Nihan D. Dağtaş

Mummified Cheetahs Discovered in Caves Could Help Saudi Arabia Bring the Wild Cat Back to Its Historical Range Researchers thought that just one subspecies of cheetah lived in Saudi Arabia long ago. But an unexpected discovery seems to broaden the gene pool

💛Mummified Cheetahs Discovered in Caves Could Help Saudi Arabia Bring the Wild Cat Back to Its Historical Range
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/m...

New paper out! 🐦📊

We realease AVONICHE, a global dataset with detailed information on the proportional use of 32 foraging niches, combining dietary categories with the behaviours and substrates used to access resources.

Openly access the paper and data in GEB: doi.org/10.1111/geb....

Hope the conservation efforts for 'little dodo' will get as much funding (if not more) as the claimed 'de-extinction' projects. SCS needs support to expand the invasive species' control to more forests and save the last remaining manumeas from extinction

Photo montage of Tinamus resonans sp. nov., a new species of tinamou from the montane forests of the Serra do Divisor, western Amazonia, Brazil. The species is distinguished by a unique combination of plumage pattern, vocal repertoire, and ecological characteristics, including a conspicuous dark slate facial mask, vivid rufous-cinnamon underparts, and a uniform brownish-gray back. Its vocalizations are remarkable, consisting of long and powerful songs that echo strikingly across the steep montane slopes, producing a characteristic resonant effect. The species was documented exclusively at higher elevations within a transitional zone between submontane and stunted forests, where the understory is densely structured by root mats. A preliminary population estimate, based on field detections and spatial extrapolation, suggests approximately 2,106 individuals restricted to the Serra do Divisor massif. Although no immediate anthropogenic pressures were observed within its range, the species may be highly vulnerable to climate change and to proposed infrastructure projects that threaten the integrity of this federally protected region. The discovery of T. resonans highlights the biological uniqueness of the Serra do Divisor, reinforces its status as a center of montane endemism, and underscores the critical importance of maintaining its long-term conservation.

Huge News from the Western Amazon: it's the year 2025 and we are still describing entirely new, strikingly-distinctive large-bodied bird species! Behold Tinamus resonans sp. nov. the Slaty-masked Tinamou mapress.com/zt/article/v... #Ornithology @tetzoo.bsky.social 🪶

Two taxidermy birds in a storage cage. On the left is a bird is bright hot orange, whereas the one on the right has faded to a muted baby pink

Here's a lesson in light-damage in #museums. #Taxidermy exposed to the light fades over time, ultimately creating specimens that no longer resemble the species they are supposed to represent. These two South American cock-of-the-rocks at Birmingham Museums are a clear "before & after".

📢📷 🪿New #PaperAlert in @pnas.org :
Earliest figurine depicting a human-animal interaction

A 12,000-year-old baked clay and ochre-colored figurine of a woman and a goose discovered in Late Natufian Nahal Ein Gev II (Upper Jordan Valley)

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Historical genomics of the declining red squirrel in Britain | Aries Dr Anders Bergström, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia Professor Cock van Oosterhout, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Dr Selina Brace…

A PhD project on historical genomics in the declining red squirrel in Britain is available in my group, through the @aries-dtp.bsky.social. Use historical genomes to track the effects of decline and genetic rescue in this charismatic species. aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...

Hybrids Along a Natural‐Anthropogenic Gradient: Improving Policy and Management Across All Levels of Biodiversity Hybridization has long been a central topic in evolution and conservation. Recent developments in genomics have increased the ability to detect hybridization, defined here as breeding between species....

We have another publication out! 🎉🎉🎉
“Hybrids along a natural–anthropogenic gradient: improving policy and management across all levels of biodiversity.”
We explore how to deal with hybrids in conservation — scientifically and practically. A thread 🧵
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Dark PR attacks on critics of 10-billion-dollar biotech Goliath Debunkers of de-extinction disinformation hit by vicious campaign of intimidation. Report: Jonathan Matthews

www.gmwatch.org/en/106-news/...

Congrats to Arianna and co. for a fab paper! Posth lab animal aDNA crew going strong 😋 Some nice damage correction software for non-UDG treated samples is also presented here- which I have had the pleasure of using in my thesis 🤩🧬🐎

Ancient DNA from horses slaughtered by Neanderthals sheds light on equine evolution 200,000-year-old genes are oldest ever recovered from open-air site

In a hunt more than 200,000 years ago, Neanderthals wielding wooden spears slaughtered horses on the shores of an ancient lake. Geneticists @unituebingen.bsky.social just sequenced DNA from the now-extinct equid species. It's the oldest yet recovered from an open-air site. @science.org

Glad to be working with you! 👩‍🔬🧬

Red-backed Fairywrens

My Husband is Hot! – How having an attractive mate can provide tangible benefits to birds

Summary & Analysis by Kaleigh Remick of “Females with Attractive Mates Gain Environmental Benefits That Increase Lifetime and Multigenerational Fitness” by Barron et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...

These are some of the quotes from the media surrounding Colossal’s recent moa de-extinction announcement. New Zealand conservationists would rather save existing species from extinction than bring back those that are now gone 1/3.

🧪🦣🏺 Who wants to hear a story about biotech billions, unscientific claims, and shoddy smear tactics attacking women in science*?

Thread 🧵

*which, for legal clarity, are totally denied as being connected

Critics of de-extinction research hit by mystery smear campaign Several researchers who have been critical of Colossal Biosciences’ plans to revive extinct animals say they have been targeted by online articles trying to discredit them

Academics who have questioned the validity of efforts to “de-extinct” animals like the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf have complained of an apparent campaign to discredit them.

Digital illustration of a red and blue macaw parrot flying from right to left. Overlaid is drawing of what the parrot looks like without feathers: a chubby pink creature with small limbs and a very large head.

Birds are such a strange kind of dinosaur, we would be astonished by them if they weren't around us all the time.

Goblin-like puppeteers behind a screen of feathers, as described by Gary W. Kaiser in his book The Inner Bird.

Moa "de-extinction" plans announced - Expert Reaction An overseas company has announced plans to "bring back" the South Island giant moa. Colossal Biosciences, working with Ngāi Tahu Research Centre and Canterbury Museum, says it expects to "resurrect" t...

I have serious concerns about Colossal Biosciences, Canterbury Museum & Ngāi Tahu Research Centre pursuing moa de-extinction, incl whether informed widespread engagement w/ Ngāi Tahu rūnanga & South Island iwi was done (many are against de-extinction) www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/07/09/m... 1/3

A milestone: #kakapo mating calls have been heard on the North Island of NZ for the first time in over a century. At least 2 of the 3 #kakapo males at the fenced sanctuary of Maungatautari have "boomed" this summer. #conservation www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-r... Video: www.scienceagency.co.nz

Question for 🧬ancient biomolecules🧬people:
have you ever RNase treated your aDNA extracts? I know RNA concentration in extracts are relatively low, but I still need to figure out how to get rid of them.
Thanks for any advice in advance! #aDNA #ancientDNA #wetlab #aRNA #sedaDNA #AncientGenomics

Question for 🧬ancient biomolecules🧬people:
have you ever RNase treated your aDNA extracts? I know RNA concentration in extracts are relatively low, but I still need to figure out how to get rid of them.
Thanks for any advice in advance! #aDNA #ancientDNA #wetlab #aRNA #sedaDNA #AncientGenomics

A North Island kaka sitting on a branch. Copyright photo by Oscar Thomas

Need a little fun as we near Christmas? Here's something for you! We had a heap of fun writing about place names and kākā - cheeky #NZ parrots - and it's out. The work evolved over 2 summers, led by (then) undergraduate student Fin Johnson (on the right). 1/n

(Kaka photo copyright Oscar Thomas).

Apply for this funded PhD with me, Selina Brace and Silvia Bello at UCL & the Natural History Museum:

Human or Animal? Biomolecular Analysis of Upper Palaeolithic Bone Artefacts to Explore Raw Material Selection.
#ZooMs #ancientDNA #stableisotopes

www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/hum...

Filtering out the noise: metagenomic classifiers optimize ancient DNA mapping Abstract. Contamination with exogenous DNA presents a significant challenge in ancient DNA (aDNA) studies of single organisms. Failure to address contamina

Congratulations @shyama-mama.bsky.social on a great piece of work! academic.oup.com/bib/article/...

Hailing from the Americas, silky anteater is yet another one in the Pygmies List ❤️ the night & hanging out up in🌳where it escapes from vicious🦅 Not only 🐜 but sleepy wasps too fall victim to these hungry furballs. In 2017, people realized it’s not 1 but actually ~7 species😮 Pop trend unknown 📸D.Gunn

Fungal adaptation | Grant Funding | Wellcome This award will fund research on the mechanisms and triggers for fungal adaptation. Find out eligibility, what's in scope and how to apply.

Are you looking for fungi funding? 🍄

We’re offering up to £3 million per award to research how fungi adapt to their environment.

Understanding this could have powerful benefits for human life and health.

Apply by 28 January ⤵️
wellcome.org/grant-fundin...

Of all the concepts that humankind needs to absorb + act on with extreme urgency, this tops the list.

For those who think GeoGuessr isn’t nerdy enough, Artifact Guessr challenges you to both locate AND date artifacts 💀

artifactguesser.com

🏺

Western pygmy marmoset. Smallest 🐒, living in the northwestern Amazon. Adults weigh ~90g & can turn their heads 180dgr🤯 Exudativore, meaning feeds on tree fluids, like sap, resin, even latex⁉️Pop decline >30% due to deforestation, mining, palm cultivation, settlements, hunting. Vulnerable 📸T.Aronson

A pygmy squirrel climbing a tree

Least pygmy squirrel. 1 of the smallest 🐿️ on 🌏 -not bigger than a 🖊️! Found mostly in Borneo's lowland 🌳 Loves to eat 🐛 & bark. Threatened by 🌳 clearing for agriculture and industry. Although covered by some, it’s believed to occupy 🌳 that are outside the protected areas. Pop size unknown 📸 from Wiki