You know what is better than an ichthyologist? Two ichthyologists in a plane! Thank you @fishguy.bsky.social this was the best birthday present I could have.

Why do speciation rates vary across the tree of life? Some of the best yet most underappreciated places for this investigation are natural hybrid zones. This preprint takes you to the hybrid zones in the origin of species to find a clue. 👉 shorturl.at/N7FXE #Speciation #Evolution #hybridization

Our new paper on population genomics of black surfperch. I am incredibly happy, decades in the making.... onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A Mom Amphiprion maohiensis and a baby (most likely not hers, although there is some self-recruitment....)

Fun to take a picture yesterday of the newly described Amphiprion maohiensis in Moorea.

New anemonefish species alert! After many years working with this species, we finally also described it as a the Polynesian Anemonefish. zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1414...

Evening beach seine in Lake Malawi......

Malawi is said to be the warm heart of Africa and it really is….

The lilac-breasted roller is a very common bird in Kruger. Yet, it is magnificent....

Today I got a chance to visit Sterkfontein caves. There, I found a collection of classic casts. I tried to recreate from memory a super famous picture of Richard Leakey holding a fossil found by his mother, Mary (nutcracker man) and a fossil he found (Turkana boy). I know this is nerdy and silly..

This is as timely as it gets. I start teaching my field class in Southern Africa tomorrow! Brilliant paper! www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....

Who had the coolest lab? We do!!!

Masala Miya. Closing talk of IPFC. How lucky we are!!!

Vincent Laudet speaking on clownfish/ anemone symbiosis

Went to Aquarium street in Taipei last night with the lab. It looks like @solomonrdavid.bsky.social dream/nightmare….

Jenn Caselle is the new Bleeker Awardee for Ecology!!! Yippee!!! #IPFC

goofball alert! visiting the aquarium district in Taipei with Shinji and Eric!

Indo Pacific Fish Conference in Taiwan with the lab. So great!

Ron Fricke on the Catalog of Fishes!! #IPFC 2025

Helen Larson is the recipient of the Bleeker award for systematics. She forgot more about gobies than most will ever know. #IPFC 2025

Jessica Glass talking about population genomics of pacific herring! #IPFC 2025

Manon Mercader on clownfish diversification! #IPFC 2025

Jennifer Donelson talking about one of my favorite species… #IPFC 2025.

Keynote lecture by Larry Page. #IPFC 2025

And there is starts!! #IPFC 2025 in Taipei!!! Thank you Wei-Jen!

Brilliant talk on genomics of Malawi Cichlids today by Richard Durbin

I know they are introduced in Hawaii, but Madagascar day geckos are so beautiful

Yet more fish from today…

Just a few Hawaiian fishes I shot a couple of days ago, because in these times, we all need more fish pixes.

Why is it that when we see an interesting picture we always have the wrong setup? Flame wrasse, Hawaii…

Our preprint is out! Kudos to @josanesousa.bsky.social, @gabrielalima19.bsky.social, @perezlouise.bsky.social and undergraduate prodigy Hannah Shof! By comparing Polypterus fin and axolotl limb we find shared and new regeneration programs. @lsuscience.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Chris Thacker and I have published a new review on the phylogenetics and biology of acanthopterygian fishes. This lineage includes more than 19,100 species, comprising nearly one third of all species of vertebrate animals! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I think we all need to keep our mind healthy these days. Few things make me more happy than a fun boat ride to a field site. Hmm, maybe lobster and fish.

Fish catch in Bequia

Anole (I mean, I think it is an Anole) in Bequia

Beautiful condor today at the Pinnacles National Park

Bluesky #nanopore hive. For my last four runs, I have had an issue with the guppy basecaller. When I QC my fastq files, I see that the adapter content is faulty, with the presence of Poly A and Poly G. Any ideas of how to remedy this and what would cause it?

The fabulous Danakilia cichlid from Ethiopia will soon reveal its secrets…

The diversity of plants in Baja California is fabulous

Field work in Mexico!!! Gorgeous times!

You know it is a going to be a great Thanksgiving when the coelacanths plates are out!!!

A whole lot of fish knowledge… Greg Cailliet and Scott Hamilton!

Shinji Yamamoto defended his PhD proposal on the genomics of Japanese surfperches yesterday!!!

Going tidepooling with the fish class. The Monterey Bay was kind to us.

Call for abstracts is now open for the Indo-Pacific Fish Conference (and joint Asian Society of Ichthyologists meeting) in Taipei, Taiwan June 9-13, 2025. (Deadline for submitting abstracts is Jan 20.) #IPFC2025 #IPFC12 www.2025asi-ipfc12.tw/site/page.as...

Scythemarked butterlyfish, Catalina Island, California

A few Malawi cichlids from this morning dive…

I think my entire plot has been uncovered: from ratemyprofessors : "Really is just a fish guy getting paid to talk about fish"