Florian successfully defended his PhD thesis in August 2024 and moved to the University of Oulu.

PhD thesis:

My main research interest is the morphological diversity of crustaceans, and how their diversity relates to ecological functions. I mainly perform quantitative comparisons, using geometric morphometrics methods and statistical approaches to investigate these questions. My PhD project focuses on investigating the evolutionary history of the megalopa phase in Meiura, as well as the changes in morphological diversity of the group throughout history. Meiura is a group that comprises the groups Brachyura and Anomala, i.e., true and “false“ crabs.

Master thesis on morphological diversity of large planktic crustacean larvae

Bachelor thesis on morphological diversity of mantis shrimp larvae

Research internship on diversity of planktotrophic planktic predators (together with Peter Schächinger) funded by Lehre@LMU (2000 €)

Publications:

Belojević, J., Mortier, M.S., Oberweiser, M.M., Braig, F., Haug, J.T. & Haug, C. 2024. The history of short-tailed whip scorpions: changes in body size and flagellum shape in Schizomida. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 143, 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-024-00321-w

Free access PDF Supplement 1 Supplement 2 Supplement 3

Braig, F., Haug, C. & Haug, J.T. 2024. Morphological diversity in true and false crabs reveals the plesiomorphy of the megalopa phase. Scientific Reports 14, 8682. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58780-7

Free access PDF

Braig, F., Torres, G., Giménez, L. & Haug, J.T. 2024. Outline analysis as a new method for investigating development in fossil crabs. Palaeontologia Electronica 27, a24. https://doi.org/10.26879/1207

Free access PDF Supplement

Haug, J.T., Baranov, V., Braig, F. & Haug, C. early view. Morpho-ecospaces, or how to measure biodiversity in a different way. Acta Zoologica. https://doi.org/10.1111/azo.12486

Free access PDF

Braig, F., Haug, C. & Haug, J.T. 2023. Diversification events of the shield morphology in shore crabs and their relatives through development and time. Palaeontologia Electronica 26(3), a53. Free access PDF Supplement

Braig, F., Haug, C. & Haug, J.T. 2023. Phenotypic variability in the shield morphology of wild- vs. lab-reared eumalacostracan larvae. Nauplius 31, e2023004. Free access PDF

Braig, F., Haug, J.T., Ahyong, S.T., Garassino, A., Schädel, M. & Haug, C. 2023. Another piece in the puzzle of mantis shrimp evolution – fossils from the Early Jurassic Osteno Lagerstätte of Northern Italy. Comptes Rendus Palevol 22(2), 17–31. Free access PDF

Braig, F., Popp, T., Zippel, A., Haug, G.T., Linhart, S., Müller, P., Weiterschan, T., Haug, J.T. & Haug, C. 2023. The diversity of larvae with multi-toothed stylets from about 100 million years ago illuminates the early diversification of antlion-like lacewings. Diversity 15, 1219. Free access PDF Supplement

Haug, C., Braig, F. & Haug, J.T. 2023. Quantitative analysis of lacewing larvae over more than 100 million years reveals a complex pattern of loss of morphological diversity. Scientific Reports 13, 6127. Free access PDF Supplement 1 Supplement 2 Supplement 3 Supplement 4 Supplement 5 Supplement 6 Supplement 7 Supplement 8 Supplement 9

Haug, C., Posada Zuluaga, V., Zippel, A., Braig, F., Müller, P., Gröhn, C., Weiterschan, T., Wunderlich, J., Haug, G.T. & Haug, J.T. 2022. The morphological diversity of antlion larvae and their closest relatives over 100 million years. Insects 13, 587. Free access PDF Supplement

Braig, F., Posada Zuluaga, V., Haug, C. & Haug, J. T. 2021. Diversity of hippoidean crabs-considering ontogeny, quantifiable morphology, and phenotypic plasticity. Nauplius 29, e2021027. Free access PDF

Haug, G. T., Haug, C., Pazinato, P. G., Braig, F., Perrichot, V., Gröhn, C., Müller, P. & Haug, J. T. 2020. The decline of silky lacewings and morphological diversity of long-nosed antlion larvae through time. Palaeontologia Electronica 23(2), a39. Free access PDF

Herrera-Flórez, A. F., Braig, F., Haug, C., Neumann, C., Wunderlich, J., Hörnig, M. K. & Haug, J. T. 2020. Identifying the oldest larva of a myrmeleontiformian lacewing – a morphometric approach. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 65, 235–250. Free access PDF Suppl.

Braig, F., Haug, J. T., Schädel, M. & Haug, C. 2019. A new thylacocephalan crustacean from the Upper Jurassic lithographic limestones of southern Germany and the diversity of Thylacocephala. Palaeodiversity 12, 69–87. Free access PDF

Haug, C., Wagner, P., Bjarsch, J. M., Braig, F. & Haug, J. T. 2018. A new “extreme” type of mantis shrimp larva. Nauplius 26, e2018019. Free access PDF

Conference contributions (examples):

Braig, F. & Haug, J. T. 2022. Investigating the true diversity of true crabs: the group Carcinidae as a rst example. 93rd Annual Meeting of Paläontologische Gesellschaft, Stuttgart (Germany), 19.09. - 23.9.2022 (Talk).

Braig, F., Petianov, K., Torres, G., Gimenez, L. & Haug, J. T. 2022. Phenotypic plasticity in body morphology during development in the European shore crab. 5. International Congress on Invertebrate Morphology, Vienna (Austria), 08.08. - 12.08.2022 (Talk).

Braig, F. & Haug, J. T. 2022. Diversity of shield morphologies in Carcinidae (Brachyura) - a geometric morphometrics approach. The Palaeontological Association 66th Annual Meeting, Cork (Ireland), 18.07. - 24.07.2022 (Talk).

Braig, F. & Haug, J. T. 2022. Changes in shield morphology of Carcinidae - a geometric morphometrics perspective on ontogeny and evolution. 8th Symposium on Fossil Decapod Crustaceans, Zaragozza (Spain), 20.07. - 24.07.2022 (Talk).

Braig, F. 2022. Veranderung der Schildmorphologie der Strandkrabben und ihrer Verwandten im Laufe von Ontogenese und Evolution - Einsichten aus der quantitativen Morphologie. 20. Crustaceologentagung, Kiel (Germany), 07.04. - 10.04.2022 (Talk).

Braig, F., Haug, J. T. & Haug, C. 2019. Jurassic Park - Marine predators of the Jurassic and the downfall of an era? 19. Crustaceologentagung, Munich (Germany), 28.03 - 31.03.2019 (Poster).

Braig, F., Wagner, P. & Haug, J. T. 2019. Quantifying morphological diversity in mantis shrimp larvae. 20. Meeting of the Gesellschaft fur Biologische Systematik, Munich (Germany), 24.02 - 27.02.2019 (Talk).

Wagner, P., Braig, F., Haug, J. T. & Haug, C. 2018. Approaching the true diversity of mantis shrimps beyond taxonomy: Morphological heterogeneity of larval forms. 9. International Crustacean Congress, Washington, D.C. (USA), 22.05. - 25.05.2018 (Talk).

Wagner, P., Braig, F., Haug, C. & Haug, J. T. 2017. Morphological diversity of mantis shrimps: Ontogeny in focus. 110. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft, Bielefeld, 12.09. - 15.09.2017 (Talk).

Braig, F., Wagner, P. F., Haug, C. & Haug, J. T. 2017. Morphologische Diversität in Greifarmen nicht-adulter Stomatopoden. 18. Crustaceologentagung, Berlin, 30.03. - 02.04.2017 (Poster).