The pantropical genus Mapania is associated with forest understorey, yet its evolutionary history & species delimitation are poorly known. Here, DNA sequence data was used to change this, highlighting the need for further research to better protect this genus! 🌍 🧪 👇

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...

New Species Alert! Two new species of the genus Cedrela from W Ecuador are described based on extensive comparative analysis, aiding in the classification of their conservation status! Both endangered by #Deforestation, this highlights the importance of continued research 👇 doi.org/10.1093/botl...

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...

As Alphaville famously sang...hummingbird-pollinated Costus flowers appear to stay forever young, keeping their juvenile traits through paedomorphosis, whilst bee-pollinated ones do not! 🧪 🌍 👇 doi.org/10.1093/botl... @linneansociety.bsky.social @thiagojcandre.bsky.social @cdspecht.bsky.social

Piper (no, not the magical man who tamed the rats) is the largest genus of Piperaceae & second largest angiosperm, yet its biogeography & global radiation still requires research. Here, phylogenetic analysis investigated divergence time, revealing it spread to mainland Africa twice! (1/2)🌍 🧪 👇

Are you as bromeli-MAD about bromeliads as us? Then you're in luck! Following the success of our previous special issues, we're pleased to announce a new one on Bromeliaceae Evolution & Systematics! Keep an eye on our socials as we share papers over the next few weeks 🌍 🧪 👇 buff.ly/zVh5ORp

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) 🌍🧪

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 👇🧪🌍🦟

Ever wondered in hard and woody fruits (like a cherry pit) or soft, unspecialised, berry-like fruits are the ancestral fruit-type in Arecoidea tropical palms? Well, you're in luck! Check out this paper to unravel this mystery...🌍🧪 @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

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 #Botany! 🧪🌍👇 academic.oup.com/botlinnean/p...

IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! Not quite Frankenstein's monster, nuclear sequence capture was used on the orchid subtribe Calypsoinae, making a strong case for the resurrection of Kitigorchis as a sister to Corallorhiza! Read about it below 🌍🧪👇

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

Machaerium species morphological characters can help delimit sections or clades, such as the width or shape of their leaflets! Here, their morphoanatomical characters were studied to understand their usefulness for taxonomy & classification! Read more below 🌍🧪👇

New Blog Day! 📣 Who's your daddy? This is the question asked by guest blogger @katyakolesnykova.bsky.social, breaking down Gabriela Bispo & co's paper on leatherback turtle mating systems! A long-time mystery, DNA analysis revealed a surprising truth 🌍🧪👇 A 🧵 (1/6) buff.ly/iVBnhAO

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) 🧪🌍

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....) 🌍🧪🦇👇

📣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...

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.

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

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...

Everyone loves tardigrades (especially at the LinnSoc), but is tardigrade love-making affected by water? Here, the effect of anhydrobiosis (life without water) on mate choice & reproductive stress was studied, finding females laid fewer eggs but no delay on mate choice! 🌍🧪 doi.org/10.1093/biol...

Cryptic biodiversity challenges assessments of global biodiversity & ecosystem health, including in the ocean. Here, morphology & DNA of Ancistrocheirus lesueurii was studied, revealing ~6 cryptic species! You've gotta be squidding me...🌍🧪🦑 (1/2) academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...

Stealthy herb Praxelis clematidea has spread globally from S America over the past 40 years, leading to a need for ecological niche modelling to understand its potential spread under #ClimateChange & offer insight into high-risk invasion areas! Read more below 🧪🌍 academic.oup.com/botlinnean/a...

When species exist in different habitats, reproductive barriers & divergence traits may emerge between populations. Here, 8 populations of the orchid Epidendrum fulgens were studied for compatibility & flower morphology, looking for potential reproductive barriers! What was found out? (1/2) 🌍🧪🧵

Join us online as Dr Marco Camaiti reveals the hidden world of limb-reduced lizards! Discover how skinks have evolved "noodle-like" bodies, phantom bones & strange internal anatomy...all revealed with cutting-edge imaging. Join us at 12:30pm Wednesday 13th August! 👇🌍🧪

Froget it's Monday by learning about subtropical Proceratophrys frogs! Found in the Araucaria Forest, DNA evidence suggests their diversity is the result of marine transgression, highlighting the role of climate in diversification! A ribbiting read 👇🐸🌍🧪 academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...

Bromeliads are one of the most diverse Neotropical flora, but why are they so diverse? Here, molecular phylogeny is used to understand this in 1268 taxa...revealing how geological & climatic events shaped their evolution! 🧪🌍👇 academic.oup.com/botlinnean/a... My bromeli-bad for the lack of puns...

Check out our latest journal cover, provided by @jameststroud.bsky.social linking to our Special Issue on Adaptive Radiation! Want your image to feature on our cover? Submit your manuscript with us today 👇🌍🧪 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/p... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Titanosaur-sum discovery! Well-preserved tracks of Nemegt sauropods from S Mongolia have revealed novel insights into soft tissue anatomy & function, including scales that may have helped with scratch digging on sandy surfaces! 🧪🌍🦕 academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Shrub birches are important components of vast wetlands in NE China, though despite this their taxonomy has remained ambiguous. Using morphological & molecular data, shrub birch populations were genotyped, revealing 2 distinct clades! Find out more 🌍🧪👇 academic.oup.com/botlinnean/a...

Did you know bees like smelly flowers? Research on an aquatic angiosperm Crinum campanulatum revealed a shift from nocturnal pollination by hawkmoths to diurnal pollination by bees, associated with smaller flowers and increased diurnal scent! Find out why below 🧪🌍👇 academic.oup.com/botlinnean/a...

New Blog Day! Guest blogger @benraby.bsky.social breaks down a recent paper in our #Botanical journal, investigating the use of modern technology to detect salt stress in plants. What did the research show? A 🧵 (1/6) 🧪🌍🌿 www.linnean.org/news/2025/07...

The Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (@botjlinnsoc.bsky.social) is seeking new peer reviewers. If you’re passionate about plant science then apply to join our reviewer team, and help shape the future of research in the field: https://oxford.ly/449io0Q

Ever wondered how the tree of life is pieced together? Species-level phylogenetic inference remains challenging, but here @sungsik.bsky.social & co have developed a composite likelihood framework that handles SNP & multilocus data, improving species tree estimation! academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

We're not playing (dead), you'll enjoy this! New research by Shelby Middleton reveals a revised taxonomy & new sub-species of Australia's brush-tailed possum! Could you possumbly get more cute? Impossumable! 🌍🧪👇 academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a... @linneansociety.bsky.social @pezoporus.bsky.social

Ever wondered how temperature affects species in mountain ranges such as the Andes? Our guest blogger Rosie Ryland has written a great blog about this, shining a spotlight on how temperature shapes life in one of Earth's most complex ecosystems! (1/3) 🌍🧪🦎 www.linnean.org/news/2025/06...

This #WorldBiodiversityDay we're highlighting one of the most #threatened groups of tetrapod: Anurans. Crucial gaps in our knowledge exist for more than half of all species, preventing effective #Conservation. This is especially a problem for biphasic species...so what can be done? A 🧵(1/4) 🌍🧪

Curious about angiosperms? Discover how scanning electron & light microscopy of leaf cuticular traits in Schinus & its relatives highlight the role of cuticular morphology in resolving genera (Euroschinus, Mauria & Schinus), but not intrageneric sections of Schinus! 🌍🧪👇 academic.oup.com/bot...

Unclear boundaries between genera of the Spermacoce clade pose a taxonomic challenge. Here, use of phylogenetic analyses reveal Psyllocarpus as non-monophyletic, redefining it as a distinct, diagnosable genus! 🧪🌍👇 academic.oup.com/bot... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Always trust your gut...unless you're a low-altitude Eurasian tree sparrow? Analysis of the gut microbiota of sparrows at high & low altitude revealed significant differences, with low-altitude sparrows having greater diversity but a higher prevalence of potentially-pathogenic bacteria! (1/2) 🌍🧪🐦

Taxonomic limits across Diervilla, an endemic genus of bush-honeysuckle in eastern North America, are puzzling due to their high morphological variation. Here, integrative taxonomy was used to uncover genetic, morphological & geographical distinctions among the 3 species! 🧪 academic.oup.com/bot...