Geekception - xkcd style phylogenetic trees!

Over at the awesome Phylogenetic Tools for Comparative Biology blog, Liam Revell has provided R code and instructions on how biologists can take thier love of phylogenies to a new level. xkcd style tree drawing. I kid ye not, here's proof:

This is a tree I'm working with at the moment for Spinicaudatan clam shrimp. Totally putting this in a presentation....

Mantis Bomb!

Cheeky-mantis-photobombing-spider-picture-of-the-day

Original article @ Metro

Geckos don't suck

They stick. Here's a cool article about my good friend Alyssa Stark's research (I have helped them with Scanning Electron Microscope Imaging in the past). Everyone loves Geckos (they just look so clueless, like naked, slow squirrels). The Niewiarowski lab at the University of Akron looks at a lot of cool evolutionary aspects of herps, they also work closely with our established polymers lab in making crazy bio inspired tech.

New paper re: sexual system evolution

(shamless self-promotion alert)

I had a new paper out recently in Palaeontologica Electronica! Woot!

Sexual discrimination at work: Spinicaudatan ‘Clam Shrimp’ (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) as a model organism for the study of sexual system evolution T.I. Astrop, L.E. Park, Brown, B. and S.C. Weeks

Invertebrate Round-Up

There have been some excellent blog posts about inverts this week... Two posts about Branchiopod Crustacea?! Hell yeah!

Water fleas (AKA "Flying Belly Monsters) @ Real Monstrosities
Sea monkeys @ Catalogue of Organisms

And then there's this video. Likely the best echinoderm-digestion-video-from-inside-a-bivalve you will see today.

All press is good press. Right?

So I'm back to the grind, processing data from my apartment in Cleveland and happen to have come across a couple of press pieces about my recent trip to Argentina. The first piece seems pretty harmless, however, the second piece has something rather wrong with it. Who's that guy in the picture?!?! It's certainly not my good self! And whats with pixelating students faces, this is a creeeeeepy picture. Odd. Well, just thought I'd share the absurdity Bye!

'The Institute'

Most days here I get up at 8 and go to the institute, This is where I am working, taking pictures and studying fossil material. Research is going great, making some unexpected discoveries that I'm sure will surface in the future (if you're thinking 'ecological signals in fossil freshwater crustacea!?', then yes, you guessed right). My hosts here are awesome, funny, kind and sincere, it is a real encouragement to be around other people so passionate about palaeontology and evolution, I often forget to realize that I am the only active palaeobiologist in my university and I really miss waxing scientific with increasing excitement over some minor detail and convincing ourselves of the discoveries significance. I love my job.

Anyway, enough 'Squee!'-ing about my awesome vacation research, here are some pictures of  'the institute'...

As you can see, it is a very harsh working environment. It's surprising anyone would sign up for this.

I was taken out by the two grad students in the lab (Lara & Mateo) last night to buy local Argentinian wine from a nearby bodega and then to a restaurant on the river to eat Pacú, the local river fish. I have to say this was one of the tastiest teleosts I've ever eaten, baked in a bag with cheese, walnuts, mushroom and potato. Bloody brilliant. The highlights of today included Mateo manning the BBQ to produce some fine Argentine beef:

nom nom nom. This meal was served at 1pm with wine, in the lab and lasted until 4pm. I hope you're taking notes Northern hemisphere!

This dude wanted in, but we don't want no vertebrates.

This guy however, made my day. Possibly the best behaved spider in the world. I named him Sid and we went through something similar to the sketch scene in Titanic, but without Kate Winslet. Or a boat. Or a drawing. Whatever. LOOK AT THE PRETTY SPIDER! HE'S LOOKING AT YOU!