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

As Annie said, the sun'll come out tomorrow...and so will the deadline for our #SpecialIssue Evolution on Islands! Submit your work today 👇 🌍 🧪 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/p... Are you a PhD student? Nominate your submitted paper for one of our PhD prizes, awarded in May 2026!

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...

With Christmas just around the corner that means it's just ONE WEEK left until our #EvolutionOnIslands special issue closes its call for papers! If your research focuses on island evolution, biogeography or island endemism to name a few topics, publish with us! 👇 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/p...

Ahhh Rafflesia, the parasitic corpse flower...what's not to love? Known for their scent of rotting flesh, these Strange(r) Things can be found in the rainforests of South East Asia, and may remind you of a certain Demogorgon, henchmen of the upside down... #StrangerThings #Demogorgon

RRrrrr, a scientist's best friend. A new package "tbea" has made estimating phylogenies even easier than before, crucial for testing hypotheses in evolutionary biology! Combining fossil, genetic & geological data, this study looked at S American Cynodontidea as an example 👇

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

Diamonds are Foreverrrrr! Whilst we're still waiting for the next James Bond to be revealed, scientists have shown how to pinpoint where hybrid events happen in evolutionary networks, including in species with complex histories! Diamond in the rough & all that...🌍 🧪

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...

Interested in the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪 Three more summaries added below! We'll return when more articles come live. Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!

Once upon time, in a land not far away (Greece), dwarf elephants roamed several islands during the Middle-Late Pleistocene! Evolving repeatedly & independently, this study aims to identify whether body size reduction was accompanied by bone remodelling...read more below! 🌍👇

Can museum collections help identify a species conservation status? Through a systematic survey of primate specimens at MZUSP, 85 species were identified, with 12 classified as #Endangered & 6 #CriticallyEndangered, highlighting the importance of collections in research! 🌍👇

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 a cool blog post led by Adam Brachtl !! 🤩 Nice way to disseminate our results on the colonisation and extinction history of an island insect species using genomic data. Thank you! 👻 @ipna.csic.es @brentcemerson.bsky.social academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

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...

Remember remember the 5th of...December? Islands are central to our understanding of ecology & evolution, from the theory of natural selection to community ecology. This special issue promises to provide a synthesis of the latest research, and there's still time to submit! 🌍 🧪 👇

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 👇🧪🌍🦟

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

You shell (not) pass this on...🐚 Genetic inheritance, not plasticity, was shown to drive differences in the shells of Lanistes snails from the Malawi Basin! Experiencing ongoing adaptive radiation, this paper contributed to our Special Issue. Read more below 🌍🧪👇 #molluscmonday

If you're interested in understanding discordance in phylogenomic analyses, the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social's special issue 'Phylogenomic Discordance: Patterns, Processes, and Solutions' is for you! tinyurl.com/v2eces3s I'll be sharing a few articles a week until we're through the issue! (1/n)🧪

Wass(P)up (fish)? Adaptive radiations are striking examples of rapid speciation, where lineage diversification often pairs with rapid changes in morphology. But what is the role of intrinsic structural constraints? Here, Pupfish from San Salvador Island were studied...what did they find?

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 or #Biology !🧪🌍👇 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/p...

Why do some palm clades in Madagascar thrive while others stagnate? Why do some have 1 species, and others 180+? Turns out it's less about that Island Magic & more about inherited traits and timing (when is it not?)! 🌍🧪👇 doi.org/10.1093/evol... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Magic traits may assist sympatric #Ecological speciation, but few examples exist & evidence for their role is rare. Yet, this study found #pleiotropy affected soil preference & flowering time in #Hawea, consistent with speciation! Check out the full paper 🌍🧪👇

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...

How are phylogenetic trees built? Unlike real trees, they don't sprout on their own. Here, Bruce Rannala explores how recombination affects phylogenetic tree building...check out what they found below 🌍🧪👇 doi.org/10.1093/evol... @linneansociety.bsky.social

Scientists often use models to study how species evolved, but these models are not always perfect. Here, Ziheng Yang (Darwin Wallace Medal winner) looks at how small changes in data or assumptions can affect the results of these studies. Check it out below 👇🌍🧪

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

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

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 or #Biology !🧪🌍👇 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/p... @linneansociety.bsky.social

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

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...

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...

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...

Ever heard of a webspinner? No, not that superhero...we're talking about tiny insects whose evolutionary history is poorly known! Here, divergence time is estimated for extant lineages of webspinner, revealing the first possible scenario of Embioptera origins! 🌍🧪👇 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

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