Research in the Graf Lab

Freshwater Mussel Phylogeny

There are six families of freshwater mussels worldwide: Unionidae, Margaritiferidae, Hyriidae, Etheriidae, Mycetopodidae, and Iridinidae. The monophyly of each of these families is supported by both morphological and molecular characters (Graf, 2000; Graf & Cummings, 2006), and various subfamilies and tribes have been recognized traditionally and in more recent phylogenetic studies (Graf & O Foighil, 2000a, 2000b; Graf, 2002). While more study is necessary at all levels, the inter-generic relationships of all taxa are virtually unknown.

Current research in my lab focuses on the relationships among the various lineages of the Hyriidae in Australasia and South America as well as the basal branches of the Unionidae, especially in the Afro- and Indotropics.

I am also working with a consortium of bivalve systematists to resolve the position of the unionoid families in the larger phylogeny of the Bivalvia: Bivatol: Assembling the Bivalve Tree of Life.

More information about my interest in freshwater mussel phylogenetics, including data matrices of aligned DNA sequences and morphological characters, can be found on the MUSSEL Project Web Site.

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Last updated 10 August 2011