Professor David Rowell

His research has focused on the evolution of terrestrial invertebrates.

Professor Rowell is interested in the mechanisms by which new species evolve, and how their evolutionary patterns are reflected in their present day distributions.

He has studied many different invertebrate species, but primarily spiders (especially huntsman and funnel web spiders), and a fascinating and unique group of ancient invertebrates known as velvet worms, or “peripatus”.