"All the big birds are now gone."
This observation from a Kenyan elder reflects a global pattern. A new study shows that Indigenous ecological memories across three continents align with scientific data: Large, slow-breeding species are being lost to habitat change and hunting.
By Bobby Bascomb.
Frogging season ending on a high note.
When it’s the end of frogging season.
Hemiphyllodactylus puncak, male holotype.
#NewSpecies!
New #gecko from #malaysia just climbed in:
Hemiphyllodactylus puncak
Treatment: treatment.plazi.org/id/FB56AC08-...
Publication: doi.org/10.3897/vz.7...
#VertebrateZoology #HemiphyllodactylusPuncak
#FAIRdata
#OA #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #animals #herpetology #herps #reptiles
I’m glad NPR included skeptical voices - because de-extinction is a dangerous fantasy - but we’ve seen this before. Colossal dangles a story/access, journalists take it and say other researchers have criticisms, and nothing changes save for an update to the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Mammoth! timeline
A brown penguin chick of some kind. It looks very much like a man in a suit. It is bedraggled and miserable
Made it to Friday but at what cost
Flat-backed Toad chonk from Divundu, Namibia.
#Frog #Herpetology 🐸
A headline fit for the @theonion.com front page.
photos from an excellent study by Cohen et al (2021) of a cerambycid beetle just straight up doing it with the flower of Disa forficaria, in a classic example of a ~sexual mimicry pollination system~
the humiliation of going on a hot date then finding out she wasn't even in the same PHYLUM (then someone writes a whole paper about it, with photos of your wiener)
Big eyes, flat face, shorter legs in comparison to others of its kind, active at night. Fits the toad description😁🤪
This is the kind of thing a rich CEO says at the beginning of a science fiction movie to establish for the audience that he is a sociopath and the villain.
An electronic motorway warning sign which reads “Lizzard warning 4am saturday to on sunday”
Weekend plans
I remembered field work photos this time😁
F1 - Unfiltered joy of being outside.
F2 - Heavy is the water-filled boot.
F3 - Herpetologists dabble in ballet when boots get flooded.
A bit late with the Valentine’s Day post but here are some Cryptic Sand Frogs.
Frog surveys with a breathtaking view.
🦎 Funded 4-year PhD position on Lizard Evolutionary Ecology in our lab at UCLouvain (Belgium)! Apply before 9 March! jobs.uclouvain.be/Personnelsci...
Happy #Frogfriday! From a field guide I spent 10-yrs. working w/ ~100 students & professionals to bridge the knowledge gap between up & coming students & us old-timers. We published 10-yrs. ago & most, if not all the students work in biology! Plates from Chapter 4 Alkaloids. Paintings by me. Enjoy!
Lizards are such versatile metaphors; they can have positive, negative, or benign symbolism.
Human-herptile interactions is such a fun topic.
official auction photo of the object, quarter turn side profile facing right Chinese export blue & white porcelain tureen & cover in the form of a frog, with a second small frog finial on cover
#FrogFriday 🐸:
Blue & White #Frog - Form Tureen and Cover
China (for export market), late 19th - 20th c.
Porcelain, H 6 ¼ in. (15.9 cm) x L 10 in. (25.4 cm)
#ChineseArt
www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
Humans and wild birds are communicating in local “dialects” in northern Mozambique.
capeargus.co.za/news/2026-01...
Shell of Chicoreus phyrtos.
#NewSpecies!
New predatory sea snail from #papuanewguinea just crawled in:
Chicoreus phyrtos
Treatment: treatment.plazi.org/id/03C187B8-...
Publication: doi.org/10.11646/zoo...
#Zootaxa #ChicoreusPhyrtos
#FAIRdata
#OA #taxonomy #biodiversity #nature #conservation #malacology #gastropods #snails
The trial for the murder of Apu Quinto Inuma began yesterday in Peru. Quinto spent years defending his community’s land and denouncing threats. His killing reflects a wider pattern of violence against Indigenous defenders across the #Amazon.
https://bit.ly/3NuNCK0
#JusticeForQuinto
An ambitious form of climate modelling aims to pin the blame for disasters – from floods to heatwaves – on specific companies. Is this the tool we need to effectively prosecute the world’s biggest carbon emitters?
Paragomphus alami, mature life male observed and photographed in the wild.
#NewSpecies!
New #dragonfly from #sudan just landed:
Paragomphus alami
Treatment: treatment.plazi.org/id/D282A66D-...
Publication: doi.org/10.3897/zook...
#Zookeys #ParagomphusAlami
#FAIRdata
#openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #conservation #entomology #insects #odonata
Forever getting questioned about not having shots of myself in the field. 🤷🏾♂️Frogs are far prettier than me so the lens is always pointed at them.
BTS with South African Conventions Bureau.
#FindYourJoyInSouthAfrica #MeetInSouthAfrica
2026 eagle is so judgemental of its younger self.
Dr. Alice Gauthey, a Newton International Fellow, standing in a forest, smiling at the camera and holding a leaf. A quote about establishing early-career research independence appears next to her, attributed to her and mentioning The Royal Society: "I wanted to establish greater independence as an early-career researcher. The Newton International Fellowship provided both the time and the resources to develop a strong research portfolio."
The Royal Society's Newton International Fellowships are now open for applications, aimed at non-UK early career scientists who wish to conduct research in the UK. Find out more and apply by 11 March: #RSGrants https://royalsociety.org/grants/newton-international/
The ‘Bush Legend’ is bringing us short videos of an Aboriginal person teaching us about native animals. But he isn’t real.
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/this-ti...
Wanna see some Newts?
👀
🐸🪪 Pyxicephalus adspersus, Giant Bullfrog.
#Herpetology #Frogs #Amphibians #AfricanWildlife
