The description of P. efatra also involved some #museomics and comparative osteology, to resolve the identity of the highly similar P. tetra. @alicepetzold.bsky.social managed to get DNA sequence from the holotype and a paratype, so we could place them in a mitochondrial tree—far from P. efatra! 🐸🧪
Three newly discovered toad species skip the tadpole phase entirely and give birth to live toadlets! 🐸
Learn more about these rare amphibians on our blog: blog.pensoft.net/2025/11/17/t...
A new post about the three #newspecies of toad we have just described from Tanzania, feat @christianthrane.bsky.social, Simon Loader, @alicepetzold.bsky.social, John Lyakurwa, and Michele Menegon! 🧪🐸🇹🇿
www.markscherz.com/archives/6208
Three new species of tree toads from Tanzania have been discovered. 🐸
These amphibians don’t lay frogspawn or have a tadpole phase like most other toads, but instead give birth to live young!
Find out how museum specimens helped scientists to discover these species. 👇
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
Most of my group gathered in one place for the first time possibly ever. From left to right, former master's student Collin Bos, current postdoc Alice Petzold, me (Mark D. Scherz), former bachelor's student Joris Fleck, and current master's student and former bachelor's student Clara Keusgen.
Having a diffuse research group means that I rarely get to spend any time with my group in 3D. It was a great delight therefore to be joined by @collinbos.bsky.social @alicepetzold.bsky.social @njorisfleck.bsky.social and @clarakeusgen.bsky.social together in Bonn for the #SEH2025! 🧪🐸🦎🐍🧬
I’m setting up a Discord server for young herpetologists, derived from an idea at #SEH2025. The goal is to create a space for quick help, collaboration, and networking. If you’d like to give input or get involved, let me know!
#herpetology
#SEH2025 what a week!
Plenty of great talks, lovely people and chats…
Also presented a poster on our Grass Snake project in Berlin.
Clara presenting her slides. Featuring some very cute frogs, including a frog with a few eggs around it.
Loving the Herp-Omics symposium at #SEH2025! Proud to see several members of my lab presenting here—my postdoc @alicepetzold.bsky.social presented and is one of the chairs! Up now, @clarakeusgen.bsky.social is presenting on the Bachelor’s thesis that she did with us.
My colleague, Alice Petzold and I are standing in front of the symposium schedule in the Grass Snake Room at the 23rd European Congress of Herpetology. We are holding yellow and red cards to signal to the presenters at the symposium how much time they have left for their presentation.
Alice and I opening our symposium "Herp-omics: a genomic perspective on earth’s herpetofaunal diversity".
Firstly, @alicepetzold.bsky.social and I organized our first symposium: Herp-omics: a #genomic perspective on earth’s herpetofaunal #diversity, with 27 participants and it was great fun. The variety of projects showed just how exciting this field of research is. #systematics #conservation #ecology
The so-called insect wall in the special exhibition "digitize!" at the museum, consisting of dozens of insect boxes from the research collection.
Join us in shaping the future! 🦋
Support the museum as a volunteer! Current opportunities:
✅ Help disclose our collections
✅ Support the discovery of new species
✅ Review nature observations
👉 Apply by 4 May: bit.ly/jobs-mfnberlin
📸 Pablo Castagnola
The Structure Equation Model (a fancy kind of Path model) from the paper, constructed of four factors influencing body size: elevation, which acts indirectly via its effect on temperature and precipitation; temperature, which acts directly only weakly, but more strongly via a direct effect on humidity; precipitation, which acts directly on body size but also has a significant relationship with humidity; and humidity, which has a direct influence. It's an elegant figure. There's a salamander representing body size, illustrated by one of the coauthors, Fleming.
Blown away by this paper on body size variation among 11,264 (!!!) measured plethodontid salamanders over an elevational gradient. Super surprised to see that it is not temperature that has the main explanatory role, but mostly humidity and precipitation 🧪🦎
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Have a look at this coverage of the new paper led by Daniel Shaykevich, featuring Andrius Pasukonis, both currently at
@klivvvienna.bsky.social 😊 Link to paper in the comments 🐸
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
✨We are hiring!✨🧪🏛️🧬
The @nhmdk.bsky.social at the University of Copenhagen is seeking a permanent, full-time Molecular Biology Lab Manager to help us establish and run our National Facility for #Museomics in the heart of one of Europe's most beautiful cities!
Please reskeet!
A crazy cute illustration of a frog with a dark umber belly and a coffee brown brow, suspended in the air by pink heart-shaped balloons that say 'Be Mine' on them. I mean, if it were any cuter I would be physically ill.
An illustrated box of Valentine's day chocolates except—what's that? One of them is a frog‽ Yup. New species of frog described on valentine's day that really looks a lot like it could be made of chocolate. You guys, Alice Petzold's artistic talent knows no bounds.
💕Happy Valentine's Day!❤️
We got you a gift: Anilany karsticola, a #newspecies of miniaturised frog from Madagascar! 🧪
Published #OA today in Salamandra
Read more and get the paper here: www.markscherz.com/archives/6117
Phenomenal 🐸 illustrations by postdoc & first author, @alicepetzold.bsky.social
💕AniLOVEly Valentine's Day💕 Check out our new article adding another miniaturised species to Madagascar's anuran fauna 🐸 The article is #OA and can be downloaded here: www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/ne...
