Prosanta Chakrabarty

I met him briefly once after he spoke at McGill University in Montreal where I was doing my undergrad in zoology. He signed my copy of 'Panda's Thumb' but I was too nervous to tell him he was my hero. Wish he was still around.

I love Stephen Jay Gould - he wasn't perfect, but growing up as a New Yorker interested in evolution and natural history, I adored how he could write so clearly and beautifully while still throwing around modern analogies to baseball or skyscrapers that added to his points instead of detracting.

Cover of Stephen Jay Gould’s book Full House showing a tangled bank of animals

I wanted to re-read Gould’s ‘Full House’ because I know he wrote it after a cancer diagnosis with a short average life expectancy made him look more closely at the nature of variation (which can look progressive if you cherry pick). I think this might be my favorite book of his. #evolution

God! God! God!—crack my heart!—stave my brain!—mockery! mockery! bitter, biting mockery of grey hairs

Cover of Gary Grossman’s book ‘My Life as a fish’ showing him holding a large flounder.

Very much enjoyed ‘My Life as a Fish’ by @gdgrossman.bsky.social

He survived lots of childhood drama and pain to become an excellent ichthyologist only
to be punished by his university admin for being unorthodox.

The bio has lots or descriptive art by Ryan Tavarez that helped with readability.

Asking questions during seminars is a great way to practice public speaking.

It helps you learn to be clear and concise and hopefully to think deeply about a subject and to be polite. People around you will notice and take note of your words - good or bad.

Honored to be speaking at the @linneansociety.bsky.social online lecture series.

Come for the cute bat photos, stay for the fun research 🦇🦇🦇

Coelacanths were believed extinct for 66 million years until a shocking discovery in 1938. New research reveals this "living fossil" actually evolved, but followed a surprising pattern that changed… The Fish that Defied Evolution for 400 Million Years

We thought coelacanths barely changed for 380 million years…

Until new research revealed they actually evolved, driven by what they least expected!
🧪 #SciComm

buff.ly/THflbyo

How do four-eyed fish see above & underwater? 🌤️🌊 Our new preprint reveals how Anableps rewired its retina for dual vision- evolution at work 👁️👁️ Kudos to @perezlouise.bsky.social @josanesousa.bsky.social @keylapruett.bsky.social + team!
🔗 tinyurl.com/3a8r9xy5

“The PO-Driven Model”: A Basic Science Pipeline for the Bioeconomy with Solutions Inspired by Convergent Evolution for Connecting Parallel Research Ideas Open Access Tilottama Roy, Jung-Youn Lee, Tomokazu Kawashima, Grey Monroe, Prosanta Chakrabarty Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 65, Issue 1, July 2025, Pages 22–27, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icae156

Our flagship journal's co author from the #NSF Life invited papers, @prosanta.bsky.social wrote this tremendously helpful piece for us all to consider in how we share our lives at work.

Consider Sharing #Health Challenges With Colleagues (opinion) www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

I lay there broad awake, feeling a great deal worse than I have ever done since

Oh yes, love that book and everything she has written!

Cover of ‘The Beast in the Clouds’ by Nathalia Holt showing a panda in a tree and the bearded Roosevelt brothers

I always enjoy reading about the Roosevelt’s - flaws and all - and this book about Teddy’s sons Ted Jr. and Kermit trekking through China in search of the then mostly mythical panda 🐼 was a fun read.

Thank you Clare

Thanks friend.

Consider Sharing Health Challenges With Colleagues (opinion) Being open with my colleagues about my cancer diagnosis has allowed me to access an enormous source of support and comfort.

I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.

I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

Thanks friend!

You don’t need to struggle alone (but I recognize not everyone has the privledge to do that). I’m lucky to have a great support system at work and a lovely family taking good care of me.

I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.

I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ you don’t need to struggle alone (advice that is not possible for everyone to take).

Consider Sharing Health Challenges With Colleagues (opinion) Being open with my colleagues about my cancer diagnosis has allowed me to access an enormous source of support and comfort.

I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.

I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

Hey I’m an ☄️ asteroid thanks to @spacepod.bsky.social

What a cosmic honor!

minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/sh...

Thanks @calacademy.bsky.social and @lsuscience.bsky.social !

🎉 Congrats to Dr. Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social, Director of the LSU MNS, on being named a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences!

An ichthyologist studying fishes worldwide, he’s described 15 new species, published 5 books and 150+ papers, and is a passionate science communicator. 🌎🐟

Check out the @lsu.bsky.social LSU Museum of Natural Science Fall 2025 newsletter. Lots of stories of fieldwork and research from our students, staff and curators. And my first as Director.

www.lsu.edu/mns/files/ne...

@solomonrdavid.bsky.social did you see the “gar girl” skit on SNL from last night - your promotion of #garweek hit the big time

Round sticker reading “Gar Week” with letters covered in scale patterns of all 7 gar species, and the head shot of a hybrid gar passing through the words.

Preview of this year’s #GarWeek sticker from @garlab.bsky.social!

Featuring scale patterns of all seven living gar species in the letters, and our unique Hybrid Gar!

Once again, debuting @bsky.app first!
credit: I.Terzian & S.R. David

Shark Whisperer is lying to you: a look into the harmful effects of Ocean Ramsey and shark influencers — Dr. Jack A. Cooper Ocean Ramsey is undoubtedly one of the most well-known “shark influencers”, whose videos show her free diving and touching wild great white and tiger sharks as she swims right up alongside them.…

Shark Whisperer is lying to you: a look into the harmful effects of Ocean Ramsey and shark influencers | This quotes me and is very thorough. Check it out.

Loved the audiobook for the new Mark Twain bio by Rob Chernow especially all the folksy quips delivered in a slow drawl. I then reread Huck Finn which is a tough read in today’s context but I found ‘James’ a great revenge story that helps fill in the sad gaps from ‘Jim’s’ story that Huck missed.

Congrats @danielgeldof.bsky.social on defending your Master's today. It's been wonderful having a CT expert and poacher enthusiast in the lab. Well done.

Certificate for the California Academy of Sciences Fellow, and images from the ceremony showing the presentation of the honor.

Thanks to @coralreeffish.bsky.social and @raynacbell.bsky.social
for nominating me to be a new Fellow of the @calacademy.bsky.social California Academy of Sciences.

It is an honor.

Natural history is more important than ever.