Kirsten Jensen
Professor, Associate Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Senior Curator
jensen@ku.edu
Primary office:
785-864-5826
Haworth Hall
Dr. Jensen is a parasitologist specializing on coevolution and the systematics, diversity, and biogeography of the tapeworms that parasitize elasmobranchs.
Current Research Projects:
- A survey of sharks and rays of Borneo and their metazoan parasites (see project website).
- Towards the elucidation of life-cycles of tapeworms of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) in the Gulf of Mexico (see project website).
- A survey of the elasmobranchs and their metazoan parasites of Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan).
- Taxonomy and diversity of lecanicephalidean cestodes from around the world.
For additional information on tapeworms of sharks and rays see www.tapeworms.org
Selected Publications
- Eudy, E., Caira, J. N., and Jensen, K. 2019. A new species of Pentaloculum (Cestoda: “Tetraphyllidea”) from the Taiwan saddled carpetshark, Cirrhoscyllium formosanum (Orectolobiformes: Parascylliidae). Journal of Parasitology 105(2): 303–312. https://doi.org/10.1645/18-132 doi:10.1645/18-132
- Fernando, D., Bown, R. M. K., Tanna, A., Gobiraj, R., Ralicki, H., Jockusch, E. L., Ebert, D. A., Jensen, K., and Caira, J. N. 2019. New insights into the identities of the elasmobranch fauna of Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 4585(2), 201–238. https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4585.2.1 doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4585.2.1
- Herzog, K. S. and Jensen, K. 2018. Five new species of the tapeworm genus Anthocephalum (Rhinebothriidea: Anthocephaliidae) parasitizing a single species of Indo-Pacific stingray, and a revised diagnosis of the genus. Journal of Parasitology. doi: 10.1645/18-53.
- Caira, J. N., Jensen, K. and Fyler, C. A. 2018. A new genus of tapeworm (Cestoda: Onchoproteocephalidea) from sawfish (Elasmobranchii: Pristidae). Journal of Parasitology 104: 133–144.
- Herzog, K. S., and Jensen, K. 2017. A new genus with two new species of lecanicephalidean tapeworms (Cestoda) from the mangrove whipray, Urogymnus granulatus (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae), from the Solomon Islands and northern Australia. Folia Parasitologica 64(004): 12. doi:10.14411/fp.2017.004
- Caira, J. N., Jensen, K., and Ruhnke, T. R. 2017. "Tetraphyllidea" van Beneden, 1849 relics. In J. N. Caira and K. Jensen (eds.). Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. (pp. 371–400). Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25. ISBN: 0-89338-002-4
- Caira, J. N., Jensen, K., Georgiev, B. B., Kuchta, R., Littlewood, D. T. J., Mariaux, J., Scholz, T., Tkach, V. V., & Waeschenbach, A. 2017. An overview of the tapeworms of vertebrate bowels of the earth. In J. N. Caira and K. Jensen (eds.). Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. (pp. 1–20). Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25. ISBN: 0-89338-002-4
- Caira, J. N., Bueno, V. M., and Jensen, K. 2017. Cathetocephalidea Schmidt & Beveridge, 1990. In J. N. Caira and K. Jensen (eds.). Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. (pp. 65–76). Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25. ISBN: 0-89338-002-4
- Caira, J. N., Ivanov, V. A., Jensen, K., and Marques, F. P. L. 2017. Diphyllidea van Beneden in Carus, 1863. In J. N. Caira and K. Jensen (eds.), Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. (pp. 149–166). Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25. ISBN: 0-89338-002-4
- Jensen, K., Cielocha, J. J., Herzog, K. S., and Caira, J. N. 2017. Lecanicephalidea Hyman, 1951. In J. N. Caira and K. Jensen (eds.), Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. (pp. 207–229). Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25. ISBN: 0-89338-002-4
- Caira, J. N., Gallagher, K., and Jensen, K. 2017. Litobothriidea Dailey, 1969. In J. N. Caira and K. Jensen (eds.). Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. (pp. 231–241). Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25. ISBN: 0-89338-002-4
- Caira, J. N., Jensen, K., and Ivanov, V. A. 2017. Onchoproteocephalidea II Caira, Jensen, Waeschenbach, Olson & Littlewood, 2014. In J. N. Caira & K. Jensen (eds.). Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. (pp. 279–304). Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25. ISBN: 0-89338-002-4
- Caira, J. N., Healy, C. J., Marques, F. P. L., and Jensen, K. 2017. Three new genera of rhinebothriidean cestodes from stingrays in Southeast Asia. Folia Parasitologica 64(008): 18. doi:10.14411/fp.2017.008
- Caira, J. N. and Jensen, K. (eds.). 2017. Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. University of Kansas, Natural History Museum, Special Publication No. 25, Lawrence, KS, 463 pp.
- Jensen, K., Caira, J. N., Cielocha, J. J., Littlewood, D. Timothy J., and Waeschenbach, A. 2016. When proglottids and scoleces conflict: phylogenetic relationships and family-level classification of the Lecanicephalidea. International Journal for Parasitology 46(5–6): 291–310.
- Caira, J. N. and K. Jensen. 2016. Helminth biodiversity research transformed by a century of evolutionary thought. In: Janovy, J. J., and Esch, G. W. (eds.). A Century of Parasitology, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, pp. 21–39.
- Caira, J. N. and K. Jensen. 2016. Helminth biodiversity research transformed by a century of evolutionary thought. In: Janovy, J. J., and Esch, G. W. (eds.). A Century of Parasitology, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, pp. 21–39.
- Caira, J. N., and Jensen, K. (2015). Insights on the identities of sharks of the Rhizoprionodon acutus (Elasmobranchii: Carcharhiniformes) species complex based on three new species of Phoreiobothrium (Cestoda: Onchoproteocephalidea). Zootaxa, 4059(2), 335–350. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26701566 doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4059.2.5
- Caira, J. N., and Jensen, K. (2014). A digest of elasmobranch tapeworms. Journal of Parasitology, 100(4), 373-391. ISSN: 0022-3395
- Jensen, K., Mojica, K. R., and Caira, J. N. (2014). A new genus and two new species of lecanicephalidean tapeworms from the striped panray, Zanobatus schoenleinii (Rhinopristiformes: Zanobatidae), off Senegal. Folia Parasitologica, 61(5), 432-440. ISSN: 0015-5683
- Caira, J. N., Jensen, K., Waeschenbach, A., and Littlewood, D. T. J. (2014). An enigmatic new tapeworm (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda) from thresher sharks. Invertebrate Systematics, 28(3), 231–243
- Cielocha, J. J., Jensen, K., and Caira, J. N. (2014). Floriparicapitus, a new genus of lecanicephalidean tapeworm (Cestoda) from sawfishes (Pristidae) and guitarfishes (Rhinobatidae) in the Indo-West Pacific. Journal of Parasitology, 100(4), 485-499. ISSN: 0022-3395
- Biserova, N. M., Kutyrev, I. A., and Jensen, K. (2014). GABA in the nervous system of the cestodes Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Diphyllobothriidea) and Caryophyllaeus laticeps (Caryophyllidea), with comparative analysis of muscle innervation. Journal of Parasitology, 100(4), 411-421. ISSN: 0022-3395
- Caira, J. N., Jensen, K., Waeschenbach, A., Olson, P.D., and Littlewood, D. T. J. (2014). Orders out of chaos - molecular phylogenetics reveals the complexity of shark and stingray tapeworm relationships. International Journal for Parasitology, 44(1), 55-73. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020751913002725 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2013.10.004 ISSN: 0020-7519
- Jensen, K., and Russell, S. L. (2014). Seussapex, a new genus of lecanicephalidean tapeworm (Platyhelminthes: Cestoda) from the stingray genus Himantura (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae) in the Indo-West Pacific with investigation of mode of attachment. Folia Parasitologica, 61, 231-241.
- Mojica, K. R., Jensen, K., and Caira, J. N. (2014). The ocellated eagle ray, Aetobatus ocellatus (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae), from Borneo and northern Australia as host of four new species of Hornellobothrium (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea). Journal of Parasitology, 100(4), 504-515. ISSN: 0022-3395
- Cielocha, J. J., and K. Jensen. 2013. Stoibocephalum n. gen. (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) from the sharkray, Rhina ancylostoma Bloch & Schneider (Elasmobranchii: Rhinopristiformes), from northern Australia. Zootaxa 3626(4): 558–568.
- Mojica, K. R., K. Jensen, and J. N. Caira. 2013. Revision of Anteropora (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidean) and description of five new species from stingrays (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) in Borneo. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61(2): 491–506.
- Caira, J. N., F. P. L. Marques, K. Jensen, R. Kuchta, and V. Ivanov. 2013. Phylogenetic analysis and reconfiguration of genera in the cestode order Diphyllidea. International Journal for Parasitology 43(8): 621–639.
- Cielocha, J. J., A. Yoneva, M. E. Cantino, S. Daniels, and K. Jensen. 2013. Ultrastructure of the sperm of Adelobothrium sp. (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea). Invertebrate Biology 132(4): 315-325.
- Caira, J. N., K. Jensen, A. Waeschenbach, P. D. Olson, and D. T. J. Littlewood. 2014. Orders out of chaos – molecular phylogenetics reveals the complexity of shark and stingray tapeworm relationships. International Journal for Parasitology 44(1): 55–73.
- 2012. "Three new genera and six new species of lecanicephalideans (Cestoda) from eagle rays of the genus Aetomylaeus (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae) from northern Australia and Borneo" Journal of Parasitology. 98(1). 175-198. .
- 2012. "The parasite-host interface in the zonetail butterfly ray Gymnura zonura, infected with Hexacanalis folifer (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea)" Journal of Fish Diseases. .
- 2012. "Elasmobranch phylogeny: A mitochondrial estimate based on 595 species" Biology of Sharks and Rays and Their Relatives. edited by . , , and 31-56. .
- 2012. "An updated look at elasmobranchs as hosts of metazoan parasites" Biology of Sharks and Rays and Their Relatives. edited by . , , and 547-578. .
- 2012. "A DNA sequence based approached to the identification of shark and ray species and its implications for global elasmobranch diversity and parasitology" Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 367. 1-262. .
- 2012. "Stoibocephalum n. gen. (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) from the sharkray, Rhina ancylostoma Bloch & Schneider (Elasmobranchii: Rhinopristiformes), from northern Australia" Zootaxa. 3626(4). 558-568. .
- 2012. "Ahamulina n. gen. (Cestoda: Diphyllidea) from the Polkadot catshark, Scyliorhinus besnardi (Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae), in Brazil" Zootaxa. 3352. 51-59. .
- 2011. "A revision of Hexacanalis (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) and description of Hexacanalis folifer n. sp. from the zonetail butterfly ray, Gymnura zonura (Bleeker) (Rajiformes: Gymnuridae)" Systematic Parasitology. 79. 1-16. .
- 2011. "A new genus and two new species of Anteroporidae (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) from the darkspotted numbfish, Narcine maculata (Torpediniformes: Narcinidae), off Malaysian Borneo" Folia Parasitologica. 58(2). 95-107. .
- 2010. "Sharks and Rays of Borneo" 304.
- 2010. "Evolution of the trypanorhynch tapeworms: Parasite phylogeny supports independent lineages of sharks and rays" International Journal for Parasitology. 40(2). 223-242. .
- 2010. "Clarification of Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) as a valid species, and a comparison with Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasen, 1790) (Rajiformes: Myliobatidae)" Descriptions of Sharks and Rays of Borneo. edited by . , , and 141-164. .
- 2010. "Characterization of a diversity of tetraphyllidean and rhinebothriidean cestode larval types, with comments on host associations and life-cycles" International Journal for Parasitology. 40(8). 889-910. .