MorphoBank

A view of the headshield of Megalograptus, preserved as reddish-brown cuticle on a pale grey rock. The headshield is generally equilateral in shape, with a rounded front bearing small spiny projections. A pair of round eyes are also located at the front of the head. The surface of the headshield is curved in dense, pustule-like scales.

A fossil of the second appendage of Megalograptus, preserved as dark cuticle on a light grey rock. The appendage is short with robust spines coming off of it.

A view of the body segments of Megalograptus, preserved as dark cuticle on pale grey rock. Four body segments are present, again preserving small, pustule-like scales.

One of the earliest large predatory eurypterids, Megalograptus, for #FossilFriday. Megalograptus is known from abundant - and very unusual - material from the Ordovician of #Ohio, affording an important insight into the morphology of this rather bizarre species. ⚒️🧪

Welcome to Mathew, Christine and Kevin, the newest board members at @phoenixbio.bsky.social, the nonprofit home of #MorphoBank. We are grateful for your expertise, insight, and leadership! 👏

Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who provided feedback before, during, and after MorphoBank's recent re-platforming effort. As a community-led platform, we wouldn't exist without you!

Read more: phoenixbioinfo.org/presenting-t...

#ecology #evolutionarybiology #biology #archaeology

Main image at the top: an artistic representation of two turtles on the beach of a shallow river, with water in the foreground. The turtles are reconstructions of the Miocene podocnemidad Shakiremys colombiana. Illustration by Juan Giraldo. Bottom right corner: two fossil images; on the left a shell of Shakiremys columbiana (paratype VPPLT-1721) showing the plastron in ventral view; on the right a dorsal view of a skull of the same species (holotype, VPPLT-1730). Scale bars below each specimen are 5 cm (shell) and 2 cm (skull).

Mosaic morphology in Podocnemididae revealed by a new turtle from the Middle Miocene La Venta Biome, Colombia onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology @morphobank.bsky.social

Main picture is an artist's reconstruction of the Triassic fossil crustacean Yunnanocylus fortis, newly described from the Guiyan biota. The crab-like animal is shown on the sea bed. Inset in the lower left corner is an image of the holotype (CUGM 00359); scale bar in the lower left corner is 2 mm.

A new Early Triassic cyclidan crustacean from the Guiyang biota onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... - ecosystem recovery after mass extinction @morphobank.bsky.social #PapersinPalaeontology

MorphoBank is an invaluable #openaccess resource for #phylogentetics researchers. And now, it's better than ever, with new site architecture, faster, more efficient processing, and a more intuitive interface. 🧪

bit.ly/3WImTLj

#biology #evolutionarybiology #treeoflife #paleontology #scisky

Wait… did you say there’s a new MorphoBank?

That’s right. MorphoBank is now faster, cleaner, more scaleable, and more sustainable. Learn more on our blog phoenixbioinfo.org/presenting-t... 🧪

#biology #evolutionarybiology #phylogenetics #treeoflife #systematics #cladistics #paleontology

Picture of Josh

Hello to Josh with @phoenixbio.bsky.social! Head to booth 40 and learn about Arabidopsis, aka “the mouse of the plant world,” and other biology resources!

It's great to be back at the #CharlestonConference! Come on by booth 40 to catch up with Phoenix executive director Josh Young, and learn about what's new with @morphobank.bsky.social and @tairnews.bsky.social

#CHSconf2025 #OpenScience #OpenAccess #scholcomm #scholcomms

Phoenix is at the @chashub.bsky.social conference! Stop by booth #40 to say hello and visit with our executive director Josh Young.

#CHSconf2025 #CharlestonConference #OpenScience #OpenAccess #scholcomm #scholcomms #Charleston

Two photographs of Titanochelon richardi fossils, a Late Miocene giant tortoise from the Valle Penedes Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula. Top left: skull (IPS62095a) in left lateral view, scale bar at lower left 2 cm. On the right: plastron (IPS62095l) in visceral view, scale bar (mid right) is 4 cm.

New evidence of a European giant tortoise (Titanochelon richardi) from the Upper Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès Basin: taxonomic & phylogenetic implications onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology @morphobank.bsky.social

Happy #OAweek! This week the research and #scholcomm communities celebrate #OpenAccess, and consider the question of "Who owns our knowledge?"

For MorphoBank the answer is simple: creators do. We encourage maximally open CC0 licensing, and support a range of other Creative Commons options.

Would you like help with publishing P4045 (the project linked to your 2025 Science paper)? P3385 is linked to your 2021 The Innovation paper. DM us at curator@morphobank.org if you'd like to continue the conversation offline. Thank you!

An interesting study of life science database sustainability using MorphoBank as one of the case examples 🧪

#openscience #openaccess #databases #opendata

wrench and screwdriver

MorphoBank is upgrading!
Logins will be disabled from Oct 17 (5 PM PDT) – Oct 20, 2025 while we migrate to new software.
Published projects will remain available.
Thanks for your patience as we make MorphoBank better for the research community. 💪
#MorphoBank #OpenScience #DataCuration #improvement

Photograph of the holotype and only known specimen of the hauffiopterygian leptonectid, Xiphodracon goldencapensis (ROM VP52596) from Golden Cap, between Charmouth and Seatown, Dorset, UK. The skeleton is exposed in ventrolateral view. The skull has been fully prepared free of matrix whereas most of the skeleton is still in matrix. The left (upper) forefin has been prepared so that it is three-dimensionally preserved and projects upwards. Scale bar (lower left) is 20 cm.

A new long & narrow-snouted ichthyosaur illuminates a complex faunal turnover during an undersampled Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) interval onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #FossilFriday @morphobank.bsky.social #PapersinPalaeontology

@chrisbstringer.bsky.social let us know if you need a hand publishing the project!

YouTube video by MorphoBank Welcome - MorphoBank Connects 2025

Did you miss the MorphoBank Connects virtual conference? Don't worry...we've got you covered. 🧪

Watch the presentations on YouTube 🎞️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJJG...

#biology #evolutionarybiology #openscience #openaccess #opendata #FAIRdata #paleontology #treeoflife #morphology #phylogenetics

📢 Big news: This month MorphoBank surpassed 2,000 project publications!

It's been a long journey. Thank you all for taking it with us!

#biology #evolutionarybiology #phylogenetics #treeoflife #systematics #cladistics #paleontology #morphobank

The window for feedback on MorphoBank's new platform is drawing to a close. Check it out, and let us know what you think at curator [at] morphobank.org

Day 1 of MorphoBank Connects is behind us. But there's still time to join us for Day 2, which includes a hands-on workshop with the MorphoBank toolkit, followed by open office hours for your specific projects.

Get ready: MorphoBank Connects is coming up Sept. 18 & 19! Join us for research presentations, hands-on workshops and a keynote from our founder 🧪

READ MORE: bit.ly/MorphoConnectsBlog
REGISTER: bit.ly/morphobankconnect

#Treeoflife #Phylogenetics #EvolutionaryBiology #Biology #Paleontoloty

We’re thrilled to share that our updated MorphoBank platform will include not just the parsimony tools you’ve come to rely on, but also new phylogenetic methods.

Which methods are most useful to you? Take our poll or comment ↘️

#biology #evolutionarybiology #phylogenetics #treeoflife #paleontology

Which methods are most useful to you? (vote below)

1️⃣ PAUP
2️⃣ TNT
3️⃣ MrBayes
4️⃣ RevBayes

📊 Show results

Read more about the updates on our blog: phoenixbioinfo.org/morphobank-g...

Please email comments to: curator@morphobank.org

Pst…have you heard? MorphoBank is getting a new look and some exciting new functionality to go with it. Take a sneak peek on our beta site at beta.morphobank.org and let us know what you think. 🧪

#biology #evolutionarybiology #phylogenetics #treeoflife #systematics #cladistics #paleontology

📨📫 Now you can have the latest news from Phoenix, @tairnews.bsky.social and @morphobank.bsky.social delivered straight to your inbox.

You'll receive technical updates, new project announcements, tips and tricks for using our systems, and more.

Sign up ➡️ omniform1.com/forms/v1/lan...

Want to optimize your use of MorphoBank? Join us Sept. 19 for a hands-on workshop and open office hours —
part of our inaugural MorphoBank Connects virtual conference. Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/4fVGRLq

#MorphoBank #Treeoflife #Phylogenetics #EvolutionaryBiology #Biology #Paleontoloty

“Making academic publishing Open and FAIR: how MorphoBank aids data reproducibility” presented by Dr.
@drmarkyoung.bsky.social
of Historical Biology

#FAIRdata #openaccess #MorphoBankConnects2025 #opendata

“Quantitative analysis of ophiomicrodermatoglyphics in shed-off skin: a novel taxonomic approach in snake identification” presented by Harij Uddin of University of Chittagong

#taxonomy #biology #MorphoBankConnects2025