Natalie Cooper

Evolution 2026 meeting logo. Clilp art of a globe and laptop showing a virtual presentation. Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Global Meeting Participation.

Registration for virtual #Evol2026 on May 20-22 is free for SSE members in 152 countries and territories around the world! Check if you’re eligible and request your discount code on our website: www.evolutionsociety.org/index.php?mo...
@evolmtg.bsky.social

Last few days to apply!

eBird Checklist - 22 Mar 2025 - Tewaukon NWR - 23 species Submitted by Karl Bardon.

Is this the biggest ever single species count on eBird? Gobsmacking photos of an estimated 2.75M Snow Geese in North Dakota (HT @evornithology.bsky.social)

ebird.org/checklist/S2...

Do you live in the UK or Canada? Could you spare an hour to help me with an important science project focused on excessive packaging? (all you need is a ruler and a basic kitchen scale) 🤞🙏♻️

We described a new species of grasslizard from #Assam, #India.
🦎
NE India is the westernmost distributional limit of this genus, which extends all the way to Japan!

Dietary specialization drives adaptation, convergence, and integration across the cranial and appendicular skeleton in Waterfowl (Anseriformes) Abstract. Convergence provides strong evidence for adaptation, reflecting similar responses to recurring selection pressures. Waterfowl (order Anseriformes

I can finally share my main postdoc project! It took a while but we finally got it out

So if you want to read about an updated phylogeny for waterfowl and all the convergent evolution they get up to boy do I have a paper/thread for you

academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan... 🪶🧪

Imagine a human being sitting on their ass with their arms on their hips such that their fingers are facing each other near their crotch. Now cover it with cream fur, change the arms and feet into pink and then nails about 3 inches long and sharp. Make two holes for the nose, and put a literal msmiley on its face. The text above it reads: drawing of a three tote sloth by English naturalist and more mythologist George Edwards 1709 to 1773. Below is the curator's comments from the British Museum: This drawing is probably related to the etching (dated October 2nd 1758) made by George Edwards in his ‘Gleanings of Natural History’, volume II, plate 310, where he wrote: “The specimen from which I drew [this likeness] was a stuffed skin, set up in the attitude represented by the figure. [...] This animal was brought from Honduras in America, and I believe is found all over those parts of South America, that are not many degrees distant from the equinoctial line. It was the property of the late Lord Peter [i.e. Petre].” It is also probable that the naturalist Peter Collinson refers to this drawing in a letter to Sir Hans Sloane dated 20 June 1734, which Sloane received in his capacity as President of the Royal Society, and in which Collinson wrote: “I Presum’d It might not be unacceptable to You & the Rest of the Gent[leme]n [i.e. of the Royal Society] to see a Sloth. It is well preserv’d. It came last from Jamaica but I conclude it is no Native of that Island because not mentioned in yr Natural History. Mr Edwards has taken a Draught of it.” [This letter is referenced in Arthur MacGregor, ‘The natural history correspondence of Sir Hans Sloane’, Archives of Natural History 22 (1995), p87, however MacGregor gives no indication in which manuscript of Sloane’s correspondence in the British Library the letter is contained.] Source: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_SL-5261-28

See alt.

YouTube video by Natural History Museum Josh quizzes us on the colours of nature | The 'Perfect' Specimen Ep21

New episode today is COLOURFUL! With apologies from @nhcooper123.bsky.social that since recording this one of the papers she talked about has been retracted! Sponge wars continues m.youtube.com/watch?v=O_DN... 🧽 📕 🐸 🪸

I also remember this talk and it was indeed excellent!

Doctor Strangelove now reads like a subdued masterpiece of the subtle mimetic.

International Women’s Day: Activism in Action This International Women’s Day, join Amnesty Feminists (Amnesty UK) for an energising, practical, and community-driven afternoon.

I will be taking part in this event on 7th March with @amnestyfeminist.bsky.social - tickets here

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/internatio...

In the Aftermath of Empire In the Aftermath of Empire - Coloniality, Gender, and Sexuality; In the Aftermath of Empire explores the impact of colonial law on gendered subjects in Ireland, India, and Pakistan, focusing on queer ...

Coming in November from @brisunipress.bsky.social, In the Aftermath of Empire explores the impact of British imperialism on gender and sexuality law in four jurisdictions.

Please tell your libraries to pre-order!

bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/in-the-after...

Thanks Mike! It’s all thanks to the very talented ECRs who wrote the sections :)

A novel approach to quantifying mammal locomotor repertoires using scoring and cluster analysis Abstract. Describing behaviour using qualitative categories is a staple of studies on tetrapod functional morphology, ecology and evolution. However, such

New paper out! The first from @osteosophia.bsky.social 's PhD - a new (hopefully more objective) way for categorising locomotor repertoires. With @eloygl.bsky.social @livevobiomech.bsky.social and Laura Fitton: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

#notallseaotters

lol yeah. Though all the galleries are getting a refresh over the next 10 years so enjoy it while you can!

Haha sorry about that!

I believe papers about extinct charismatic vertebrates should be held to the same publishing standards and norms as other taxonomic groups. It's objectively bizarre that papers describing a single species gets published in Science/Nature as if that's considered of broad paleobiological significance

I have since learned it should be hackathon as all one word. Tune in for more pearls of wisdom like this 🤣

If you're in Oxford, come along!
If you're not, tune in!

In defence of this, we don’t usually use common names in species rich stuff like bats so I’ve never called it this (they were part of my PhD thesis). But, the genus it belongs to is commonly called tailless bats, but this species has a tail. Hence the name. It’s not trying to be annoying. Poor 🦇😂

I just did the dumbest thing of my entire career to prove a much more serious point.

I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion

People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it

This was so much fun, thanks again for doing it!

Timeline cleanse: Scruffers is off meth, out of rehab, and ready to start a new life!

Henbane. A dried plant specimen with pale whitish flowers and green spiky leaves, flattened and stuck to card

Small firefly beetle pinned in a box with a label underneath it with information about the species and location it was found. Beetle has a brown body, yellow head and long antennae.

A shiny bee. Bee is iridescent blue and pinned in a drawer. Wings are sticking out and are brown.

Close up of two very flat flatworms in a jar. They are dark on top and light brown underneath and about 3mm thick.

Specimens for this week!

Should have said the word was SEDUCTIVE! 🥰

YouTube video by Natural History Museum Did witches ride broomsticks? Our guest explains why we might think so | The 'Perfect' Specimen Ep20

A belated Valentines themed podcast which was so much fun with the inimitable @nhcooper123.bsky.social and @joshlukedavis.com m.youtube.com/watch?v=2qNL... 🧙‍♀️ 🧹 Caution: do not take lessons in seduction from a scientist 🤓

Wishing everyone a propitious start into a prosperous, successful and happy year of the horse!

A picture of Worf from TNG with a canary’s head. There’s a space background.

Canary Worf.