|
The purpose
of this site is to provide an area for the dissemination of
information on all aspects of flea systematics and evolution,
and to provide resources for the identification of flea taxa.
We are working with the top specialists in flea systematics
so that their knowledge can be passed on to a new generation
of specialists. A secondary goal is to provide a site for
the training of students on flea systematics. We currently
have a moderate number of students who are participating in
this project, and with the proper support, we hope to recruit
additional undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers
to become involved with this project.
This
site is still in the very early stages of construction, and
is a skeleton of what we intend to develop over the next few
years. Features of this site include:
A
basic tutorial in flea morphology
Taxonomic
keys complete with digital illustrations of characters used
in the couplets
Photo
documentation of selected flea taxa
Collection
databases
Molecular
protocols optimized for fleas
List
of flea tissues available for DNA analysis
Current
knowledge of flea phylogeny based on morphology
Preliminary
phylogeny of fleas based on molecular data
Photos
of ancient fleas
List
of collaborators who have provided fleas for DNA analysis
Additional
features we plan to add to this site include:
Complete
classification of the Siphonaptera, including entire lists
of species, based on the work of R. E. Lewis.
Host associations and flea biogeography based on the extensive
database of S. Medvedev.
Extensive analyses of flea phylogeny based on morphological
and molecular data
Discussion forum for all aspects of flea systematics and evolution
|
