Research Activities

A submersible used in research activities in the Solomon Islands by curator John Sparks and colleagues.
Curator John Sparks and colleagues use a submersible to study and collect fishes near the Solomon Islands.
Courtesy of J. S. Sparks

The curators, postdoctoral fellows, students, staff, and associates of the Department of Ichthyology at the American Museum of Natural History work to discover, document, and explain the diversity of the world's fishes. 

Departmental scientists' research focuses on the phylogeny and biogeography of Recent fishes, classical collection-based revisionary studies, species discovery through a wide array of field projects, and detailed comparative anatomical studies. However, scientists in the Department also have breadth in a number of other aspects of comparative evolutionary biology, including, but not limited to, freshwater and marine conservation, phylogenetic and biogeographic theory, sensory biology, communication in aquatic environments, and molecular evolution. 

The Departmental scientists use a vast range of techniques to address the specific questions being investigated, from traditional histological and comparative anatomical approaches to more state-of-the-art methods based on the analysis of nucleotide sequences, genome evolution, computerized x-ray tomography (CT scans), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and geospatial applications.

All three curators strongly believe that expeditions and collections are an essential component of ichthyological research. The curators all maintain active field programs and encourage and include their post-docs and students in their fieldwork activities. Please see the Publications and Fieldwork pages for more information. Departmental scientists have described well over 100 new species of fishes, with dozens of additional species descriptions in preparation. See the New Species Gallery for images of many of these newly described fishes.

Scott Schaefer's research

John Sparks's research 

Melanie Stiassny's research 

NSF-Funded Projects 

Astroblepidae Research

Cichlid Hearing: Evolution and Diversification

Congo Project 

Lamprologini Project

Leiognathidae Research

Alepocephaliform Phylogeny

About a dozen specimens of a small silvery fish with small black vertical stripe markings lying in a pile on ice.
Four people on a wooden deck kneeling over a square plastic container of small fish.
A large commercial building complex with a person walking along a path across a grassy quad.
Two men in an indoor location kneeling over a pile of small fish on the floor.
Two people in an indoor location smiling at the camera.
A fresh food market with crates of items presented in baskets with signs.
A fish market with piles of fish and baskets of fish on the floor, and people milling around.
Two men kneeling on a floor before a mound of tiny fish in a pile. One man is holding a clear plastic bag.
A small silver-color fish.
A man on a pier looking at the camera, holding in his bare hand a small silver-color fish.
At a fish market, about a dozen trays of different kinds of fish.
A man at an indoor fish market smiling at the camera.
A man working with a notepad and equipment.
A small silvery-orange fish with thin white horizontal stripes.
A long, thin, silvery, finless animal.
A small flat silver-colored fish with an extended belly.
Two fish specimens, long and thin with white, pink, and silver body scales.
Fifteen fish specimens of the same small species, silver with black markings, against a white styrofoam background.
Several dozen silver-colored fish in a pile.
A small silver-colored fish.
A small wide silver and orange fish.
A fish specimen with a long body and dark skin.
A small shiny silver-colored fish.
A long indoor market with people standing at various stalls.
Three people standing near the bodies of three large fish lying on a deck.
A man facing the camera, standing ankle-deep in shallow sea water.
An ungloved human hand holding a specimen of a small fish with silvery scales with thin black markings.
Scores of specimens of small silvery fish lying flat at the bottom of a large empty white bath tub.
Two men standing ankle-deep in water, each holding a bag or small fishing net.
A man standing in a green grassy field looking at the camera, with a baby elephant behind him.
Two men, one standing ankle-deep in water, the other a few feet away on a grassy bank with two small dogs at his feet.
Two men posing for the camera in an indoor fish market with trays of fish displayed on ice.
Three tan and silver fish with black markings and species label Leiognathus 'slender,' Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research in Singapore.
A man seated at a laboratory table, looking at the camera.
A man outdoors on a porch working with materials.
A small shiny silver-colored fish.
Three graphic signs prohibiting pets, what looks to be a green leaf, and the wearing of helmets.
Two young men riding a scooter through a flooded street.
Three children in a row boat on water. In the background is the shore with trees, grass, and a village of thatch-roofed huts.
A specimen of a small fish with silvery scales.
A small long silvery-pink fish with a long low spiny dosal fin.
A specimen of a small fish with bright orange-color body scales, orange fins and tail, and a darker silvery-color head.
Two people sitting in a small row boat with nets.
A small long brown-color fish with a high dorsal fin, pelvic fins, anals fins, and barbels.
Three fish near a sandy rocky bottom, one small and black, another, bright blue with thick black vertical stripes, the third, gray with long dorsal fin.
View of a fish's light-colored underbelly, four long barbels or whisker-like filaments, two pelvic fins, and two anal fins.
A small fish with a narrow head, wide mouth, and light and dark brown vertical stripes.
A fish with a compact body, large eyes, and wide silver and black vertical stripes.
A fish a long body and black, yellow, and white horizontal markings.
A small fish with a long body with small fins and black and white horizontal markings.
A pebbly waterfront with tree-covered hills in the background beneath a blue sky with cumulus clouds.
A fish specimen with a small jaw and silvery scales with darker markings.
A fish specimen with a large eye, large mouth, coppery-brown scales and fins, and darker brown horizontal stripes.
A long fish with tan and darker-colored markings.
A small blue fish swimming near a rocky bottom.
About a half-dozen men on a pebbly beach handling a very large fishing net.
A fish with blue skin and darker-colored fins and tail.
A small fish with silver-colored scales with dark markings.
A small, long, light-brown-colored fish with darker brown vertical stripes on its body.
A small dark-colored fish swimming in water near a large boulder.
A brown fish with black horizontal stripes from head to tail.
A low building on a pier in a wide lake with green hills along the shore.
A bright orange fish with black stripes along the length of its body from head to tail.
A wall made of large stones in a wide body of water.
A wide shot of a lake with tree-covered hills in the background.
A man on a small boat wearing a wetsuit.
A man in a wetsuit sitting on the edge of a motorboat.
A small bright-orange fish with two vertical black stripes spaced on its tail before the tail fin.
A small orange-colored fish with an irregular-shape body and black circular markings.
A very long thin bright orange fish with small delicate fins with black tips.
A long fish with a dark-colored body, thin vertical white stripes, an orange head, and pale orange markings on its body.
Two people wearing field clothes standing on a shallow river bank collecting specimens.
A river at the bottom of a gorge whose steep sides and tops of each side have thick green tree cover.
A person standing knee-deep in water. A long-handled net and a large plastic jug are on the sandy beach a few yards away.
Three people wearing hot-weather clothing at a camp site in a clearing in a green forest with dry brown leaves on the ground.