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Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar

Fellow, The Linnean Society

Fellow (National), The Explorer’s Club

National Geographic Certified Educator

Fulbright Distinguished Chair (Ottawa)

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists 

The Society for the Study of Evolution

Society of Systematic Biologists 

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National Association of Science Writers

Phylogenomic and Population Genomic Analyses of Ultraconserved Elements Reveal Deep Coalescence and Introgression Shaped Diversification Patterns in Lamprologine Cichlids of the Congo River

Metabarcoding the Arctic Ocean Helps Reveal Its Hidden Microbial Community Composition

What ‘unexplored’means: mapping regions with digitized natural history records to look for ‘biodiversity blindspots’

“The PO-Driven Model”: A Basic Science Pipeline for the Bioeconomy with Solutions Inspired by Convergent Evolution for Connecting Parallel Research Ideas

Complete mitochondrial genomes of riverine Lamprologus (Actinopterygii, Cichlidae) with an emphasis on the blind cichlid L. lethops

Explaining Life Through Evolution

Methods for Fish Biology, 2nd edition

A Guide to Academia: Getting into and Surviving Grad School, Postdocs, and a Research Job

Fish Systematics & Evolutionary Biogeography

[Content to be added]

Prosanta Chakrabarty PhD is the Edwin K. Hunter Chair for Communication in Science Research, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Curator of Fishes at the Museum of Natural Science at Louisiana State University. He began a term as Director of the LSU Museum of Natural Science in 2025. He is a systematist and an ichthyologist studying the evolution and biogeography of both freshwater and marine fishes. His work includes studies of Neotropical (Central and South America, Caribbean) and Indo-West Pacific (Indian and Western Pacific Ocean) fishes. His natural history collecting efforts include trips to Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Madagascar, Panama, Kuwait, and many other countries. He has described over a dozen new species including several new cavefishes. He is a TED Senior Fellow, an Elected Fellow of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), a National Fellow of the Explorers Club, a Fellow of the Linnean Society, a Fulbright Distinguished Chair and a National Geographic Certified Educator. He is the past Faculty Director of the LSU Center for Collaborative Knowledge, Past President of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and is currently on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Science Education and the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). In 2025 he was named a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar.

Evolution

Building Scientific Capacity/Inclusion

Taxonomy

Evolution/Phylogenetics

Curation/Collections

Ichthyology

English

LSU Faculty Profile 

Professional Website

Ichthyology Blog

Wikipedia Page

Google Scholar Citations

Devil ray season is back on the Gulf Coast. Here's what to know about these 'puppies of the sea.'

I discovered a cavefish that we named ‘big sickness’ – for good reason

Ask An Expert: An Evolution Education

The murky world of cavefish

A brief but spectacular take on how animals and continents are interconnected

Walking Fish & The Role of Natural History Museums in The Age of Genomics

Look Who’s Walking Too: Genomics and kinematics of balitorid loaches can inform our understanding of the vertebrate transition to land

Why Evolution Matters

Natural History in the 21st Century. Skype a Scientist

RAISE: A Phylogenomically-Based Bioinspired Robotic Model Approach to Addressing the Evolution of Terrestrial Locomotion

Imminent and Critical Integration and Renovations to Herps and Fishes at the LSU Museum of Natural Science

Collaborative Research: Not so Fast - Historical biogeography of freshwater fishes in Central America and the Greater Antilles

E.K. Hunter Chair & Professor | Biological Sciences Curator of Fishes | Director, Museum of Natural Science

Did humans evolve from monkeys or from fish? In this enlightening talk, ichthyologist and TED Fellow Prosanta Chakrabarty dispels some hardwired myths about evolution, encouraging us to remember that we're a small part of a complex, four-billion-year process -- and not the end of the line. "We're not the goal of evolution," Chakrabarty says. "Think of us all as young leaves on this ancient and gigantic tree of life -- connected by invisible branches not just to each other, but to our extinct relatives and our evolutionary ancestors."

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Four billion years of evolution in six minutes | Prosanta Chakrabarty

What if two different fish species, living thousands of miles apart from each other, hold the key to Earth’s history? In this TEDx talk, evolutionary biologist and ichthyologist Prosanta Chakrabarty demonstrates the vitality of studies in nature, using 21st century tools to trace Earth’s distant history, explain why it is the way it is today -- and theorize its potential futures.

One fish, two fish, red fish, bioluminescent, and blind fish? PROSANTA CHAKRABARTY, an Associate Professor and Curator of Fishes at LSU, has travelled to over 20 countries in his quest to better understand and chronicle the plethora of fish species that call Earth home. Prosanta’s research in his lab focuses on discovering the relationships between fishes and their habitats to better understand how they evolved. His passion outside the lab focuses on showing students of all ages and backgrounds that exploring the natural world can provide insight and meaning across the blue planet. You can follow him on Twitter @LSU_FISH.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

The immortal naturalist: collecting the world | Prosanta Chakrabarty | TEDxLSU

Ichthyologist Prosanta Chakrabarty makes the case that the oceans aren’t as vast as we think. At the Museum's Ocean Luminaries event held on March 2, 2018, he discussed the threat of pollution and how museum collections hold promise for the future of the world’s oceans. Chakrabarty is an associate professor and Curator of Ichthyology at Louisiana State University where he investigates the relationships of fishes to better understand evolutionary and geological processes.

#oceans #pollution #exploration #conservation #ichthyology #gulfofmexico #ichthyology

This program is made possible by OceanX, an initiative of the Dalio Foundation, as part of its generous support of the special exhibition Unseen Oceans and its related educational activities and public programs.

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The Big Ocean Myth with Prosanta Chakrabarty

Prosanta Chakrabarty, author of the popular book, Explaining Life Through Evolution, and the TED Talk “Four billion years of evolution in six minutes,” discusses common evolution misconceptions — such as the ever-sticky “if we’re evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys” — with NCSE Executive Director Amanda L. Townley. Chakrabarty is the George H. Lowery Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Curator of Fishes at the Museum of Natural Science at Louisiana State University. He is a TED Senior Fellow, an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fulbright Distinguished Chair, a National Geographic Certified Educator, and a member of the NCSE board.

Random Samples with Prosanta Chakrabarty

Although Prosanta Chakrabarty grew up in Queens, he always loved nature. The wonder of the world's creatures inspired him to study biology, a field that illuminates which of Earth’s beings are related to one another -- and how an event in a single location of this interconnected planet can cause global repercussions. Chakrabarty offers his brief but spectacular take on life on Earth.

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What ‘unexplored’ means: Mapping regions with digitized natural history records to look for ‘biodiversity blindspots’

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What ‘unexplored’ means: Mapping regions with digitized natural history records

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