Tan Zhi Wan

PhD Student
Main supervisor: Associate Professor Darren CJ Yeo
Co-supervisor: Dr. Jose Christopher Mendoza
Email: tzw@u.nus.edu
BES (Hons) National University of Singapore

Background and current projects

I graduated with a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies from NUS. During my undergraduate years, I completed an UROPS under FIB Lab, studying the habitat associations and functional response changes of freshwater Macrobrachium species in Singapore. For my honours project, also under FIB, I worked on the taxonomy and systematics of Thai freshwater crabs, from the family Potamidae. The project used morphological traits to revise the taxonomy of Thai potamids, revealing 22 new species, three new genera and provides an updated distribution pattern to the Thai potamid crabs.

Currently, I am currently pursuing my PhD degree at FIB lab (with affiliation with the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum). As an extension from my honours project, the scope and area of coverage has expanded to cover the entire Indochina region, where freshwater crabs are particularly diverse. The current level of understanding with regards to the taxonomy and systematics however, is still comparatively depauperate. Much of the region is still poorly surveyed and in the discovery phase. As such, the project aims to revise the taxonomy of Indochinese freshwater crabs using integrative approaches, to better understand the intergeneric relationships and at the same time, uncover new species.

Research Interests

• Taxonomy and Systematics
• Freshwater Decapod Crustaceans
• Freshwater Ichthyofauna