A model study in paleobiology. High quality osteology, synthetic comparisons with extant species using geometric morphometrics and large sample sizes to account for allometry and ontogenetic variation.
This is the way.
1/9 #science#biology Very pleased to announced that our accepted paper (@TJNear & Alex Dornburg) on the early evolution of acanthopterygian fishes is out in @journal_evo.
https://t.co/kxO8mi4qpW
Not going to lie, I am still frustrated there's an amazing piece of palaeoart, one of the first models of a feathered dinosaur, headlining a national institution, from the 1990s, made by a woman. But it's usually completely ignored in the history of palaeoart.
🚨🚨 1/8 New paper from @TJNear, Alex Dornburg, and myself! We reconstruct the early evolution of acanthopterygian fishes, which include ~1/3 of living vertebrate species! https://t.co/QmmmmkQsm1
Entomopathogenic fungi: This is a "Pleasing Fungus Beetle" (probably Erotylidae); the fruiting bodies are a similar shape and configuration to Ophiocordyceps curculionum. Thank you João Araújo! The fungus is predatory, killing the insect to complete its life cycle.
Have you ever seen a juvenile Buffalo Trunkfish (Lactophrys trigonus)? I absolutely love their weird skeleton which forms this bony carapace making their body rigid.
Happy World Manta Day from the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group! Our global team works to assess the conservation status of sharks and their relatives, including manta rays, using the best available scientific data.