#SpongeThursday: 3 nice examples of Archaeoscyphia conicula - a Late #Silurian (~424 MYA) conical, annulate lithistid demosponge from Somerset Is., #Nunavut, Canada 🇨🇦; sectioned specimens show the large sediment-filled spongocoel & thick body wall. #fossils

A sleepy floof on a cozy bed of even more floof 💛

Such sweet little creatures. It’s always a treat seeing them 🤎

BREAKING: The USFWS today proposed to protect the monarch butterfly as "threatened" under the #EndangeredSpeciesAct. The decision came in response to a scientific petition and lawsuit by @centerforbiodiv.bsky.social and Center for Food Safety.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was introduced to ghost plants by the lovely @apsciencebydan.bsky.social (whose birthday may or may not be today 👀)! They certainly live up to their name with their ghostly white appearance

New paper out! We show that heart cockles use bundled fiber optic cables to transmit light through "skylights" in their shell for their photosynthetic algae. The skylights filter out harmful UV radiation. These coral analogues are cool critters!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Moths can hear the clicking wails of a sad, dry, injured plant. And they run the other way to lay their eggs. Totally wild to think how many things around us are communicating in ways we cannot even comprehend! www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/s...

ICYMI, my latest for American Scientist magazine is about the new national ocean biodiversity strategy, the latest example of the Biden-Harris administration making great science policy https://buff.ly/4eXvlNM

A wax scale insect. They are very silly creatures, with their “tail” being made up entirely of wax!

A tiny Florida native sundew for your viewing pleasure. Our native carnivorous plants hold a very special place in my heart ❤️

For #Crustmas, here are some desk crabs 🦀🦀🦀

Hi Bluesky!