Introducing John M. Leavengood, Jr.: new ZooKeys subject editor with a focus on Cleridae

Entomologist John M. Leavengood, Jr. joins ZooKeys as a subject editor with expertise on checkered beetles (Cleridae). As the subject of his master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation, he has studied the taxon since 2003. His other taxonomic groups of interest include Cerambycidae and Coreidae.

John has been an ad-hoc reviewer for ZooKeys since 2019, first published in the journal in 2022 (on Reduviidae), and now finally joins as a subject editor.

Now residing in Tampa, Florida, John was born in 1981 in New York City, raised in New Jersey, and later attended graduate school and worked in Kentucky and Texas. When he’s not working on taxonomic projects, he enjoys weightlifting, his love of cinema, and general geek culture.