Fluted Giant Clam on John Brewer Reef, on the #GreatBarrierReef 🪸 Giant clams are hermaphrodites, developing both male and female sex organs. #BiodiversityMonth #Australia

Brolgas at Corroboree Billabong #NT A member of the crane family, renowned for their spectacular courtship dances. (This photo isn't showing that...) #BiodiversityMonth #Australia

Just dipping a toe into the very diverse damselfish family (Pomacentridae) with this post. The Fishes of Australia website lists 161 species in Australian waters alone... "Nemo" being the most famous 🐠 fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/family/... #fish #reef #scicomms #biology #australia

Australian Society for Fish Biology@austsocfishbiol.bsky.social · last yr.

Our #FishOfTheWeek this week is… the Banded Humbug (Dascyllus aruanus) 🐟 👇More #fishfacts and the latest #research featuring ASFB members: doi.org/10.7717/peer... 🌐 Info via Fishes of Australia: fishesofaustralia.net.au #Australia #fish #biology

It's International #FlamingoDay. Here are some American Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) I saw in the Santuario de Fauna y Flora Los Flamencos near #Riohacha in #Colombia 🦩🇨🇴 By far the best #flamingo plumage, imho. Deeper pink, black wings 🤌 #ornithology #birds #biodiversity #nature #wildlife

The key information in this post is knowing the difference between Whitetip Reef #Sharks (not very dangerous) and Oceanic Whitetips (pretty dangerous) 🦈 What part of the ocean they're living in is a good place to start 🪸 🌊 #fish #biology #marine

Australian Society for Fish Biology@austsocfishbiol.bsky.social · last yr.

Our #FishOfTheWeek this week is… the Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus) 🐟 👇More #fishfacts and the latest ASFB #research below. #Australia #fish #biology

I've just finished another #YouTube #video from an Australian #nationalpark: the Dandenongs 📹🥾 It's half an hour of... 🎶 Lyrebirds mimicking stuff 🪶 Kookaburras scary laughing 🌿 Very tall ferns 🌳 Even taller eucalyptus #biodiversity #botany #nature #wildlife #travel youtu.be/G2pZ8toLhI0?...

The Dandenongs: Pretty Little Lyrebirds

YouTube video by Biodiversions

youtu.be

🌿 Our new study in @natplants.nature.com: Most European temperate forest plants are associated with semi-open, herbivore-shaped habitats—not closed-canopy #forests 🐎🌳🔆🌸 Highlights the need for trophic #rewilding in #conservation & need to avoid uniform dense #reforestation🌿 📄 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Temperate forest plants are associated with heterogeneous semi-open canopy conditions shaped by large herbivores - Nature Plants

Temperate forest plants favour heterogeneous semi-open woodlands associated with high herbivore densities, rather than uniform closed-canopy forests. Herbivore loss is therefore a probable driver of e...

doi.org

Not every #bird in #Australia is rainbow-coloured. But this Grey-headed Robin (Heteromyias cinereifrons) still makes for a nice photo... #ornithology

This latest #FishOfTheWeek post for the ASFB is a bit of an icon. Fastest fish in the ocean, the Sailfish 🐟💨

Australian Society for Fish Biology@austsocfishbiol.bsky.social · last yr.

Our #FishOfTheWeek this week is… the Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) 🐟 👇More #fishfacts and the latest ASFB #research below. #Australia #fish #biology

A Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) I encountered in the #Dandenongs near #Melbourne. They like thick undergrowth, so it was nice to see one out in the open. #australia #wildlife #nature #marsupials #wallaby #macropods

I learned a #newword creating this post... Euryhaline: animals that live in both salt and fresh water. Northern #Australia is a world leader in euryhaline #sharks and #rays 🦈

Australian Society for Fish Biology@austsocfishbiol.bsky.social · 2y ago

Our #FishOfTheWeek this week is… the Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis) 🐟 👇More #fishfacts and the latest ASFB #research below. #Australia #fish #biology

Where were you when you saw your first wild #monotreme? #platypus #Malanda #AthertonTablelands #Australia #wildlife

Another day, another "international day"... UN Int. Day of #Forests, anyone? I recently went to the very rare mabi forests of northern #Queensland, where the famous Curtain Fig (Ficus virens) only survived because the ground is strewn with basalt boulders no one could be bothered to move...

It's #WorldFrogDay 🐸 I snapped this guy among the bryophytes of Beinn Eighe in the Scottish #Highlands. And shortly after (a while ago now) wrote this article on the differences between #frogs and #toads... 🤯 luke-lythgoe.bio/articles/fro... #biodiversity #nature #herpetology #anurans

As part of my gig doing #comms for @austsocfishbiol.bsky.social, I've launched a new #FishOfTheWeek series. People seem quite taken with the Spangled Emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus) today ✨🐟 #Australia #fish #biology #reefs #biodiversity

Australian Society for Fish Biology@austsocfishbiol.bsky.social · 2y ago

Our #FishOfTheWeek this week is… the Spangled Emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus) 🐟 👇More #fishfacts and the latest ASFB #research below. #Australia #fish #biology

This Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) paused just long enough for a photo in the #Dandenongs just outside #Melbourne 🐦📸 Although it looks very similar to European Robins (Erithacus rubecula) of Christmas card fame, they are only distantly related. #birds #ornithology #birdsofaustralia

As well as being on my shortlist of potential wrestling names, "The Succulent Karoo" is an arid #biodiversity hotspot in #SouthAfrica and #Namibia. This article on #plant #poaching in E360 is critical reading for any tiny plant lovers... e360.yale.edu/features/sou... #succulents #extinction

A Craze for Tiny Plants Is Driving a Poaching Crisis in South Africa

South Africa’s Succulent Karoo is the most biodiverse arid region on the planet, with thousands of plants found nowhere else. But to meet a demand fueled by social media, criminal networks have been p...

e360.yale.edu

It's #WorldWildlifeDay! And because it's important to appreciate the smaller #wildlife, here is a very pretty endemic Australian sea #snail with a fantastic name... The Pyramid Noddiwink (Nodilittorina pyramidalis) #marinebiology #beachlife #conchology #gastropods 📍 #RoyalNationalPark, #NSW

Have you voted for #EucalyptOfTheYear2025 yet? I was a bit basic and went for the tallest ones, Mountain Ash. But I had a lovely time walking among them in the #Dandenongs in January, so no regrets here... eucalyptaustralia.org.au/eucalypt-of-... #gumtrees #eucalyptus #botany #Australia #nature

Today is #WorldSeagrassDay, celebrating the flowering plants that dared to go back into the sea... 🌿🌊 📸 Helford Estuary, #Cornwall #biodiversity #botany #plants #wildlife #marine #seagrass

Saw a White-browed Hawk-moth (Gnathothlibus eras) in the garden 🦋 Big #minibeast with a 10cm wingspan. Got some close-ups of its hairy brow 📷 #australia #insects #entomology #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography #lepidoptera #moths #mothsmatter

Got my #rocks off to some #geology at the weekend. White Blow (near #Ravenswood #QLD) is a house-sized lump of #quartz sticking out of the tropical savanna💎🌳 Formed 300 MYA, all the granite that formed around it has since eroded. White Blow is a conspicuous reminder of #Queensland's volcanic past🌋

I've been working on a #YouTube series, exploring the #wildlife and #ecology as I wander random #nationalparks in #Australia. The second episode is on the Hunter Wetlands, a natural gem sandwiched between a huge coal port and famous wine region... #birds #botany #badjokes youtu.be/5sXsGQ44Yx4?...

Hunter Wetlands: Pelicans vs. Pinot

YouTube video by Biodiversions

youtu.be

Most flashy name for a #dragonfly? My vote would be Zircon Flutterer (Rhyothemis princeps) Aussie odo-naturalists call it "Sapphire Flutterer". But another dragonfly in southeast Asia has that name, so @inaturalist.bsky.social lists it as Zircon Flutterer. 📸📍Ross River, #Townsville #entomology

💭 I thought: That's a strange moth... 👀 Then it started walking backwards! 🔎 Turns out it's a #planthopper, possibly Platybrachys...? #entomology #hemiptera #truebugs #insects #tropics #Australia #Queensland #nature #wildlife

"I guess this table's taken..." This Purple-winged Mantis (Tenodera australasiae), all 9cm of it, is one of several challenges finding a spot for #lunch at #JCU #tropics #australia #entomology #insects #alfrescodining #mantis

🌳 What's the second oldest #nationalpark in the world? 🪶 Why do so many shearwaters wash up on Aussie #beaches? 🎱 Are these #rockpools even safe? 🎬 Find out in the very first #biodiversity #video for my Biodiversions #YouTube channel 👇 youtu.be/ZQcn0CxIseg?... Share. Like. Subscribe. Etc. 🙏

Royal National Park... Danger Pools & Wildflowers

YouTube video by Biodiversions

youtu.be

"Flying foxes have done more for this country than you or I might hope to achieve." #bats #australia #biodiversity www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Sa...

Flying Foxes Are Important

YouTube video by The Backyard Naturalist

youtube.com

Washed up in #Townsville: Portuguese Man O' War a.k.a. Bluebottle (Physalia physalis). A #hydrozoan rather than a "true jellyfish". But it floats around and stings you all the same. Back in the UK this would be a top scary thing in the sea. In #Australia it's mid-tier 🪼🦈🐊 #marine #biodiversity

It's staggering how our perception of oysters has changed over a relatively short period of time. It would be amazing to see them restored to their former numbers.

Ruth Thurstan@ruththurstan.bsky.social · 2y ago

Our recent work to uncover the former extent of Europe's forgotten oyster reefs is covered in @uk.theconversation.com today! theconversation.com/oysters-once... Gathering historical evidence is key to raising ambitions to restore our seas and recover vital habitats @exetermarine.bsky.social