Zoology

I work on reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships at the species level within two major clades, the Australasian marsupial order Dasyuromorphia and the avian superfamily Gruoidea. Dasyuromorphians are some 70 species of carnivorous marsupials including the numbat, thylacines, the Tasmanian devil, quolls, antechinuses, dunnarts, and planigales. Their diversification over the past 35 million years took place in concert with radical climate and environmental changes in Australia, as indicated by our analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. The molecular phylogeny has allowed us to infer evolutionary patterns for several organismal features of dasyurids, including their diverse reproductive strategies and penis morphologies. Gruoid birds (cranes, limpkins, and trumpeters) comprise constrained Neogene radiations with roots that may date to the earliest Tertiary. Our sequences of complete mitochondrial genomes have largely resolved relationships among the 15 species of cranes, but raise interesting questions about timing and geography of diversification among gruoid families.

Recent Publications

Krajewski, C., J.T. Sipiorski, and F.E. Anderson. 2010. Complete mitochondrial genome sequences and the phylogeny of cranes (Gruiformes: Gruidae). The Auk 27(2): 440-452.

Springer, M.S., and C. Krajewski. 2009. Monotremes (Prototheria). Pages 462-465 in: The Timetree of Life (S.B. Hedges and S. Kumar, eds.). Oxford University Press.

Springer, M.S., C. Krajewski, and R. Meredith. 2009. Marsupials (Metatheria). Pages 466-470 in: The Timetree of Life (S.B. Hedges and S. Kumar, eds.). Oxford University Press.

Westerman, M., J. Young, and C. Krajewski. 2008. Molecular relationships of Pseudantechinus, Parantechinus, and Dasykaluta (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Australian Mammalogy 29: 201-212.

Woolley PA, Westerman M, Krajewski C.>. 2007. Interspecific affinities within the genus Sminthopsis (Dasyuromorphia : Dasyuridae) based on morphology of the penis: congruence with other anatomical and molecular data. Journal of Mammalogy 88: 1381-1392.

Fain MG, Krajewski C., Houde P. 2007. Phylogeny of "core Gruiformes" (Aves : Grues) and resolution of the Limpkin-Sungrebe problem. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43: 515-529.

Krajewski C., Torunsky R, Sipiorski JT, et al. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships of the dasyurid marsupial genus Murexia. Journal of Mammalogy 88: 696-705.

Krajewski, C., G.R. Moyer, J. Sipiorski, M.G. Fain, and M. Westerman. 2004. Molecular systematics of the enigmatic "phascolosoricine" marsupials of New Guinea. Australian Journal of Zoology 52: 389-415.

Moyer, G.R., B.M. Burr, and C. Krajewski. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships of thorny catfishes (Siluriformes: Doradidae) inferred from molecular and morphological data. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 140: 551-575.

Amrine-Madsen, H., M. Scally, M. Westerman, M.J. Stanhope, C. Krajewski, and M.S. Springer. 2003. Nuclear gene sequences provide evidence for the monophyly of Australidelphian marsupials. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28: 186-196.

Krajewski, C., and M. Westerman. 2003. Molecular systematics of Dasyuromorphia. Pages 3-20 in: Predators with Pouches: The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials (M. Jones, C. Dickman, and M. Archer, eds.). CSIRO Publications, Australia.