George Turner
@dlimnothrissa.bsky.social
UK-based prof of Zoology, father, African cichlid expert, lover of the natural world, museums, music, education, the welfare state.
New paper on Engraulicypris (relative of the Lake Malawi Usipa) from northern Lake Malawi catchment, including crater Lake Ilamba. Turns out to be E. spinifer, which is also known from the Malagarasi, Rufiji and Rukwa systems, not E. ngalala from the Ruvuma. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
tandfonline.com
A closeup of the ‘split’ eyes on Anableps dowei, the ‘four-eyed’ fish that can see above and below water simultaneously and equally well (LSUMZ 15116 collected in El Salvador). #LSU_Fish the topic of tonight’s #lsusciencecafe @lsu.bsky.social @lsuscience.bsky.social @lsuresearch.bsky.social
Had a look at the types of Tropheops macrophthalmus (Ahl 1926) in Berlin & compared them to a specimen in my collection from northern Tanzanian coast. Seems a good fit in terms of steep snout profile, big eyes, fairly deep body & narrow mouth. Fits with current ID of this species by Konings (2016).
Lovely to see tenereal Cordulia aenea (downy emerald dragonflies) around the Venus Basin in the Tiergarten in Berlin. Adults have amazing bright green eyes & shimmering coppery bodies. The males are very aggressive! Medium-sized, like a chaser, but rarely still, more like a hawker.
I'm in Berlin Natural History Museum looking at Lake Malawi cichlid specimens collected in the 1890s. Some were described in 1926, the year David Attenborough was born!
We've got a nice new paper out now on Malawi cichlid evolution: Rhamphochromis show an amazing range of body sizes (multiple transitions) and in one satellite lake they seem to have evolved into their own predator. genome.cshlp.org/content/earl...
Dynamic body size evolution during speciation of predatory cichlid fishes in the Lake Malawi superradiation
Evolutionary divergence in body size is common in animal adaptive radiations and is often associated with differences in key ecological traits, including habitat use and prey consumption. Here we characterize a notable case of body size–associated adaptive radiation in a group of predatory open water cichlid fish species from the Lake Malawi catchment. Using whole-genome sequences, we show that body size differences have evolved multiple times in the focal genus, Rhamphochromis, and that the group possesses well-defined signals of ancient interspecific hybridization. We identify genetic variants strongly associated with body size and show that these variants are connected to genes enriched for functions in vertebrate skeletal and nervous system development. We focus our analyses on two species of Rhamphochromis endemic to Lake Kingiri, a small (600 m diameter) crater lake geographically isolated from the main body of Lake Malawi but within the catchment. We show that these two ecomorphologically divergent sympatric species—one small-bodied, the other larger-bodied—share a unique common ancestor and diverged from one another ∼2000 years ago. We demonstrate strong directional selection focused on the larger-bodied Kingiri species, specifically on genetic variants connected to genes with anatomical development and nervous system function. Collectively, these results are supportive of body size–associated speciation taking place rapidly in the Lake Malawi cichlid fish superradiation. We conclude that body size–associated genetic variants have been important targets of selection during large-scale cichlid fish diversification, including in a crater lake sympatric speciation context.
genome.cshlp.org
Reform, Labour and the Tories all take money from oil & gas giants and private healthcare interests. That tells you who they’re really working for. The Green Party doesn’t take that money. We answer to you - and to the future of our planet. Vote Green on Thursday. 💚
A greater celandine, which seems to be a type of poppy. Cambridge.
Nice clump of star of bethlehem (Ornithogallum) near Trumpington, Cambridge.
Cambridge! Specimens to see tomorrow (Malawi cichlids, obviously).
Spotted this in a shallow stream on the Sychnant pass above Conway. Figured some kind of water crowfoot (the AI on iNaturalist suggests round-leaved, Ranuculus omiophyllus)
A lovely female tawny mining bee. They are solitary nesters, digging burrows in the soil, sealing each egg underground with a supply of pollen & nectar to see it through its whole development. Lots of adults around right now.
We often see Dandelions as a 'weed', but they should be appreciated! Here, growing in an otherwise boring pavement.. just gorgeous!
Wood anemone season- get out & find them now! They don't last long!
St Tysilio's Church - the tiny church & its graveyard comprise the whole of church island at Menai Bridge, Anglesey. A beautiful place.
View from the Menai Bridge today- Bangor & Anglesey.
As a Zoologist and Green Party Member, seems fine to me. Nice animals it is. Beside, we've already had Darwin and Turner.
Jo Kibble (Political Animal)@politicanimal.bsky.social · 5mo agoOnce again, the culture warriors deeply misunderstand the deep underlying psyche of the British people. The British people were offered nice animals and they overwhelmingly favoured nice animals.
Very good. Labour has done a few good things, but not nearly enough & have been pushing further to the right since the reshuffle post-Rayner. Starmer will never be popular & ought to have backed Burnham. With the Greens ahead, Labour will have to change tack or be replaced.
male palmate newt in the garden pond. First daytime spot this year.
Possibly Pseudotropheus fuscoides (currently considered as a junior synonym of P. fuscus). Needs more investigation!
I was horrified Mandelson was brought back by Starmer. He was always 'the voice of the super-rich' in the Labour government. In the 1990s, people had decent living standards & public services were not bad, so it was kind of OK. Not after 16 years of austerity. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
MPs back plan to release Mandelson files after Labour anger forces climbdown
The PM is forced to back down over a plan to withhold some documents about the ex-minister's appointment as US ambassador.
bbc.co.uk
Cool discussion of social insect evolution and how to navigate the Xosphere. With my wonderful daughter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_46...
Dr. Juliet Turner - The Evolution of Cooperation and Division of Labour in Insects
YouTube video by Stated Casually
youtube.com
Part 3 of my Malawi cichlid ID guide is out. I realise i haven't done part 2 yet! It is in progress. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Identification of the Cichlid Fishes of Lake Malawi/Nyasa Part 3: Rhamphochromina and others.
ecoevorxiv.org
