De Queiroz’s research has focused primarily on the phylogeny and evolutionary biology of
squamatereptiles, including his Master’s research on the phylogeny of
iguaninelizards[4] and his Ph.D. research on the phylogeny of
phrynosomatine sand lizards.[5] He worked with his mentors Richard Estes and Richard Etheridge on the phylogeny of
Squamata[6] and
Iguanidae,[7] respectively, and with
Jacques Gauthier on the phylogeny of
Lepidosauromorpha.[8] He conducted research, including several publications with Jonathan Losos, on the phylogeny and adaptive radiation of Anolis lizards.[9]
Theoretical research
De Queiroz also has interests in theoretical and conceptual topics in systematic and evolutionary biology. He published an article early in his career on the relationship between the sequence of
ontogenetic transformations and phylogenetic inference.[10] Beginning in 1998, he published a series of articles proposing how to achieve a unified species concept and outlining several of its consequences.[11][12][13][14][15] In collaboration with
Jacques Gauthier and Philip Cantino, de Queiroz has published another series of articles proposing and defending an approach to biological nomenclature based on definitions that specify the meanings of taxon names in terms of
clades and
common ancestry as an alternative to traditional approaches that are based on
taxonomic ranks.[16][17][18][19] He is coauthor of a draft
Phylogenetic Code of Biological Nomenclature (aka the PhyloCode) with Cantino.[20]
De Queiroz has published several articles on the history and philosophy of biology, related primarily, but not exclusively, to his own theoretical and conceptual contributions. He published a paper early in his career proposing that the
Darwinian Revolution in systematic biology was not a sudden event but rather an extended process that is not yet completed.[21] He has examined
Charles Darwin’s writings on species and argued that his own ideas about how to achieve a unified species concept represent the ongoing development of the evolutionary view of species articulated by Darwin.[22] He has examined the
class versus
individual interpretations of species and clades in light of his work on phylogenetic definitions of
taxon names, proposing that contrary to how those interpretations are commonly presented, they are not mutually exclusive, which suggests that the same is true of
ostensive and
intensional definitions.[23] He has argued that the philosopher
Karl Popper’s concept of degree of
corroboration is analogous to the
likelihood ratio of nested hypotheses and that in phylogenetics the
probability of the evidence given the background knowledge in the absence of the hypothesis of interest (a critical component of Popper’s "Degree of Corroboration") is represented by the likelihood of a
star tree.[24][25]
^Laurin, Michel; Cantino, Philip D. (1 September 2004). "First International Phylogenetic Nomenclature Meeting: a report". Zoologica Scripta. 33 (5): 475–479.
doi:
10.1111/j.0300-3256.2004.00176.x.
S2CID86552807.
^De Queiroz, Kevin (1 January 1985). "The Ontogenetic Method for Determining Character Polarity and its Relevance to Phylogenetic Systematics". Systematic Zoology. 34 (3): 280–299.
doi:
10.2307/2413148.
JSTOR2413148.
^Queiroz, Kevin de; Gauthier, Jacques (1 December 1990). "Phylogeny as a Central Principle in Taxonomy: Phylogenetic Definitions of Taxon Names". Syst Biol. 39 (4): 307–322.
doi:
10.2307/2992353.
JSTOR2992353 – via sysbio.oxfordjournals.org.
^Queiroz, Kevin de; Gauthier, Jacques (1 January 1992). "Phylogenetic Taxonomy". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 23 (1): 449–480.
doi:
10.1146/annurev.es.23.110192.002313.
^Nomenclature., Intl Commission on Zoological (1 January 1943).
"The Bulletin of zoological nomenclature". v.58:pt.1-4 (2001:Mar.-Dec.). International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. {{
cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (
help)
^Queiroz, Philip D. Cantino, Kevin de.
"The PhyloCode".{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^de Queiroz, K (1992). "Phylogenetic definitions and taxonomic philosophy". Biology and Philosophy. 7 (3): 295–313.
doi:
10.1007/BF00129972.
S2CID36728162.
^Queiroz, Kevin de (1 September 2004). "The measurement of test severity, significance tests for resolution, and a unified philosophy of phylogenetic inference". Zoologica Scripta. 33 (5): 463–473.
doi:
10.1111/j.0300-3256.2004.00160.x.
S2CID85933642.