Dr Andrew Mahon

having been working with these amazing, weird animals for ~20years now, THAT was one of those "holy grails" that while i didn't find it myself, I am SO glad someone finally did!...and it was only ~150years after C. megalonyx was first described!!!

esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

funny enough, yes, that is an oviger...but in the family Colossendeidae....males do NOT carry the eggs like in all other families. Until recently we didn't know how this entire family (the giant pycnos btw) reproduce.....Amy Moran et al published on another species C. megalonyx.

Pycnogonida, species Colossendeis robusta, sea spider collected on NBP20-10 research cruise.

Staring down this day like a boss....Colossendeis robusta, a sea spider collected on our research cruise in 2020 in the Weddell/Western Antarctic Peninsula. 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🐧🌊

In a world seemingly full of....well...the others.....

Be a Flavor Flav. So great! @flavorflav.bsky.social

so...the funding is still there ...maybe....but those that need it to stay ahead of the curve and do the best science can't get it....sounds accurate in this political environment. 🧪

Unknown isopod collected in Antarctica in 2013 along the western Antarctic Peninsula. LMG 13-12 cruise. Scaphodactylus sp?

Seems like everyone wants weird arthropods from #Antarctica these days....here's one I haven't posted before. I THINK its a Scaphodactylus sp. but ??? 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🌊

US Federal research investment, particularly in biomedical and physical sciences, generates estimated returns of 200-300%. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, drives startups, and ensures global competitiveness. I guess we don't care about that anymore as a country? 🧪

Replacing the Polar Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer The National Science Foundation ended its lease of Palmer at the end of FY 2025. Here's a look at what might be coming next.

A great overview, slightly dated since the NBP is already gone. The US Antarctic program capacity is lacking greatly right now....replacements that are in place now are a band-aid at best with less capacity/ability than the NBP and Gould. 🧪🌎🦑🌊 🇦🇶 #Antarctica

Sincerest condolences John. Thoughts are with you and yours.

Pycnogonida. Austropallene cornigera. Collected in Antarctica via benthic trawl.

Felt like a sea spider day to me....Austropallene cornigera. 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶 #Antarctica

More delays....and yet the fish keep swimming....saying they are not yet into the lakes is irresponsible. They're there. Now is when we keep the population numbers low...the longer we wait and delay, the worse/quicker the invasion will be. 🧪🌎

Luckily we have about 5 or so specimens from locations nearly circumpolar around Antarctica. Thanks for the advice/info Geoff!

We have the mitogenome assembled and circularized but no prior barcodes for it. It will be part of the re-description. I don't see any justification for a new name, as we are sure its the same species but the details and lack of access to holotype (if it exists still) make redescription warranted.

good question about the epitype but I again lack the holotype....but as for neotype....if I've exhausted every effort to contact folks and organization who have the holotype, is that good enough to replace the holotype...if i cannot verify one way or another if the original exists any longer.

I don't need to give it a different name, but what's published is a poor representative, single collection of one and I've collected what I believe to be their described species many places and times in Antarctica. Any direction I could get from all of you would be fantastic!

To do a re-description of this organism that is absolutely warranted, do I have to actually physically travel to this unreachable location and knock on doors (that honestly may NOT exist) to find it?

Measurements are off by many factors of 10, poor drawings, the photo is unidentifiable. What would the process of re-describing this be? I have made EVERY attempt to contact the folks that have the holotype....but i've gotten no response (its in a reported collection in an unreachable location).

I actually have a question for science community that I HOPE someone can direct me...I have a species of marine organism that was previously described but while I'm sure I have collected this species, the original description, published in the 1993 is objectively not...ideal. 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶

In case folks needed to know, as a #scicomm announcement and PSA to everyone, there are no penguins in Greenland. #Antarctica🧪🇦🇶 I can't believe that needs to be said but yep....it needs to be....

Ceratoserolis trilobitoides, a cerolid isopod collected in April 2023 in East Antarctica. Research cruise NBP23-03. Photo credit to an unknown member of the NBP23-03 research team.

An "angry" isopod (Ceratoserolis trilobitoides) collected in April 2023 in East Antarctica. Research cruise NBP23-03. 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶

basket star, Gorganocephalus sp. (likely G. chilensis). photo by C. Helm, member of our field research team in 2013 (LMG13-12). from the Western Antarctic peninsula.

Another from our 2013 research cruise....(LMG13-12) along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. I BELIEVE this is Gorganocephalus chilensis (Ophiuroidea). #antarctica 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶

the gammarid Paraceradocus gibber collected on LMG13-12 along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. photo credit to C. Helm, a member of our field research team on the cruise.

Antarctic amphipod Friday ....the gammarid Paraceradocus gibber collected on LMG13-12 along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶

....numbers matter. 🧪🌎🦑

Austropallene cornigera, a sea spider from the continental shelf waters around #Antarctica #Pycnogonida

Photo of the day....Austropallene cornigera, a sea spider from the continental shelf waters around #Antarctica #Pycnogonida 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶 Collected in East Antarctica in 2023 on the NBP23-03 research cruise.

Really excited about this news! We had a lot fun and I'm wearing my newly-won FHL sweatshirt for today's last #sicb2026 talks

SICB Division of Invertebrate Zoology logo

Time to celebrate! The @sicb-diz.bsky.social auction at the #SICB2026 meeting raised $4790 for student and postdoctoral support!!!! This will be the basis for the John and Vickey Pearse Fund being established by DIZ! Thanks to @kmkocot.bsky.social for being our exuberant auctioneer and all donors!!!

#IcyInverts presenters from this morning's #SICB2026 Antarctic Invertebrates session. @sicb-diz.bsky.social

AWESOME!!!!!

Last call for the DIZ auction at the SICB meeting in Portland, OR! @sicb.bsky.social @sicb-diz.bsky.social If you need to ship an item to make it to the auction, DM me or email me (see form!). PLEASE DONATE! Art items, books, crafts, nerdy stuff, stickers, .....Funds help STUDENTS!!! Please RT!