Visiting Scientist(s) Feature: Carcinologist Edition

After our previous feature on mammalogists, we are back with a feature on carcinologists from Taiwan!

Dr. Shih Hsi-Te 

Dr. Shih is a professor at the National Chung Hsing University in Taichung, with a research career spanning almost 30 years. Dr. Shih is also an old friend of the head of the museum, Prof. Peter Ng, having known Prof. Ng for around 20 years.

Dr. Shih gained an interest in carcinology after an ecology class during his undergraduate days in Taiwan. After seeing fiddler crabs up close while on a field trip, he grew interested in studying the little creatures.

During his visit here, Dr. Shih examined various specimens of Thoracotreme crabs in the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC), as part of his research on fiddler crabs from Dansui, Taiwan.

We wish Dr. Shih all the best for his research, and hope to see him again.

Dr. Tsang Ling Ming

Dr. Tsang is an associate professor of the Institute of Marine Biology at the National Taiwan Ocean University. Dr. Tsang was here with his student, Ms. Pei Syuan Lu, who is working on the ecology and diet of horseshoe crabs.

Dr. Tsang went into crustacean research due to prior interest in crabs, which he thinks are “very cute”. He has since been doing research for around 10 years.

“(Doing) research is interesting, as every day is different,” he said.

During his visit here, Dr. Tsang borrowed tissues from horseshoe crabs and Brachyuran crabs from the ZRC to be used for large scale molecular phylogenetic analysis. His research on the phylogenomic relationships and diversity of crabs is funded by a HKD $1 million grant.

Also, Dr. Tsang was here to examine crab specimens from the superfamily Goneplacoidea, as part of a collaboration with museum officer, Dr. Joelle Lai. He also borrowed some specimens from the ZRC back to Taiwan for DNA analysis.

We wish Dr. Tsang and Ms. Pei all the best for their research, and hope to see them again.