Megan McCuller, ectoproctologist

What’s everyone’s favorite animal.

My top 3:

1. Crab 🦀
2. Crab again 🦀
3. Crab again again 🦀

looks like Watersipora, yes!

The story didn't stop me from SCUBA diving and that wasn't its purpose, but it did give me a better appreciation for the gear

For obvious reasons I'm thinking about it now

I took a nautical archaeology course as an undergrad and the prof told us a story about a wreck diver who was on a deep dive. From out of nowhere it hit him how his life was dependent on his dive gear- he finished the dive and never dove again. I think about this story occasionally

Normally this would not apply to me. The last two days, however…

screenshot of a video of me using the interactive where the digital spiders on the floor respond to my movements as I walk across the floor

screenshot of video where Bronwyn plays a game related to spider mating dances

image of a hungry-hungry hippos like game where you can operate different shapes of "chelicerae" in order to catch "prey" (which are squishy balls)

image of a case being placed over a display that shows some spider collections from our museum

ok y'all need to come check out the Spiders: from Fear to Fascination exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences because it is so informative and includes a lot of interactive displays. @bwwilliams.bsky.social and I had a blast previewing it today ahead of its opening on Saturday!

screenshot of a video of me using the interactive where the digital spiders on the floor respond to my movements as I walk across the floor

screenshot of video where Bronwyn plays a game related to spider mating dances

image of a hungry-hungry hippos like game where you can operate different shapes of "chelicerae" in order to catch "prey" (which are squishy balls)

image of a case being placed over a display that shows some spider collections from our museum

ok y'all need to come check out the Spiders: from Fear to Fascination exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences because it is so informative and includes a lot of interactive displays. @bwwilliams.bsky.social and I had a blast previewing it today ahead of its opening on Saturday!

Hey bluesky 🩵

Behold this 102-year-old adorably furry Orange Jumper (I think 😬) InverteButt from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Collection. Collected in Raleigh, North Carolina, September 1921, by C.S. Brimley.

Good Omens posting on main

he's so 🥰😭👼🥺

Two people - one carrying a rolled up seine net - wading into a sandy, tree-lined stream.

Q- How many undescribed crayfish species can we find in 1 day in an area in western North Carolina 22 miles long x 4 miles wide?

A- At least five, plus one with a name. 😑 We have our work cut out for us!

One small miracle: the branchiobdellidans shown here ARE known (Xironodrilus bashaviae) 😮‍💨

that pizza is not structurally sound

we've got baby giant isopods now too! gotta do a shoot with them next 😆

i’m very jealous of the fact that megan has MULTIPLE images of herself cradling different preserved giant isopods for potential profile photo usage

(she had a different image of herself doing this as her twitter pfp for a while)

here's our larger giant isopod, which just got its ethanol changed after taking this photo 😅 (new pfp of me holding it like a baby for scale)

The underside (inside) of a marine bivalve with a shell crab pressed into it.

THIS is custom-fit protective wear! A Granulate Shellback Crab (Hypochonca arcuata) collected 28 July 2004 off Usina Beach, Jacksonville, FL by SEAMAP biologists. The functional form-fit shell even comes with its own bling: bryozoans, a tiny anemone, worm tubes, and traces of barnacle.

they are not smooth braining the breeding process

they must not know about clownfish yet..

eyyyy, Bronwyn is here now! go follow her at @bwwilliams.bsky.social if you want some sweet sweet invertebrate content!

I think it might be

The original Prawn God commercial from 1996. Prawn God reissue available here: https://obviousplant.com/ Ripped from VHS with help from @skycorphomevideo Weird 90s Commercials: Prawn God

a friend shared this with me

ingest of the brine y'all

Understandable, thank you!!

I'm so excited 😭

I saw something that suggested it'll be released weekly instead of all at once. Do you know yet? I only ask because I have a friend in another state who was going to ask off work and visit to binge if the whole season is dropped at once

I could watch conference talks or I could... watch Good Burger

multiple packages delivered but first I had to:

* figure out what building pkgs were delivered to
* who received them
* who has them
* coordinate getting them to the museum
* coordinate getting them to me at an off-site facility

I've only got 1 in hand so far 🥴

can you tell I'm a state employee

that's my emotional support comically large thumb tack

so excited I spelled it wrong

Y'ALL MY NEW STEROMICROSCOPE HAS SHIPPED

dried sponges and sea stars? in an old Cuban cigar box hidden behind an old thermal printer in MY office? it's more likely than you think

hell yeah that's awesome!