What a cool aggregation! I wonder if the oxygen concentration there was super low.

Every other summer we run a fish biomechanics course at Friday Harbor Labs. It is an awesome opportunity to learn the tools of biovisualization while experiencing the rich fish diversity of the Salish Sea. Come join us! 🧪

So cool! We don't often collect them with their caudal fins intact like this one's is.

Don't miss out. Apply to our 2026 Advanced Research Training Courses today!

😸 Calling all cat lovers! Thursday, January 29, join us for #CatVideoFest, a nonstop reel of the funniest, cutest, and most entertaining cat videos you’ve ever seen!  We're not 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 around—you won't want to miss this 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘳-fectly unique event! Save your spot today: go.nhm.org/catvideofest

🎉 We’re celebrating 20 years of #FirstFridays! Whether it’s your first experience or you’re a seasoned attendee, join us for live music in the Mammal Halls, engaging conversations in the NHM Commons Theater, food trucks, cocktails, and access to #NHMLA after dark!  go.nhm.org/first-fridays

There are a few courses that shaped the trajectory of my career. This is one of them. Take it if you can!

Only 12/20. I overthought quite a few where I didn't go with my initial (correct) answer.

Finally out! We studied the retinas of the longest-living vertebrate, the Greenland shark, and found that the retinas remain remarkably healthy in animals around 150 years old. What is the mechanism? It may be a highly efficient DNA repair system. Enjoy! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Streaming schedule for the week. Starting Mass Effect Andromeda tonight. I replayed the Mass Effect trilogy last January, so I think it’s time to replay Andromeda. Got something fun cooking for Sunday!

Preview of my #SICB2026 talk on early fish jaws. Paleozoic ray-finned fish systematics is a mess. Someone should really work on that😅

I'll be presenting on a very different topic than usual for #SICB2026... "Strengths, challenges, & experiences of neurodivergent faculty in academia" at 8:45am on Jan. 7th in Room A105 as part of Symposium 12: Disabled & Neurodivergent perception, community, & identity in the biosciences (1/2)

Having done a similar postdoc in the Fudge Lab on hagfish slime, I highly recommend this opportunity!

PRI REACHED THEIR GOAL!!! MUSEUM OF THE EARTH IS STAYING OPEN!!! Thank you all so much for donating and spreading the word, I'm so overjoyed! Good things are still possible! www.priweb.org/blog-post/pr...

Catch me bright and early on day 1 at 8:15 am in Feeding 1! I'm presenting on a salamander project originally proposed by the late Dave Wake. I can promise CT images of salamander bones, teeth, and muscles. There will be some data and lots of hand waving. #SICB2026

I'll be presenting in this Sunday's 'Shape and Climate' session at 11am. Come see all about Carboniferous ray-finned fishes!

I saw Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers walking from across the street in West Hollywood.

The U.S. NSF has announced changes to its highly regarded system of reviewing the some 50,000 grant proposals received each year. The move has created uncertainty and anxiety across the U.S. scientific community. Here are five things to know about the changes. ⬇️ https://scim.ag/4aCoSZQ

“The rate at which new species are formally described is an essential but relatively understudied aspect of biodiversity.” The past and future of known biodiversity: Rates, patterns, and projections of new species over time | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A multi-method assessment of elasmobranch diversity and abundance in the southern Red Sea 🦑🧪🐟🦈 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Great news article about the Tulane University Biodiversity Research Institute's Royal D. Suttkus Fish Collection and our recent accessions of specimens from the DEEPEND Consortium and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

MERRY #FISHMAS! It was on this day in 1938 that Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer made a discovery which would change the world — the first (non-fossil) coelacanth ever brought to the attention of science

For some reason, I just got an email from a bot that summarized one of my papers using AI. I’m not sure why they would do that, except to alarm and annoy me. Perhaps this is a service that wants me to pay them to do that for all of my papers? That they summarized it poorly isn’t helping their cause.

Unraveling multipredator impacts in salmon-bearing rivers using quantitative DNA metabarcoding. A wonderful collaboration with @jwinkfish.bsky.social. @uwsafs.bsky.social @uwenvironment.bsky.social @uwfreshwater.bsky.social 👇 esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

They also have a great view of the LA Coliseum across the south lawn and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art across the street. Oh, and access to good snacks at the Commons Cafe. (seriously, it's a nice hangout spot)

God I love this Giant Bomb crew

Apply to join our team at @nhm.org ! We are hiring a Program Manager of Community Science- full time temporary for 4 months (on grant funds) and part-time permanent after that. Application review begins January 5. tinyurl.com/NHMCS2025 🧪🌎

🧪🐠 I am hiring a postdoc! Work will be on patterns of biodiversity across phylogenetic scales using teleost fishes as a model. Apply by end of Jan 2026 for full consideration apply.interfolio.com/179070 I encourage folks to reach out with any questions. Please Share!

Stream schedule for this week. Finishing off Silent Hill 2 and sneaking in some ARC Raiders runs. There's a new event in ARC starting on Tuesday. Holiday break begins on Sunday.

I feel so fortunate that Bruce served on my dissertation committee - a connection that will last forever. He's definitely passionate about tunas!

There are some jaw dropping pieces on display in this exhibit. And the presentation of those pieces is outstanding.

New paper! Here we look at shape evolution of the mandible in Pelagiaria, a group of open-ocean fishes that includes tuna and mackerel. We find that shape disparity accumulated rapidly at the origin of the clade at around the K/Pg boundary... academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

NEWS from Ohio State Fish Division: You can now search our 6,000-tissue collection on our website! 🐟 mbd.osu.edu/collections/...

Tonight's First Wednesday's lecture, Pacific Walruses, is now streaming! Tune in live or watch the playback https://youtu.be/xZA4GIo58O4

"Crawled out of incision made in white shark that was recently caught in trammel net set at bottom at 40 fms. Incision was made to take heart out of shark. Wound present under pectoral fin of shark when caught" A note in our collections database that I just found while looking up info on a hagfish

Streaming schedule for the week. We should finish Silent Hill 2 this week. If so, we will start Silent Hill f. Also, I cannot stop playing ARC Raiders, so I'll play plenty of that too.

taxonomy 101: whales are not fish taxonomy 201: whales are hoofed animals taxonomy 301: whales are fish

Pulled a muscle in my back bending over to pick up the bag of cat food this morning. The week is starting strong 💪

SCHOLARSHIP ALERT!!! Now accepting submissions for the Alligator Gar Technical Committee Scholarship! The cash scholarship is being provided by @alligatorgar-afs.bsky.social a student to help cover cost for attending the 2026 Southern Division @amfisheriessoc.bsky.social meeting in New Orleans🐟

🐈🐾 From wild hunters to household companions, the story of the domestic cat begins thousands of years ago in the ancient Middle East. Discover more about our feline companions at Fierce! The Story of Cats now on view at #NHMLA.

👑 Return of the Short (Tyrant) King! With the help of our 𝘛. 𝘳𝘦𝘹 growth series, researchers show throat bones accurately record maturity in dinosaurs, establishing 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘴 as a distinct species—𝙣𝙤𝙩 a juvenile 𝘛. 𝘳𝘦𝘹: go.nhm.org/nanotyrannus

My Spotify recap is fairly predictable. Staind was also my favorite artist in 2024. Deftones released a fantastic album and climbed to two.

It blows my mind that we can visualize this.

Pathology of stranded blue sharks (Prionace glauca) impaled by swordfish (Xiphias gladius) 🦑🌿🐟🦈 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

On Monday, I'll be starting Silent Hill 2 over on Twitch. I didn't play a spooky game in October, so I'll make up for it in December. Also, I can't put down ARC Raiders, so I'll be playing that too.

A lot of the monarch butterflies around Santa Cruz now have trackers on them, and there is an app to see where they are. Android play.google.com/store/apps/d... iPhone apps.apple.com/us/app/proje...

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...

The perfect holiday gift for my circle of friends.

Wisconsin Evolution is accepting applications for our Seminar Series' Early Career Scientist Award. Come share your evolution research and visit UW-Madison's evolution community. Open to grad students and postdocs (<5 yrs post PhD) from outside UW-Madison. Apply by Dec 15th here: shorturl.at/4a4O6