:1–27.
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2010. A new forest gecko (Squamata; Gekkonidae; Genus Luperosaurus) from Mt. Mantalingajan, southern Palawan Island, Philippines.. Journal of Herpetology. 44:37–48.
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2010. On the availability of new Bayesian-delimited gecko names and the importance of character based definitions of species.. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.
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2010. Genetic structure of herpetofauna on Halmahera Island, Indonesia: Implications for Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park. Conservation Biology.
2009
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2009. A new limb-reduced skink, genus Brachymeles (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae), from central Luzon Island, Philippines.. Herpetologica. 65:449–459.
.
2009. Geographic genetic structure of herpetofauna on Halmahera Island, Indonesia: implications for the Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park.. Conservation Biology. 24:553–562.
.
2009. Phylogenetic Relationships of Ansonia from Southeast Asia inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences: Systematic and Biogeographic Implications (Anura: Bufonidae).. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 54:561–170.
.
2009. Do geological or climatic processes drive speciation in dynamic archipelagos? The evolution of shrew diversity on SE Asian islands. Evolution. 63:2595–2610..
.
2009. The role of repeated sea-level fluctuations in the generation of shrew (Soricidae: Crocidura) diversity in the Philippine Archipelago.. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 53:171–181.
.
2009. Philippines, Biology. Encyclopedia of Islands..
Publications
2010
.
2010. Phylogeny and biogeography of Philippine bent-toed geckos (Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) contradict a prevailing model of Pleistocene diversification.. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55:699–710.
.
2010. A new loam-swimming skink, genus Brachymeles (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from the Bicol faunal region, Luzon and Catanduanes islands, Philippines.. Journal of Herpetology. 44:49–60.
.
2010. A new species of Gekko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from central Luzon Island, Philippines.. Zootaxa. 2396:37–94.
.
2010. Species boundaries and cryptic lineage diversity in a Philippine forest skink complex (Reptilia; Squamata; Scincidae: Lygosominae).. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 56:572–585.
.
2010. Phylogeography and historical demography of Polypedates leucomystax in the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines: evidence for recent human-mediated range expansion? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
.
2010. Species boundaries in Philippine montane forest skinks (Genus Sphenomorphus): three new species from the mountains of Luzon and clarification of the status of the poorly known S. beyeri, S. knollmanae, and S. laterimaculatus.. Scientific Publications of the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas. 42:1–27.
.
2010. A new forest gecko (Squamata; Gekkonidae; Genus Luperosaurus) from Mt. Mantalingajan, southern Palawan Island, Philippines.. Journal of Herpetology. 44:37–48.
.
2010. On the availability of new Bayesian-delimited gecko names and the importance of character based definitions of species.. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.
.
2010. Genetic structure of herpetofauna on Halmahera Island, Indonesia: Implications for Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park. Conservation Biology.
2009
.
2009. A new limb-reduced skink, genus Brachymeles (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae), from central Luzon Island, Philippines.. Herpetologica. 65:449–459.
.
2009. Geographic genetic structure of herpetofauna on Halmahera Island, Indonesia: implications for the Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park.. Conservation Biology. 24:553–562.
.
2009. Phylogenetic Relationships of Ansonia from Southeast Asia inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences: Systematic and Biogeographic Implications (Anura: Bufonidae).. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 54:561–170.
.
2009. Do geological or climatic processes drive speciation in dynamic archipelagos? The evolution of shrew diversity on SE Asian islands. Evolution. 63:2595–2610..
.
2009. The role of repeated sea-level fluctuations in the generation of shrew (Soricidae: Crocidura) diversity in the Philippine Archipelago.. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 53:171–181.
.
2009. Philippines, Biology. Encyclopedia of Islands..
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January 1, 2010
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December 31, 2009
A major Midwest snowstorm during the Christmas holiday delayed the 36-hour journey for our intrepid herpetology team,...
From the Biodiversity Insitute blog
May 10, 2012
After a fast paced semester, Stop Day is an exclamation point between formal classes and exams. In spring, exam week is followed by another exclamation point: Graduation weekend. This is a...
April 27, 2012
The end of the semester is approaching fast, with finals just around the corner. Everyone in the lab has made significant strides this semester. Choru passed his comprehensive exams and is now ABD....
March 27, 2012
KU Entomology has enjoyed a long tradition of weekly lunch talks given by resident entomologists and visiting colleagues. This spring, I am handling the speaker schedule, which has been a piece of...
March 20, 2012
What an exciting day to participate in the installation of specimens and other objects in the upcoming exhibition, "39 Trails: Research in the Peruvian Amazon", curated by Dr. Stephen...
March 5, 2012
A few days ago, I arrived in Suriname for my second expedition of the year. I am working with some of the good folks at the National Zoological Collection of Suriname, including mentoring a student...
March 1, 2012
A skull of a Smilodon californicus exhibited at the KU Natural History Museum, one of largest such skulls ever found, caught the eye of Lawrence residents George and Mary Ann Brenner. The Brenners...
January 28, 2012
Greetings from San Carlos del Zulia, Venezuela. I'm a bit over a week into my first expedition of the year--this one to continue our aquatic insect survey efforts in Venezuela. We've spent he...
January 16, 2012
It is the day before classes begin, and I start teaching Intro Systematics (with Dr. Mark Holder and TA Taro Eldredge). Quite exciting to see the 45+ names of enrolled students, review my lecture,...
January 3, 2012
2011 featured pernicious political posturing over what we know and how we discover it. Florida Gov. Rick Scott told the state’s universities that they should be educating students in areas...
December 19, 2011
Snowy owls - known to Harry Potter fans and birders alike - are making an appearance in Kansas and Missouri this fall and winter.
The owls, which reside most of the year in Canadian tundra and arctic...
August 12, 2010
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