Dr Francesco Criscione

Dr Francesco Criscione developed an interest in marine sea life early in his Sicilian childhood, especially marine snails. These fascinating animals have been his main research focus throughout his university studies in Italy. He earned a PhD for a systematic study of the Mediterranean Rissoidea and continued working on this group of tiny gastropods in Sydney at the Australian Museum (AM), thanks to two consecutive Geddes visiting fellowships and a Malacological Society of Australasia grant. After a post-doc at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Paris), he returned to the AM in 2012 to work as a post-doctoral fellow on the systematics of the Australian land snail family Camaenidae in arid and semi-arid Australia.

Since that time, Francesco has received jointly a number of research grants from the Australian Government’s Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) and Bush Blitz. In 2017, he was awarded an ABRS Research Grant and investigated the systematics and evolution of deep-sea ‘turrid’ gastropods. Francesco was scientific crew member on board the RV Investigator during the two deep-sea voyages off SE Australia. He has performed curation work and produced scientific catalogues of the gastropod material collected during various deep-sea expeditions. He was also a Research Associate at the Australian Museum Research institute (AMRI) and continued to curate the AM deep-sea gastropod collection.

Francesco has been recently awarded a Bush Blitz Taxonomy Research grant for a project on the systematics of the deep-sea trochiform vetigastropods from the Australian Indian Ocean Territories (AIOT). This project and other projects on many other deep-sea invertebrates are the focus of his current position as AMRI’s Deep Sea Fauna Scientific Officer.

Francesco has described nearly 100 species and more than 20 genera of (mainly Australian) gastropods, contributing to the understanding of their evolution and conservation.

• Laurea in Scienze Biologiche (ind. Biologia Marina) [equiv. to BAdvSc(Hons) + MSc in Marine Biology) – Universita’ degli Studi di Catania (Italy)
• Dottorato in Biologia Evoluzionistica (PhD in Evolutionary Biology) - Università degli Studi di Catania/ Stazione Zoologica “A. Dohrn” (Italy)

• 2024-present: Scientific Officer (Australian Museum)
• 2020-2024: Research Associate (Australian Museum)
• 2012-2020: Scientific Officer (Australian Museum)
• 2011-2012: Cherchéur (Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris)

• 2024 – Bush Blitz Taxonomy research funding id. DNP-BCK-2324-030: The deep-sea trochiform vetigastropods of the Indian Ocean Territories (Principal Investigator).
• 2017 – ABRS Research Grant no. RF217-57: Into the abyss: systematics and evolution of temperate Australian deep-sea 'turrid' gastropods (Principal Investigator).
• 2017 – Bush Blitz Tactical Taxonomy Grant (ABRS): A systematic revision of the eastern Australian land snail Austrochloritis (Joint Investigator).
• 2013–Australian Biological Resources Study: Australia’s Desert Snails: Systematics and Evolution of the Camaenidae in arid Australia (Joint Investigator).
• 2011–Australian Biological Resources Study: Australia’s land snail hotspot: Evolution and Systematics of the Kimberley Camaenidae (Joint Investigator).
• 2010–Malacological Society of Australasia: Mollusc Research Grant (Principal Investigator).
• 2010–Australian Museum: Geddes Visiting Research Fellowship (Principal Investigator).
• 2009–Australian Museum: Visiting Collection Fellowship (Principal Investigator).