SK_MurussoviiI am a Senior Research Associate at the Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Seoul National University, and a Department Associate of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. I am broadly interested in the biology and evolution of beetles (Order Coleoptera) with a special emphasis on the cause of their unique mega-biodiversity, most famously remarked by J.B.S. Haldane as the Creator’s apparent "inordinate fondness for beetles" (Hutchinson, 1959).

My research focuses on understanding the evolutionary mechanism underlying the ecological success of longhorned beetles through a comparative genomics approach. As part of the project, I am working on generating reference-quality whole genome assemblies of longhorned beetles with diverse feeding habits to unravel the genetic basis of their adaptation to feed on woody-plants that are rather poor in nutrient.

AGLA_plainAs an undergraduate at Harvard, I studied the systematics and biogeography of world stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) with a particular focus on southern hemisphere lineages whose disjunct distribution suggested for the possibility of their vicariance following the continental break-up of Gondwana.

* Hutchinson, G.E. (1959) Homage to Santo Rosalia or Why Are There So Many Kinds of Animals? The American Naturalist 93: 145–159.

  • agla_kr_wild

    Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) - Korean morph

    The Korean native population of Anoplophora glabripennis feeding on Acer saccharinum in Gangwon-do (Prov.), Korea

  • Monochamus_obtusus

    Monochamus obtusus Casey, 1891

  • Monochamus_scutellatus

    Monochamus scutellatus (Say, 1824)

  • Monochamus_notatus

    Monochamus notatus (Drury, 1773)

  • Monochamus_carolinensis

    Monochamus carolinensis (Olivier, 1792)

  • M_maculosus

    Monochamus maculosus Haldeman, 1847

  • AGLA_KR_inv

    Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1853)

    An invasive population of Anoplophora glabripennis infesting horse-chestnut trees in Bucheon, Korea

  • A_glabripennis_Korea_live

    Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1853)

    An invasive population of Anoplophora glabripennis infesting horse-chestnut trees (Aesculus sp.) in Seoul, Korea

  • Monochamus_urussovii_male

    Monochamus urussovii (Fischer-Waldheim, 1806)

    A male from Odaesan (Mt.) National Park, Gangwon-do (Prov.), Korea

  • M_alternatus

    Monochamus alternatus Hope, 1842

    A female from Mt. Wolchulsan, Jeollanam-do (prov.), Korea

  • M_guttulatus

    Monochamus guttulatus Gressitt, 1951

    A male from Mt. Wolchulsan, Jeollanam-do (prov.), Korea

  • M_subfasciatus

    Monochamus subfasciatus Bates, 1873

    A male from Jeju-do (Is.), South Korea

  • M_subfasciatus2

    Monochamus subfasciatus Bates, 1873

    A male from Jeju-do (Is.), South Korea

  • M_urussovi

    Monochamus urussovii (Fischer-Waldheim, 1806)

    A female from Inje, Gangwon-do (prov.), South Korea

  • CLB_KOREA

    Anoplophora chinensis (Foster, 1771)

    A female found on Salix koreensis in Seoul, Korea

  • A_macularia_live_Taiwan

    Anoplophora macularia (Thomson, 1865)

    A male resting on Citrus sp. in Miaoli, Taiwan

  • A_horsefieldii_Taiwan_live

    Anoplophora horsfieldii (Hope, 1842)

    A female resting on the trunk of Acer sp. in Baling, Taiwan

  • A_horsfieldii

    Anoplophora horsfieldii (Hope, 1842)

  • Pseudonemophas_versteegii_Vietnam

    Pseudonemophas versteegii (Ritsema, 1881)

    from Me Linh Station for Biodiversity near Tam Dao National Park, Vietnam

  • Solenopterine radiation in the Caribbean

    The prionine tribe Solenopterini may represent a novel example of adaptive radiation in the Caribbean. Images by Kim and Pirkl.

  • Solenoptera bilineata

    Solenoptera bilineata (Fabricius, 1775)

    from Puerto Rico

  • Elateropsis trimarginatus (Cazier & Lacey, 1952)

    The holotype specimen of E. trimarginatus from Inagua, Bahamas. Depository: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University