Dr. Paula Cushing
Senior Curator of Invertebrate Zoology
Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Over the past 20 years, my lab at the DMNS has been doing research on the evolutionary history, taxonomy, morphology, and behavior of a group of spider relatives commonly called “camel spiders.” These animals are in the arachnid order Solifugae. In today’s talk, I will give an overview about the biology of these animals and will talk about some of the exciting discoveries coming out of the lab. Solifuges are desert-adapted arachnids found throughout the world. Our lab focuses on the biology of one of the 12 families, the Eremobatidae. We are currently using Next Generation Sequencing to test the generic and species group relationships made evident in a previous multi-locus phylogenetic approach. We are also exploring the phylogenetic and functional significance of various morphological structures found on the bodies of these arachnids.

Everyone is welcome to the seminar. If you would like to meet with the speaker, please email Dr. Brian Buma at brian.buma@ucdenver.edu