Fossils offer a glimpse into the #Biodiversity & ecosystems of the past. In fossil amphibians, allometric variation (i.e., how shape changes with size) is a rarely explored aspect of research...until now! Kicking off 2026 with Aussie amphibian snout measurements! 👇🌍🧪

Slaying at the Linnean, this blog gets 10s across the board from us! Kicking off our journal blog 'The Paper Trail', this paper turned some heads not just because of its looks, but because this 'tropical' butterfly was found hiding in the snow! 🌍🧪👇🦋 buff.ly/S7wr5Td

On the fifth day of Christmas, Linnaeus gave to me...FIVE ANOLES! Well, more like anoles adapting to temperature change in the Andes, as taught to us in this lunchtime lecture! Kicking off the journal series, it contributed to the 1000+ lecture attendees this year! 🌍🧪👇 buff.ly/Tgjn9Pk

We all know ornithologists loved naming birds, but less so trying to understand their evolutionary history... Using the (perfectly named) Buzzing Flowerpecker as a case study, phylogenetic studies revealed rapid evolution & shared genes, making it difficult to draw boundaries...

Like a fish out of water, literally! Amphibious fish can emerge from water, enabling them to occupy niches unavailable to fully aquatic species! Here, the amphibious capabilities of killifish were studied, finding them able to breathe air for several days! doi.org/10.1093/zool...

AHHHH, WHO OPENED THE UPSIDE DOWN?!

I spy with my little eye, a brand new...butterfly? Found hiding from Panama to Colombia, whole-genome sequencing uncovered this new species as part of the tribe Phocidini! doi.org/10.1093/zool... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Effective conservation relies on accurate research, monitoring & understanding of species. Here, the first comprehensive IUCN Red List assessment of the High Atlas vascular flora has been done, helping to uncover extinction threats to endemic flora! 🧪 🌍 👇 doi.org/10.1093/botl...

What's that? You didn't know boxfish made sound? Me neither... It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪 doi.org/10.1093/biol...

Weevil, weevil, rock you! Not quite as catchy as the Queen hit, the phylogeny of broad-nosed weevils was explored using mitochondrial genomes of 130 species, helping to classify the subfamily & uncover their biogeography! 🌍👇🧪 doi.org/10.1093/zool... @linneansociety.bsky.social

This #FossilFriday marvel at an early Dyrosauridae from the middle Campanian Quseir Formation of Egypt! Displaying transitional cranial features, Wadisuchus is confirmed as the early-diverging dyrosauridae! Check it out: doi.org/10.1093/zool... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Seeya later ant-eater (you have to say eater weird) it's #AnteaterDay ! Known for their slender noses and taste for six-legged creatures, these guys were originally considered four species. 1/2

I sea what you did there... The yellow sea snake can only be found in Costa Rica's Golfo Dulce basin, with this population being geographically & morphologically isolated from the pelagic sea snake. However, genetic differentiation is lacking! An intriguing paradox...🧪 🌍 👇 doi.org/10.1093/zool...

This #FossilFriday marvel at the presence of Astropanax leaves & pollen in Ethiopia 21.73 million years ago, found in the Mush Valley, providing the earliest evidence for Araliaceae on the African continent! (around the time when ancient rhinos & horses began to evolve)🌍🧪 doi.org/10.1093/botl...

Lake Fuxian in SW China harbours many endemic species, but its #Biodiversity remains poorly understood. Here, surveys of freshwater snails along its shores uncover 8 new species, their phylogenetics suggesting the may be Lake is older than thought! 🌍 🧪 👇 doi.org/10.1093/zool... #molluscmonday

New Blog Day! 📣👻 Ghosts of the past come back to haunt the genetic record of island colonisation events, revealing silent extinctions! Written by guest blogger Adam Brachtl, this blog explores how molecular genetics can uncover these hidden stories...(1/6) 🌍🧪👇 www.linnean.org/news/2025/11...

Why crayfish, what big antennae you have! Crayfish rely heavily on chemical & mechanical senses, using their antennae & antennules to do so. Here, 1526 specimens from 93 species were studied, finding cave-dwelling species had longer antennae! 🌍 🧪 🦐 doi.org/10.1093/zool...

Dung, dung, dungggg! Aphodiini (dung beetles) are important decomposers & comprise ~2,200 species, yet are still a bit of a mystery. Here, their molecular phylogeny is reconstructed to explore the evolutionary history of their nesting behaviour & body size! 🧪 🌍 💩 doi.org/10.1093/zool...

If you’re a PhD student in zoology with a paper in @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social‬, you could be recognised with the John C. Marsden Medal. Awarded annually in memory of Dr John C. Marsden, the prize celebrates outstanding doctoral theses in biology (excluding botany): oxford.ly/3Jnp0B9

Two birds of a feather, yet they don't grow together... By comparing Afrotropical & European temperate species, distinct latitudinal differences in feather growth rates were found, with tropical passerines growing wing feathers faster! Why? Take a beak to find out...

It's #WombatDay! Famed for their cubed poop, these guys have surprisingly similar forelimb myology to koalas...helping to unravel their evolutionary past! Read about it below 👇🌍🧪 doi.org/10.1093/zool... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Darwin's Darwin finches (the island is called Darwin, that's not a typo) have been variably described as either two species, or combined into just one. But what's right? As part of our #SpecialIssue on Evolution on Islands, Peter & Rosemary Grant took to answering this...(1/2) 🌍🧪

HOLY CRAB! Looking at the effect of palaeoclimate & palaeogeological events on the MASSIVE East Asian freshwaer crab genus Sinopotamon, the impact of Miocene monsoons on their diversification was investigated...if you like crabs, check it out below 👇🌍🧪 doi.org/10.1093/zool...

Ahh, Drosophila suzukii, a global pest...and best dressed? Whilst fashion week is over, these guys really put the fly in fruit fly! Known for their body colour plasticity, the role of sexual vs natural selection on their colour diversity was investigated...check it out 👇🧪🌍🦟

📣Call for Papers! Why are some individuals and taxa more resilient than others? Our latest Special Issue on Organismal Resilience aims to answers this question! Submit your research or register for our one-day symposium below 👇🌍🧪 academic.oup.com/biolinnean/p... @linneansociety.bsky.social

New Blog Day! 🐜📣 The acacia fruit doesn't fall far from the evolutionary tree in this new blog, written by guest blogger Josie Cooper! Ever wondered how plants defend themselves from plant-eating predators? In the case of swollen-thorn acacias, the answer is ants...a 🧵 (1/6) 🌍🧪 buff.ly/Sm4NQsQ

Remember the energy (and science!) at the 16th Tardigrade Symposium in Tsuruoka? If you presented your work, our community of researchers is building the official proceedings in the @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social‬. We'd love for you to be a part of it! oxford.ly/3Io2fwq

Are you a PhD student ready to publish a paper? Submit your research to our journal today & enter one of our new journal prizes, celebrating PhD student work in #Biology! 🧪🌍👇 academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/p...

It's a match! An ornithological mystery 180 years in the making has finally been solved, as the skin of the final (reliably known) female Great Auk has been recovered from the Natural History Museum of Cincinnati! 🌍🧪👇 doi.org/10.1093/zool... #FossilFriday! #MAFSUK

Who you gonna call? EVOLUTIONARY SCIENTISTS! Ghost species (no, not species of ghost) are extinct, unknown & unsampled taxa...and they vastly outnumber those included in phylogenetics. This hidden diversity can complicate phylogenetic signals of horizontal gene flow, impacting their study...(1/2)🧪

It's #PeerReviewWeek and what better opportunity exists to say a huge thank you to our excellent reviewers from across the globe. It is your hard work & commitment that enables us to continue publishing ground-breaking research in Biology, Botany, Evolution and Zoology. (1/2)

Did you know male wasps can get tricked by orchids into thinking they're females? Pterostylis orchids use sexual deception as a pollination strategy, with fungus gnats (Diptera) falling victim, acting as the main pollinators of these deceptive plants! 🌍🧪👇 academic.oup.com/botlinnean/a...

Speaker Spotlight! Today we're sharing molecular biologist Glenn Yannic, whose research focuses on the consequences of environmental & anthropogenic changes on the genetic diversity of alpine & arctic species. Book to see Glenn Nov 20 🌍🧪👇 buff.ly/bLADJcs.?mso...

Speaker Spotlight! 📣 Today we're highlighting Chloe Haberkorn, a biologist who specialises in evolutionary genomics, currently in yeast! Her PhD focused on resistance mechanisms in bed bugs (scream). Come see Chloe on Nov 20 🧪🌍👇 buff.ly/bLADJcsmsock... @chloehbk.bsky.social

Who's your daddy?? Our sister journal really knows how to ask the right questions for a Friday...check out the latest blog!

This #FossilFriday try your luck at our latest tongue-twister...non-archosauriform archosauromorphs (try saying that 3 times fast)! Based on a new specimen from Southern Brazil, this discovery increases the diversity of azendohsaurids throughout Gondwana! 🌍🧪👇

The rise of [the] beetles (Coleoptera) represents one of the most remarkable musical periods...I mean phenomena in the history of life: from membranous forewings to hardened elytra, they learned how to conquer wood-related niches, aiding in their success! But how and why? 🌍🧪👇 doi.org/10.1093/zool...

Body shape, a key trait in fish (they'd do wonders on Hinge), varies between geographic regions & sexes, reflecting adaptations to local environments. Here, body-shape variation among 3-spine sticklebacks was studied, revealing shape was mostly affected by sexual dimorphism! How? (1/2) 🧪🌍

Dyrosauridae are one of few large marine vertebrate clades to survive the K-Pg extinction, yet their early Cretaceous diversification is still poorly understood. Here, a new specimen from Angola is described & distinguished from known taxa, being placed in Hyposaurinae! 🌍🧪👇 doi.org/10.1093/zool...

Terrestrial flatworms have helped uncover the evolutionary processes shaping #Biodiversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, as their limited dispersal & sensitivity to environmental change reflect the evolutionary history of the forest! 🌍🧪👇

Tadpoles have...TEETH?! An evolutionary novelty of anuran tadpoles, the taxonomic distribution of keratinized labial teeth remains a mystery. Yet here, variation in row number was studied in a phylogenetic context! If you're bitten by a tadpole do you turn into a frog..? 🌍🧪👇

SCREEAEAAEEEEEAAAAAAEAEAAA!!! That's bat for "Join our Bat Walks"! Every Wednesday at dusk in Battersea Park, book your place now (tickets are flying, just like bats...the only mammal to evolve true flight....) 🌍🧪🦇👇

YOU DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING (about this before now)...a new stem group of sphenisciforms (ancestral penguins) from Paleocene NZ, with 4 new genera & species has been described, showing previously unknown features of early penguins! Smile and wave boys, smile and wave...🌍 🧪 🐧 doi.org/10.1093/zool...

Thanks to my co-authors & to curators, editors & colleagues who helped with this study! Thanks to @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social for editorial & publishing work, & thanks to @erc.europa.eu that funded the #Gravibone project led by @houssayecnrs.bsky.social. Please feel free to ask if you have any request!

Speaker spotlight! @trishschulte.bsky.social studies how fishes' physiology, biochemistry & genetics adapt to challenging environmental conditions, like high temperature. Hear from her at our symposium on 20 November. Online & in person tickets available.

📣New Blog Day! 🚨 Ever wondered why birds have whiskers? Many theories have been proposed, from eye protection to prey capture, but all lacked conclusive scientific evidence...until now! Guest blogger Michael Sellgren breaks this down in our latest blog, a 🧵(1/6)🌍🧪 www.linnean.org/news/2025/08...

Submit your research with us or simply join us for our symposium on Organismal Resilience in a Rapidly Changing world! Register via the link below 👇🌍🧪https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/pages/organismal-resilience

We know we know, you're dying to know what's new in the world of Adaptive Radiation...well wonder no more! Here, Julia Day, @jameststroud.bsky.social, @fishspeciation.bsky.social & María del Rosario Castañeda discuss it in their Editorial below 👇🌍🧪 doi.org/10.1093/evol...

How, when & where animals move during mating periods can direct gene flow in species. Here, the impact of migratory behaviour on population structure in 17 species of bat was studied, revealing no link to genetic structure or diversity in general! 🌍🧪🦇 Bat to the research... doi.org/10.1093/biol...

How many hippos did Sicily home? Using a jaw from Amoroso Cave, morphological comparisons revealed the presence of at least 2 taxa! Further research can help uncover the palaeobiology & environment of Pleistocene Sicily...🌍🧪🦛 doi.org/10.1093/zool...