FishEvo Zuzana Musilova
@fishevo.bsky.social
Fish evolutionary biologist focused on sensory systems (not only). Ass. Prof. at Charles Uni in Prague. Fish Evolution research group at Dpt. of Zoology.
New study published in @natecoevo.nature.com ! We assembled the largest global dataset of plant–pollinator networks to ask a simple question: do interactions become more specialised towards the tropics? doi.org/10.1038/s415... Study led by @saileesakhalkar.bsky.social and myself ☺️ 1/8
Hot off the preprint: visual adaptations in crater-lake #cichlids revealed by single-cell RNA-seq of the retina. Deep-water species have mainly green cones that however differ from both green and red cones of the shallow-water species. Quite unexpected in such young adaptive radiation!😍
Honoured to speak at International Congress of Retinal Proteins #ICRP2026 in Siena about our research on #deep-sea fish rhodopsins! I enjoyed week full of protein structure, function and physiology of a multitude of #rhodopsin types. Extremely inspiring and happy to meet old and new friends:-)
Early online Sophie‘s next chapter on #cichlid #sex chromosome in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social where we show independent evolution of the same chromosome as sex chromosome academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-... with @fishevo.bsky.social
Same sex chromosomes with independent origins in haplochromine cichlids
Abstract. Elucidating theories of sex chromosome evolution requires approaches that allow fine scale delimitations of sex-determining regions within a phyl
academic.oup.com
Our recent publication on opsin gene evolution in aquatic and terrestrial blennies 🐠 made the cover in @biologyopen.bsky.social Read the story here journals.biologists.com/bio/article/... @fishevo.bsky.social
Deep-water crater lake #cichlids lost red cones and kept only green cones in the #retina. We expected these #photoreceptors to be either true green- or modified red cones, but it seems that they’re sth in between! Wanna see more? Pls come to Pau’s poster P3.54 at #icn2026vancouver @neuroethology.org
Whole-genome duplication changed vision in common barbel? YES! Blue+purple cones developmentally switch #opsin ohnologs (=> 1 in larvae, 1 in adult). In red+green sensitive cones - both ohnologs coexpress (=> wider spectral sensitivity). Please come to poster P2.35 to see more #icn2026vancouver
Interested in weird and crazy #photoreceptor types - like “superrods” in some deep-sea fish?🤩 Happy to see you on Wednesday poster (PS3.45) session at #ICN2026 #ICN2026Vancouver @neuroethology.org
Made it to @neuroethology.org #ICN2026Vancouver meeting! Let the neurosciencing in all sorts of animals begin 🧠🧬🔬 @fishevo.bsky.social @wensungceph.bsky.social
We all know #mudskippers, the terrestrial gobies. But did you know that #blennies have evolved similar terrestrial strategy too? Pleasure to be part of the team checking their visual system:-)) #cool #fish 😍 journals.biologists.com/bio/article/...
Go lamprey, go😍😍😍 (the stone is too heavy though:-)
Fishes of Lužnice 2026:-) Student field excursion to show Czech fish fauna. We got 19 species (15 native + 4 introduced) this year😍
European pikeperch male guarding its nest made of a cleaned algae patch. Love is in the water😍😍 In the Thaya river, city of Breclav, Czechia.
Insterested in #rhodopsins and #evolution? Looking for a #PhD? We're offering a PhD position combining both - and in deep-sea fish!:-) From protein to genes & evolution (and back). Deadline soon:-) Thanks for sharing! More info: www.fishevo.com/phd-position...
We have three new PhD doctors in our group!😍😍😍 Last Monday, Monika, Gina and Dima defended their PhD theses. Wonderful day full of tropical fish evolution, fish hemoglobins and #fish vision! CONGRATULATIONS🥳🥳🥳 Thanks to everyone involved!!!
Ops(es)in(g) in Prague with an amazing bunch of researchers @fishevo.bsky.social @joostraeymaekers.bsky.social l @emiliapsantos.bsky.social & Marta Barulenga :)
For our final day of #25DaysOfFishmas, we're going full weird. Today's bizarre, lonely little fish is the needlebeard seadevil, Neoceratias spinifer. This prickly little lady is the only member of the family Neoceratiidae, nestling within the larger deep-sea anglefish order Ceratoidei.
#deepsea #fish cabinet! In the #evolution exposition of the National Museum of Natural History in Prague. It glows in the dark!!😍 (my primary goal was to see Lucy, the #Australopithecus, but that’s a no photo zone:-)
New preprint! “Climate-driven specialisation in plant–pollinator networks peaks outside the tropics” Testing the long-debated latitudinal specialisation gradient using >3,400 quantitative networks (>110,000 interactions). Led by @saileesakhalkar.bsky.social and myself ☺️ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Our Special issue on Visual Ecology in Challenging Environments is out: #coral reef & #deep-sea fishes, #reindeers on polar daylight, #bioluminescence, non-visual #pigments & life in dark caves. Happy to co-edit with Sara Stieb + thks to all contributors! See in Functional Ecology: buff.ly/z5AYxZQ
So many diverse cory catfishes!!!😍 (no longer all in the Corydoras genus). Fascinatingly, their color mimicry evolved in parallel across different "cory" lineages. Spotted at the aquarium convention in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Czechia 🐟🐟🐟.
Nobel laureate 🏅 Prof. Victor Ambros visited Charles University’s Faculty of Science, giving a packed lecture on “Development timers in a tiny worm!” 🪱 followed by lively discussion 💬. A big day for science 🔬✨ 👉 1url.cz/TJV4P
FishEvo team at the #eseb2025 congress! We presented research on barbel, sturgeons, cichlids and deep-sea fishes. What a cool meeting and an inspirative atmosphere! Thanks everyone!
Excited to present our research on deep-sea fish vision at #eseb2025. Thanks everyone for coming to my talk!
