Prof. Dr. Bettina Reichenbacher
My group has two main fields of research, "Teleost fishes" and "Miocene palaeoenvironments".
1) Teleost Fishes (fossil & extant)
I am interested in understanding why speciation happens. I intend to understand the processes that form micro- and macroevolutionary changes. As far as possible, my students work based on a "total evidence approach". This means study of fossil and extant species based on data derived from skeletons, otoliths, dentitions, scales and, in the case of extant species, molecular sequences.
Research questions focus on evolutionary processes in the context of the geological history and environmental changes.
Groups currently under study:
- Killifishes, with emphasis on Aphanius and Aphaniops from Iran, click here for more information.
- Gobioidei, with focus on their evolutionary history
- Cichlidae, with focus on the fossil record from East Africa (Kenya), click here for more information.
Recent publications on Killifishes
- Bidaye, R. G., Al-Jufaili, S. M., Charmpila, E. A., Jawad, L., Vukić, J., Reichenbacher, B. (2023). Possible links between phenotypic variability, habitats and connectivity in the killifish Aphaniops stoliczkanus in Northeast Oman. Acta Zoologica, 104:262–278. DOI: 10.1111/azo.12428 Link to article (open access)
- Herbert Mainero, A., Al-Jufaili, S. M., Jawad, L., Reichenbacher, B. (2023). Sex dimorphism and evidence of sexually selected traits: A case study on the killifish Aphaniops stoliczkanus (Day, 1872). Acta Zoologica 104: 473–487. DOI: 10.1111/azo.12436 Link to article (open access)
- Teimori, A., Esmaeili, H. R., Zarei, F., Reichenbacher, B. (2022). COI gene sequences confirm the taxonomic validity of the tooth-carp Aphaniops hormuzensis (Teleostei: Aphaniidae) from southern Iran. Zoology in the Middle East 68:1, 34-40. DOI: 10.1080/09397140.2021.1965071 Link to article
Recent publications on Gobioidei
- Gierl, C., Dohrmann, M., Keith, P., Humphreys, M., Esmaeili, H. R., Vukić, J., Šanda, R., & Reichenbacher, B. (2022). An integrative phylogenetic approach for inferring relationships of fossil gobioids (Teleostei: Gobiiformes). PLOS ONE, 17(7), e0271121. Link to article (open access)
- Reichenbacher, B. & Bannikov, A. F. (2022). Diversity of gobioid fishes in the late middle Miocene of northern Moldova, Eastern Paratethys: part I: an extinct clade of Lesueurigobius look-alikes. PalZ 96, 67–112. Link to article (open access)
- Reichenbacher, B. & Bannikov, A. F. (2023). Diversity of gobioid fishes in the late middle Miocene of northern Moldova, Eastern Paratethys–part II: description of †Moldavigobius helenae gen. et sp. nov. PalZ 97: 365–381. Link to article (open access)
- Reichenbacher, B., Vukić, J., Šanda, R., Schliewen, U. K., Esmaeili, H. R., & Kassar, A. (2023). Skeletal traits and otoliths can unravel the relationships within European Gobiidae (Gobius lineage sensu lato). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1-32 (online first). Link to article (free access)
Recent publications on Cichlidae
- Please see Kenya Project.
2) Miocene palaeoenvironments and chronostratigraphy
Research questions include topics on biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy, palaeogeography, regional geology, palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate. Regionally my work concentrates on Europe and Eurasia, with a focus on the North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) and ancient Paratethys realm, and Central Kenya. You can find some introductory information on the NAFB (or Molasse Basin) here.
Recent publications on the NAFB and Eastern Paratethys
- Hofmayer, F., Hadler Boggiani, B., Soman, R., Andrade, J. D., Ćorić, S., & Reichenbacher, B. (2023). An integrative palaeoenvironmental and chronostratigraphic study of the Lower Miocene in the North Alpine Foreland Basin – Are global climate signals detectable? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 627, 111719. doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo Link to article
- Vernyhorova, Y. V., Holcová, K., Doláková, N., Reichenbacher, B., Scheiner, F., Ackerman, L., Rejšek, J., De Bortoli, L., Trubač, J., & Utescher, T. (2023). The Miocene Climatic Optimum at the interface of epicontinental sea and large continent: A case study from the Middle Miocene of the Eastern Paratethys. Marine Micropaleontology, 181, 102231. doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2023.102231 Link to article (free access)