Cristina Cox Fernandes

Cristina Cox Fernandes is a Lecturer/Adjunct Research Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a B.S. from Universidade Gama Filho (1982), an M.Sc. from Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (1989), and a Ph.D. from Duke University (1995). Her research focuses on ecology and organismic/evolutionary biology, with an emphasis on fish morphology, sexual dimorphism in electric fishes, and biodiversity in Amazonian ecosystems.

Her work spans taxonomic descriptions of new species, morphological and osteological analyses, and studies on hormonal and behavioral adaptations in fish. Notable contributions include investigations into the biology of Apteronotidae and Hypopomidae families, particularly their electrocommunication systems and ecological adaptations.

Dr. Fernandes has been recognized with the SCIENTIST SPOTLIGHT award (2025). She contributes to the Natural History Collections and maintains an active research program in Amazonian fish ecology. Her recent studies highlight rapid morphological changes in cichlids due to habitat alterations and taxonomic revisions of electric knifefishes.