About KU Ichthyology

Ichthyology conducts research, research training and graduate education on the world’s fishes-their global diversity, evolution, geography, genomics, morphology, conservation, ecology, and behavior.

KU Ichthyology conducts research, research training and graduate education on the world’s fishes — their global diversity, evolution, geography, genomics, morphology, conservation, ecology and behavior. These studies are grounded in research collections of 680,000 specimens and their associated data. We are a diverse group of active researchers and collection managers exploring the evolution, systematics, ecology, and conservation of both recent and fossil fishes.

Ichthyology serves the global fish community as a premier destination for research and training. More than a dozen of our students hold distinguished positions at universities, research institutes, and with the US government.

Curator Leo Smith focuses on the higher-level relationships of spiny-rayed fishes, the interplay of diversification and character evolution, and the evolution of venom, bioluminescence, and biofluorescence.

KU Ichthyology has three recipients (Gloria Arratia, Richard Robins, and Ed Wiley) of the Robert H. Gibbs, Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Systematic Ichthyology presented by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and Andy Bentley has served as the President of The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC).

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