Our research activities focus on the study of the herpetofauna of the Neotropics (Central and South America, Mexico and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. Currently, faunistic, taxonomic and zoogeographic studies are undertaken in the following countries: Thailand, Myanmar, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and Bolivia.
Our studies are taxonomic, zoogeographic, and phylogenetic in nature. We address our research questions with an integrative approach including morphological, bioacoustic, molecular genetic, zoogeographic and ecological data and methods. The large and historically grown herpetological collection at the institute in Frankfurt is an important basis and reference for our scientific work. Due to own collecting of amphibians and reptiles during expeditions into the habitats of our study objects, the collection is still growing steadily.
Our studies belong to the Senckenberg Research Field Biodiversity and Systematics.