Insect Enjoyer🏳️‍🌈 @Invertinsect

Schizophyllum commune - split gills

Digitaria ciliaris (Poaceae) #botany #grasses #taxonomy #plants #digitariaciliaris

🐧 Critical constraints to ecological buffering in a rapidly changing Arctic: A long-term seabird study🐧 These findings show that little auks can partially buffer rapid Arctic change through behavioural flexibility❄️ 📖 buff.ly/rdm7Pwi

Striped cuckoo chicks have unusual plumage that makes them look like pinecones. This camouflage helps them blend into their surroundings, making it harder for predators to notice them.

Swirly friends! ☺️ SE Queensland has one of the highest millipede diversity in Australia, there are SO many cool species in the leaf litter! 🍂

Meet Ursus Americanus Emmonsii. This is extremely rare subspecies of Black Bear — endemic to S.E. Alaska — is called a “Glacier Bear…” 🧊🧊🧊 AKA… A “BLUE BEAR.” 🥶 It’s not hard to tell why it would gain such a name!

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Mindo harlequin toad, once feared extinct, found alive by Khamai Foundation’s conservation team in Ecuador The rare amphibian was feared extinct after disappearing from view for decades. Its rediscovery has renewed hope for the survival of this endangered species

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These fish may not look like the same species — but they are! The emperor angelfish undergoes a stunning transformation, from its blue and white coloring as a juvenile to it's striped yellow-blue appearance as an adult. See more stunning fish: oceana.ly/4853OIK

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🚨NEW STUDY DROP🚨 NEW BORB - M. rokusi A new species of Megapode bird has been described from leg bones found in Pleistocene deposits from the island of Flores! It's now the largest known Megapodius species, at 3.9kg! 🎨: @nirwasita_arya

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11 of the 38 described #bats illustrated are found nowhere else in the world! Available as prints and merchandise on: redbubble.com/shop/ap/184902… Check out ‘Green Humor’ on FB and Formosan Golden Bats Home https:// goldenbat.org.tw/en museum in Yunlin.

Happy Reptile Awareness Day! 🐍🦎🐢🐊⭐

Type studies on Australasian #Asilidae (#Diptera) #taxonomy doi.org/10.11646/zoota…

Researchers in this study provide genomic and additional morphological data supporting the continued recognition of the Halloween darter, 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎, as a valid species distinct from sympatric 𝑃. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜. 🔓 mapress.com/zt/article/vie… "Additionally, we provide preliminary genomic, meristic, and morphological data that suggest populations of the 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 complex in the Apalachicola, Altamaha, and Savannah basins, which have recently been collectively referred to under the epithet “𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖” (Fowler), comprise at least two distinct species. We treat Apalachicola populations as an undescribed form, 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑝. 𝑐𝑓. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎, that occurs sympatrically with 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎. Our conclusion that 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 is a valid species supports conservation status for the species in Georgia and Alabama. Ongoing work by the present authors aims to elucidate patterns of speciation in this group and to clarify taxonomy of the eastern populations of the 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 complex." 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 Genomic and morphological data corroborate 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) as a valid taxon and reveal undescribed diversity in the 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 complex 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Hilburn, B.G., Freeman, M.C., Bennett, J., Petersen, K.N., Bayona-Vásquez, N.J., Wares, J.P. & Freeman, B.J. (2026) Genomic and morphological data corroborate 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) as a valid taxon and reveal undescribed diversity in the 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 complex. Zootaxa, 5890 (4), 527–541. doi.org/10.11646/zoota… 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 Freeman, Freeman & Burkhead, the Halloween Darter, was described in 2008 as a new species endemic to the Chattahoochee and Flint River systems in the Apalachicola Basin, Georgia and Alabama, USA. The description illustrated phenotypic differences between 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 and sympatric 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 (Agassiz) 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜 (𝑠.𝑙.) (the Blackbanded Darter) but lacked genetic data. Because of certain morphological similarities with syntopic 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑠.𝑙. and anecdotal evidence suggesting low genetic differentiation between the two forms, recent authors have noted the need for additional investigations to assess the taxonomic validity of 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎. To examine whether 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 represents a valid species separate from 𝑃. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑠.𝑙., we used 3RAD reduced-representation genomic data and expanded phenotypic comparisons between 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 and 𝑃. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑠.𝑙. from the Apalachicola basin and three adjacent river basins. Genome-wide sequence data show that 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 is reciprocally monophyletic with respect to 𝑃. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑠.𝑙. in every basin examined. Meristic and morphometric data also resolve 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 and 𝑃. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑠.𝑙. as distinct clusters in principal component analyses, and pigmentation patterns provide diagnostic characters that allow easy identification of 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 in the field. Additionally, we provide preliminary genomic, meristic, and morphological data that suggest populations of the 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 complex in the Apalachicola, Altamaha, and Savannah basins, which have recently been collectively referred to under the epithet “𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖” (Fowler), comprise at least two distinct species. We treat Apalachicola populations as an undescribed form, 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑝. 𝑐𝑓. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎, that occurs sympatrically with 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎. Our conclusion that 𝑃. 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 is a valid species supports conservation status for the species in Georgia and Alabama. Ongoing work by the present authors aims to elucidate patterns of speciation in this group and to clarify taxonomy of the eastern populations of the 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 complex. 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 A) 3RAD sample locations for 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑠.𝑙. and B) 3RAD sample locations for 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎. Grey shading represents the respective ranges of each taxon. C) Midpoint-rooted maximum likelihood phylogeny constructed in IQ-TREE using 3RAD SNP data depicting the reciprocal monophyly of 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 and geographic structure in the 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 complex. Bootstrap support values are displayed on the major nodes. The Flint clade also includes a single individual from a tributary of the Apalachicola River proper. Photos from top to bottom: 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑎 from the Chattahoochee watershed, 𝑃. 𝑠𝑝. 𝑐𝑓. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 from the Chattahoochee watershed, 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 from the Upper Coosa watershed, and 𝑃. 𝑠𝑝. 𝑐𝑓. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑎 from the Savannah watershed. Photos by B.G.H. © 2026 the Author(s). Published in the journal Zootaxa. An open access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.… #Ichthyology #Taxonomy #Biodiversity #AquariumHobby #Fishkeeping #Aquarist #Percina #Percidae #Etheostomatinae #FishTank #USA #HalloweenDarter #Darter #Darters #Apalachicola #Georgia #Alabama #Altamaha #Savannah #BlackbandedDarter #Chattahoochee

Elephant shrew Andrewsarchus is still the funniest thing the renegade paleoartist David Peters has yet contrived 😭

Longnose sawshark 🦈 #sawshark #shark #art