Varpu Vahtera
PhD, Adjunct professor
varpu.vahtera@utu.fi +358 29 450 4176 +358 50 411 0355 Vesilinnantie 5 Turku : 164 |
Molecular systematics; Chilopoda
I work as a curator of myriapodology and arachnology at the Zoological Museum. I obtained my Master's degree from the University of Turku (2003) and PhD degree from the University of Helsinki (2008). I have conducted two postdoctoral periods, one at Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard University) and one at the Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS). Despite of my strong laboratory background, fieldwork
is very close to my heart.
I am a molecular systematist studying the diversity and evolutionary relationships of both invertebrates and vertebrates. My main research focus is on scolopendromorph centipedes but I am also involved in many other projects studying the diversity of e.g. millipedes, arachnids, amphibians and reptiles from all over the world.
2 of 2
- Sympatric occurrence of three leaf beetle species of Macroplea Samouelle, 1819 (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Donaciinae) in Finland with a key to species in Northern Europe (2018)
- Aquatic Insects
- Description of a new species of Vinathela Ono, 2000 (Araneae: Mesothelae: Liphistiidae), based on morphological and molecular characters (2017)
- Arachnology
- Phylogenetic relationships of millipedes in the subclass Penicillata (Diplopoda) with a key to the generaPhylogenetics of scolopendromorph centipedes: can denser taxon sampling improve an artificial classification? (2017)
- Journal of Natural HistoryInvertebrate Systematics
- Reinstatement of Varanus douarrha Lesson, 1830 as a valid species with comments on the zoogeography of monitor lizards (Squamata:Varanidae) in the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea (2016)
- Australian Journal of Zoology
- Nine genera of Eucnemidae (Coleoptera) new to Peru, with a key to Peruvian genera (2015)
- Biodiversity data journal
- Populations of the damselfly Coenagrion hastulatum at the edge of the species range have fewer gregarine and water mite parasites (2015)
- Freshwater Biology
- Species limits and phylogeography of Newportia (Scolopendromorpha) and implications for widespread morphospecies (2015)
- ZooKeys
- Evaluating topological conflict in centipede phylogeny using transcriptomic data sets (2014)
- Molecular Biology and Evolution
- First molecular data and the phylogenetic position of the millipede-like centipede Edentistoma octosulcatum Tömösváry, 1882 (chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae) (2014)
- PLoS ONE
- Unveiling of a cryptic Dicranomyia (Idiopyga) from northern Finland using integrative approach (Diptera, Limoniidae) (2014)
- Biodiversity data journal
- (2013)
- A scolopocryptopid centipede (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) from Mexican amber: synchrotron microtomography and phylogenetic placement using a combined morphological and molecular data set (2012)
- Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
- Comparative description of ten transcriptomes of newly sequenced invertebrates and efficiency estimation of genomic sampling in non-model taxa (2012)
- Frontiers in Zoology
- Evolution of blindness in scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha): insight from an expanded sampling of molecular data (2012)
- Cladistics
- Spiracle structure in scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) and its contribution to phylogenetics (2012)
- Zoomorphology
- Running WILD: the case for exploring mixed parameter sets in sensitivity analysis (2011)
- Cladistics
- Phylogeny of the Thylacosterninae (Coleoptera, Elateridae) (2009)
- Cladistics
UTU Research Portal