Related Links

Beaked Whale Identification Guide
Smithsonian Scientific Diving Program

Education

M.S. Conservation Biology & Sustainable Development, University of Maryland
B.S. Biology, Wake Forest University

Staff Responsibilites

For the past 10 years I have been fortunate to have worked in several areas of the museum including the Division of Mammals, the Marine Mammal Program, the Department of Invertebrate Zoology, and most recently, the Division of Fishes. Though my primary background is in mammals, I have general interest in many areas of natural history whether it be Antarctic polychaetes or Frogfish.

Photo by Carl Hansen
Underwater in Key Largo, Florida

My primary responsibilities relate to the organization of specimens in the fish collection and the enhancement of our collection database. I serve as the Department of Vertebrate Zoology web coordinator and Division of Fishes webmaster. My goal in this capacity is to improve the quality and quantity of publicly accessible specimen data, as well as present the importance of museum collections to many areas of science including taxonomy, anatomy, ecology, and conservation. Dee Allen (Marine Mammal Program) and I recently developed a website devoted to the biology of beaked whales. This website is aides wildlife managers and scientists in determining species identifications of stranded animals.

Selected Publications

"Melursus ursinus." Mammalian Species. Diane E. Pitassy. In press.

“Beaked Whale Identification Guide.” Diane Pitassy, Dee Allen, & James Mead. 2007. Educational web reference.

"The difficulties of identifying flying squirrels (Sciuridae: Pteromyini) in the fossil record.” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Richard W. Thorington, Jr, Chad E. Schennum, Lindsay A. Pappas, & Diane Pitassy. 2005, 25(4): 950–961

"Phylogenies of flying squirrels." Journal of Mammalian Evolution . Richard W. Thorington, Jr., Diane E. Pitassy, & Sharon A. Jansa , 2002, 9(1/2): 99-135