Dr Steve Shattuck

Dr Steve Shattuck: systematics of Australian ants

Dr Steve Shattuck documents the diverse Australian ant fauna using an integrative taxonomic approach.

• 10 February 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Steve Shattuck is a Research Scientist with the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC).

He conducts taxonomic research on Australian and overseas ant species by revising existing species, describing new species, developing identification tools and documenting their morphology and biology. 

The results of this work are made available through scientific journals and web sites and are formatted for both human and computer access.

Dr Shattuck works across the entire Australian fauna as well as examining the ant genera of the world and species of the Indo-Australian region. 

His activities include descriptive taxonomy and phylogenetic reconstruction at the species- and genus-levels for groups ranging in size from a few species to over one hundred.

A major outcome of this work is the publication of the first generic-level identification guide and biological overview of the entire Australian ant fauna, Australian Ants: Their Biology and Identification and the development of the related website Ants Down Under.

Background

Dr Shattuck's interest in ants began in the deserts and grasslands of western North America where he received his university degree in systematic entomology.

He moved to Australia and began work with CSIRO in 1990 to explore the vast and little known Australian ant fauna. During the mid-1990s, Dr Shattuck expanded his interest into the area of biodiversity informatics but has more recently moved back into projects with strong biological components.

Academic qualifications

Dr Shattuck has been awarded a:

• Bachelor of Science from Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA, 1983
• Master of Arts from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA, 1985
• Doctor of Philosophy from University of California, Davis, California, USA, 1991.

Achievements

Dr Shattuck has published many scientific papers describing several new genera and many new species of Australian ants. 

Find out more about the Australian National Insect Collection.