Christopher J. Marshall

Chris Marshall

My research centers on beetle systematics, with an emphasis on the primitive scarabaeoid families- notably the subsocial beetle family Passalidae.  Currently I am working on a cladistic analysis and taxonomic revision of the Central American genus Verres (Passalidae) as well as investigating its biogeography and associated mite fauna.  In addition to my work in the Scarabaeoidea,  I am also conducting research in two other beetle families.  The first is the Synteliidae, a small and unusual family of Histeroidea that is interesting for its basal position within the Histeroidea as well as its intriguing Central American-Asian distribution. The second taxon is the genus Phrenapates of the Tenebrionidae.  This Neotropical genus greatly resembles Passalidae morphologically and biologically.  I encounter Phrenapates frequently during my field work as they live, like Passalidae, in subsocial colonies in rotten logs (many of which are also inhabited by Passalidae).  In the future I would like to investigate higher level phylogenetic relationships in the Passalidae and lower Scarabaeoidea.  These analyses would allow me to research the understudied Southeast Asian and Australian passalid fauna and to address the relationships between worldwide scarabaeoid families such as Passalidae, Lucanidae, Geotrupidae and smaller, geographically restricted families such as the Pleocomidae and Diphyllostomatidae that are found only along the pacific coast of the United States.