I am passionate about uncovering the evolutionary and biogeographic history of reptiles and amphibians across the vast region between the Balkans, Central Asia, and the Himalayas. My research combines fieldwork in remote and underexplored areas with molecular, morphological, taxonomic, and spatial analyses to understand species diversity, distributions, and diversification. I believe that biodiversity research must go beyond borders — geographic, scientific, and political. I also love photography, especially as a way to document nature, landscapes, and people.
Our new study published in ZooKeys describes Heremites afghanicus, a deeply divergent skink lineage from eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Combining mitochondrial and nuclear DNA with morphological evidence, we reveal an evolutionary lineage that diverged approximately 10 million years ago, highlighting the unique biogeographic history and overlooked reptile diversity of the Hindu Kush region.
