Michael K. Oliver, Ph.D.

Snow bunny!

That red fox was back tonight and again a security camera caught a few seconds of its antics in a far corner of the video, here cropped. It seems to be retrieving a squirrel it must have killed and stowed earlier.

Red fox troops through snow w/ an Eastern Gray Squirrel. Love its tapeta lucida in the IR. Not sure what’s going on at the extreme edge of the frame; stowing the squirrel for later? Squirrel wriggled loose and tries to escape? Zoomed in on one corner of backyard security camera, 4 am, Connecticut.

Gracefully curving, feathery frost crystals on outside surface of a window, seen against an out-of-focus snowy yard.

Frost figures outside my window.

Darwin’s original doodle of a tree of life

“Castle Rock,” the 2019-20 Netflix series, briefly shows a character’s handwritten notes including (for no reason discernible to me) a redrawn copy of Darwin’s famous tree of life doodle, complete with his “I think.” This is at 37:54 of S2 E9.

Re-description of Balitora yingjiangensis (Teleostei, Cypriniformes, Balitoridae) from the upper Irrawaddy River, south-western China The genus Balitora Grey, 1830 (Teleostei, Cypriniformes, Balitoridae) includes 20 species, with two known species distributed in the Salween River and one in the Irrawaddy River.A Balitora species fro...

“Measurements were made point-to-point with digital calipers and data were recorded to an accuracy of 0.01 mm.”

Oh really? 🤣

Source: bdj.pensoft.net/article/1539...

That’s a tiny adult longhorn beetle on my fingertip. 𝘏𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢. Hamden, Connecticut.

Scantily clad but not naked: an analysis of the Metriaclima vs. Maylandia (Teleostei: Cichlidae) debate | Zootaxa

New cichlid nomenclature paper by Chris Scharpf! One hopes it lays to rest this long-simmering issue. Paywalled but with free abstract.
doi.org/10.11646/zoo...

“But the pure egg-mimic hypothesis suffers from some points. For one, females have them too.”

That one doesn’t bother me. I’ve never heard anyone dismiss a role for human females’ nipples in nursing babies because men also have ‘em.

Although many beetles do need stones to hide under, preferably not rolling ones.

Part of the geometric design on a carpet, resembling a dorsal view of a Guinea pig head.

How is it that, after walking on my living room carpet daily for years, I only noticed the Guinea pig today?

Agree. I continue to use “given” (donated), not “gifted.”

The many cichlids of Lake Victoria, including this gorgeous 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘹, are among the taxa of Pseudocrenilabrini still not placed in a subtribe. The illustrated male specimen has a blue head and body, with sooty black areas on the head, chest, and belly. The dorsal, caudal, and anal fins, though, are orange, providing a dramatic contrast with rest of the fish. There is a faint orange flush over the upper parts of the head and body. The anal fin has two yellow eggspots. Photo by Michael K. Oliver.

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Finally, many "haplochromine" genera (tribe Pseudocrenilabrini) remain "incertae sedis"--of uncertain position--within this tribe, and so are not included in a subtribe. Besides "serranochromines" and riverine genera mentioned in #2, the many cichlids of Lake Victoria also need more study!

𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳, an example of a cichlid in the recently named 𝗖𝘆𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮, one of three new Lake Malawi-endemic subtribes in the tribe Pseudocrenilabrini (the "haplochromines"). This particular species occurs over sand beaches and was reported sixty years ago to be commonly seined. In the last thirty or more years, however, it has rarely if ever been caught. I collected this specimen in 1980. Photo by Michael K. Oliver. The subtribe Cyrtocarina consists of some 255 named species (and many more yet to be formally described), assigned to 35 genera: 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘶𝘴, 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘈𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢, 𝘉𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘢, 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘴, 𝘊𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘹, 𝘊𝘺𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢, 𝘋𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘴, 𝘌𝘹𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘍𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘏𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘏𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘢, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘓𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘔𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢, 𝘔𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘕𝘢𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘕𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘕𝘺𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘖𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘹, 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘴, 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘛𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘛𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴, and 𝘛𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴.

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𝗖𝘆𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮 is my third and final new Lake Malawi subtribe. It includes all remaining endemic "haplochromines" in the lake--some 35 genera and 255 named species. Once again, someone else had proposed the same subtribe name years earlier, but had failed to satisfy all Code requirements.

A male 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪, one of Lake Malawi's "mbuna," all of which I recently grouped under the new subtribe 𝗣𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗮. This particular mbuna species is found around the east shore of the Nankumba Peninsula. Males of 𝘛. 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪 (including the one in the photo) are dark blue with about 10 dark vertical bars, with the dorsal fin being white above, a black stripe below the white, and blue on the lower one-third of the fin. Pseudotropheina includes about 132 named species to date, in 14 genera: 𝘈𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰, 𝘊𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘢, 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘎𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘐𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘴, 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘴, 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘢, 𝘗𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘴, and 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘴.

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𝗣𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗮 is the second new subtribe of Lake Malawi "haplochromines" (tribe Pseudocrenilabrini). This group is familiar to aquarists and scientists as the "mbuna." Two previous attempts by others to give them the same name (as -ini or -ina) failed to meet requirements of the Code (ICZN).

A male 𝘙𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴 sp. 'longfin yellow,' trawled in the Southeast Arm of Lake Malawi in 1971. The golden yellow pigment covering the lower part of this otherwise plain silvery fish, from the tip of the lower jaw all the way to the end of the anal fin and even the lowest rays of the caudal fin, characterizes breeding males of this still-undescribed species. This is one of some 17 known species in the three genera of 𝗥𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮, a new subtribe of Pseudocrenilabrini that I recently established. Like nearly all species of Rhamphochromina, it is an open-water predator lacking any distinct dark pigmentation pattern and having widely spaced conical teeth in the outer row of upper and lower jaws. Photo by Michael K. Oliver.

6/9
Based on diagnostic morphological characters and other workers' molecular genetic characters, in my recent paper (doi.org/10.3897/BDJ....) I named three new subtribes endemic to Lake Malawi. The first is 𝗥𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮, with 𝘙𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘋𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘯, and 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴. More info in Alt.

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘪 sp. 'Moliro.' This cichlid has a dark brown head and tail, the body being orange with each scale outlined in dark brown. There is a red patch above the anal fin. There are red streaks between the dorsal spines and the pelvics are also red. The eye is outlined in blue; the lips and lower edge of the head are also blue. Photographed at the Karlsruhe Zoo by Thomas Zell (photo cropped by me). Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). Subtribe Tropheina includes the genera 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘴, 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘑𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘢, 𝘓𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘗𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘫𝘢, and 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, all endemic to Lake Tanganyika.

5/9
One Lake Tanganyika cichlid tribe, the Tropheini, clearly falls within the "Haplochromini" (correctly, Pseudocrenilabrini) according to many molecular phylogenetic studies. I therefore changed its status & reassigned it to that tribe, as the subtribe 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗮, with nine genera (see Alt text).

A male Egyptian Mouthbrooder (𝘗𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳), an example of a species in the subtribe Psuedocrenilabrina. Sharpened copy of a photo by Julian Matz on Wikimedia Creative Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0), released under the GNU Free Documentation License (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License).

4/9
One subgroup of the Pseudocrenilabrini tribe that IS apparently monophyletic, thus meriting formal subtribe status, is the 𝗣𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮. (Notice that tribe names end in -ini whereas subtribe names end in -ina.) This subtribe includes 𝘗𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴, 𝘓𝘶𝘧𝘶𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹, & more.

𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘴, a large "serranochromine" (informal group, probably not monophyletic). This large specimen is from Lake Malawi. However, this species is not endemic to the lake, occurring also in several southern African rivers. Photo by Michael K. Oliver.

3/9
"Serranochromines" are another informal subgroup of Pseudocrenilabrini that seems to be not monophyletic - so not a subtribe. It includes 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘢, 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, and 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴 and currently includes some 30 described species in the four genera. Most of these inhabit rivers.

2/9
The new subtribes of Pseudocrenilabrini are largely based on molecular phylogenetic work by others (credited in my paper). Not all "haplochromines" can be assigned to subtribes yet. Among these "incertae sedis" genera are 𝘖𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴, and the Lake Victoria flock (see last post).

Photo shows a plesiomorphic "haplochromine" cichlid, 𝘖𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, from Tanzania. This fish is rather elongate and appears about 4" (10 cm) long. It is being held by a hand against the front glass of a photographic cell. Cropped from a photo by Cethuyghe on Wikimedia Creative Commons with Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en).

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𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 "𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲" 𝗰𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗱𝘀
The largest tribe of African cichlids are the "Haplochromines." Alas, as I recently showed (doi.org/10.3897/BDJ....), "Haplochromini" is a junior synonym of the correct name, 𝗣𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗶. I made new subtribes within it too: - A 🧵

A blobfish wannabe.

Spindal?
Oh. Spindle.

In search of forgotten heroes | Alexander Chula | The Critic Magazine The grave was buried in dry silt and foliage, and it took an hour of hacking and digging in the stifling midday heat before steel chinked on stone.

Excellent review of anti-slavery efforts by a few 19th century British clerics in what is now Malawi. The lands around Lake Malawi were the chief areas raided for slaves from the East coast by Arabs and their African collaborators.

thecritic.co.uk/in-search-of...

A bright aquamarine blue fish with a red and yellow head. Photo by Fenton Walsh.

A bright aquamarine blue fish with a red and yellow head. Photo by Mark Rosenstein.

Ok I’m gonna need you all to repost today’s #EtymologyEpithet far and wide because this is one of my fav fishes I’ve ever described.

4/4:
This was a solo project (with radiographic images kindly provided by ten museums) that I've been working on for over ten years, and intensively for the last four. I also designate several new subtribes, 3 of them in Lake Malawi's flock. Sound intriguing? Have a look!
doi.org/10.3897/BDJ....

Cladogram showing current understanding of the phylogeny of all cichlid subfamilies, tribes, and subtribes. Compiled from many workers’ papers.

3/4:
I also explore the specific patterns with which the pterygiophores are situated between the neural or hemal spines of the vertebrae. I include the first cladogram to include all cichlid subfamilies, tribes, and subtribesAll raw data are provided in supporting information. …

2/4:
Using "xrays" (radiographs) of some 1,700 specimens of almost 400 species, I survey the numbers of vertebrae, dorsal-fin and anal-fin supports (pterygiophores), and supraneural bones (small bones in the midline between the top of the skull and the first dorsal spine). …

Skeleton of a cichlid, annotated to illustrate the structures and counts reported in my paper.

1/4:
My recent cichlid paper is open-access: doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.... It presents the first survey of variation in much of the cichlid skeleton behind the head. My data cover species in all but one of the 166 genera of African cichlids. …🧵