Biography
I grew up in the Midwest, but spent significant time at the ocean as my parents were among the first recreational SCUBA divers in the 1960’s. I studied Biology at Illinois Wesleyan University and completed my PhD at UMass, Amherst. It was there that I took an ichthyology course which sparked my lifelong interest in studying fish. In particular, the ghost sharks or chimaeras, which are deep-sea shark relatives. As a graduate student I received a Fulbright Fellowship and spent a significant portion of my graduate years living in New Zealand. I’ve traveled and lived around the world conducting research on ghost sharks and have published widely on this topic, including describing 17 new species of ghost sharks. In 2005 I joined the faculty at Millersville University where I could finally fulfill my dream of teaching college.
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Courses Taught
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Education
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*Summer Course at Chincoteague Bay Field Station |
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Publications and Honors
Didier, D.A. 2004. Phylogeny and Classification of Extant Holocephali. In : J.C. Carrier, J.A. Musick, and M.R. Heithaus (eds.). Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives. Boca Raton: CRC Press, pgs. 115-135.
Didier, D.A. 2002. Two new species of chimaeroid fishes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean (Holocephali, Chimaeridae). Ichthyological Research 49: 299-306.
Didier, D.A. and B. Séret. 2002. Chimaeroid fishes of New Caledonia with description of a new species of Hydrolagus (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali). Cybium 26:225-233.
Didier, D.A., E. E. LeClair, and D.R. Vanbuskirk*. 1998. Embryonic staging and external features of development of the chimaeroid fish, Callorhinchus milii (Holocephali, Callorhinchidae). Journal of Morphology 236: 25-47.
Didier, D.A. 1998. The leopard Chimaera, a new species of chimaeroid fish from New Zealand (Holocephali, Chimaeriformes, Chimaeridae). Ichthyological Research 45: 281-289.
Didier, D.A. 2002. Two new species of chimaeroid fishes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean (Holocephali, Chimaeridae). Ichthyological Research 49: 299-306.
Didier, D.A. and B. Séret. 2002. Chimaeroid fishes of New Caledonia with description of a new species of Hydrolagus (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali). Cybium 26:225-233.
Didier, D.A., E. E. LeClair, and D.R. Vanbuskirk*. 1998. Embryonic staging and external features of development of the chimaeroid fish, Callorhinchus milii (Holocephali, Callorhinchidae). Journal of Morphology 236: 25-47.
Didier, D.A. 1998. The leopard Chimaera, a new species of chimaeroid fish from New Zealand (Holocephali, Chimaeriformes, Chimaeridae). Ichthyological Research 45: 281-289.
