PhD candidate Natalie Saxton was recently awarded a Graduate Research Enhancement award from the Coleopterists Society to support travel to the Queensland Museum, Australia to study dung beetle specimens. Saxton’s proposal titled “Reevaluating generic limits in Aptenocanthon Matthews (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)” outlines an integrative taxonomic method using genomic-scale data alongside the morphological study of historic museum specimens. Her work is expected to clarify taxonomically informative characters, describe new genera, and provide a stable framework for future research on these endemic beetles.
