ZD Parasites

Being called “worse than Epstein” because I support parasite conservation is a wild take that I was not expecting to receive this morning haha

Rhizanthes lowii "flower" photo by Ch'ien Lee, a terrible plant structure that looks like a free-range rectum, positively swarming with delighted flies

"flower" of Mitrastemon yamamoti from Suetsugu (2018), another stinky plant structure that attracts a VAST array of insects (including flies, beetles, cockroaches, orthopterans, etc) to come nibble its horrid pink flesh

reading up on holoparasitic plants, regretting it instantly

Kidney Trematodes from a White Pelican! #parasites #birds

New 'scimitar-crested' Spinosaurus species discovered in the central Sahara A paper published in Science describes the discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis, a new spinosaurid species found in Niger. A 20-person team led by Paul Sereno, Ph.D., Professor of Organismal Biology and...

phys.org/news/2026-02...

Jellyfish sleep like humans — even though they don’t have brains Studying ancient sea creatures’ snoozing habits could shed light on the origins of sleep.

Jellyfish & sea anemones lack brains & yet seem to sleep in ways similar to humans

New findings bolster a theory that sleep evolved before centralized nervous systems to repair DNA damage that builds up in individual nerve cells while animals are awake.

“Neurons are very precious”

The Coolest Fossils of 2025 YouTube video by SciShow

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVXW...

Seven environmental wins across the US in 2025 despite Trump-era reversals Environmental advocates notched key wins at local and state levels this year despite Trump rollbacks

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

No wildlife charity campaigns to save parasites. But they should We tend to think of parasites as harmful, itchy, nasty, creepy crawlies. But these strange, beautiful creatures have many uses – and they need our help

An older article, but just as relevant! www.theguardian.com/science/blog... #parasites #conservation #biology

Skeleton of the Miocene long-snouted toothed whale Xiphiacetus

#FossilFriday The Miocene long snouted toothed whale Xiphiacetus bossi at the National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Acquires Exceptionally Complete Skull of Iconic Dome-Headed Dinosaur

I hate dinosaur auctions and science losing fossils to private collectors. But sometimes they end up somewhere good! www.si.edu/newsdesk/rel...

Diagnostic dilemma: A woman got a rare parasitic lung infection after eating raw frogs In an unusual case, a woman developed a parasitic infection in her lungs, when more typically, the parasite stays just under the skin.

www.livescience.com/health/virus... #parasites #tapeworm

Fossilized melanosomes reveal colour patterning of a sauropod dinosaur Abstract. Integumentary fossils have improved understanding of dinosaur physiology, appearance and ecological niches. Fossil melanin and fossil melanosome

Fossilized melanosomes reveal colour patterning of a sauropod dinosaur url: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...

Ticks on an Eel: Museum Specimen is a First of its Kind Two ticks found on an 1873 electric eel specimen mark the first recorded case of ticks parasitizing a fish—but only documented just this year.

My mind can’t grasp how cool this is! #parasites #ticks #eels #fish entomologytoday.org/2025/12/03/t...

The Most Complete Guide To Mammals Ever Made! YouTube video by Clint's Reptiles

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J2K...

For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow and need a conversation starter, turkey parasites are always a hit topic. Talk about Gapeworms, and turkey feather lice with weird heads. Your family will love you. #parasites #turkey #birds #Thanksgiving #lice #worm

Donald Trump’s Second Term Will Be Bad News for Endangered Ocean and Coastal Animals • The Revelator The waters around the U.S. are home to threatened species who need conservation policies to save them from extinction. They won’t get that for the next four years.

ICYMI: By me in January

Donald Trump’s Second Term Will Be Bad News for Endangered Ocean and Coastal Animals

The waters around the United States are home to many threatened species who need science-based conservation policies to save them from extinction. therevelator.org/donald-trump...

Friendly reminder that there are about 86 billion nematodes for every person on earth. If you haven’t named yours yet, I’d start that soon.

Placozoans are weird.

The VelociPastor 2 | OFFICIAL TRAILER YouTube video by Velocipastor - the Movie

Hell yeah. www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6IM...

I don’t want to get too excited but if my calculations are correct, Clycustera tapeworms and Phagicola trematodes don’t really dig each other.

A spider with an orangish-gold cephalothorax and a pale colored abdomen with two large spines sticks out in opposite directions from the abdomen. The spider is sitting on a leaf.

How about some spiky spiders tonight? This one is Micrathena acuta, a spiny orbweaver found in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. It is believed that the spines serve as a defense from birds and even predatory wasps.
Cuyabeno Reserve, 2024

Tonight's movie!

It's October again! Time for my annual horror movie marathon. I'm going for a creature feature theme this year. The real challenge is, can I find 31 monster movies that I haven't seen?

Jane Goodall, famed primatologist and conservationist, dies at 91 Jane Goodall, the most prolific primatologist of a generation, has died. She was 91 years old.

Damn. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Observations of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) and a Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) consuming charred wood The consumption of materials which do not provide sustenance is relatively common in the animal world. Geophagy, the consumption of earth, is the most widespread; however, eating ash, charcoal, pla...

From the current WJO issue: Observations of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) and a Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) consuming charred wood. #ornithology

See Emile Hirsch in Horror-Comedy ‘Lice’ (Exclusive First Look) When a mysterious parasite starts infecting high school students, burnt out science teacher Mr. Shanker (Hirsch) takes matters into his own hands.

Mind controlling lice!! www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

ANACONDA – Official Trailer (HD) YouTube video by Sony Pictures Entertainment

Much like #JurassicWorldRebirth, perhaps an analysis of snake #parasites is needed when this move comes out. m.youtube.com/watch?v=az8M...

A 76 million year old dinosaur will sit atop a parking garage in downtown St. Pete's EDGE District Imagine stepping out of your car and finding yourself face-to-face with a creature that roamed the planet 76 million years ago. Tampa-based developer Ellison Development has unveiled plans for a h...

This is gross. It belongs in a museum! stpeterising.com/home/a-76-mi...

I wonder if ancient people were concerned that their kids were spending too much time with their eyes glued to petroglyphs.

New Published Research: Monitoring the Spread of an Invasive Snake Parasite Learn how an invasive snake lungworm is spreading across the Southeast and threatening native species like the Eastern Indigo Snake.

www.oriannesociety.org/science-of-s...