Tessera
Folgen

Dr Mark D. Scherz

@markscherz.bsky.social

Curator of Herpetology & Associate Professor of Vertebrate Zoology at Natural History Museum of Denmark • ERC StG: GEMINI • Co-host of SquaMates Podcast and AnatomyInsights on Youtube • He/Him

769 Posts4251 Follower1291 Folgt
Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · 2w ago

I am very excited: a paper I have been working on for a very long time, including descriptions of seven new frog species, will be dropping tomorrow apparently! If you are a #SciComm journalist and interested in covering the story, hit me up! 🧪🐸

Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · last mo.

Yesterday I presented what I think was the first conference poster of my career 😅 at #SMBE2026, talking about my ERC StG project on the genomics of miniaturisation in vertebrates—GEMINI. Really happy for the discussions it sparked. Thanks everyone who stopped by! 🧪

A selfie of Mark standing beside his poster, which features a penguin trying to explain what miniaturisation is and why it matters.
Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · last mo.

Incredible. That’s Frankfurt, London, and the Smithsonian all with calls for herpetology curators open at the same time. Unheard of!

Prosanta Chakrabarty@prosanta.bsky.social · last mo.

Y'all - the Smithsonian is hiring three new curators - herpetology, ichthyology, and ornithology! Notably, this is a 2nd fish curator position - i.e., not the same as the one advertised last month. So if you applied for that one apply again. www.usajobs.gov/job/873849000

Curator of Vertebrates Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History currently has openings for three early-career Research Curators in Vertebrate Zoology, one each from the disciplines of ornithology, herpetology and ichthyology. The Department of Vertebrate Zoology seeks candidates with demonstrated expertise in, and a commitment to, collections-based research centered on systematics and evolution of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. This includes the ability to pursue an original approach to systematics and comparative analyses using, for example, morphology, development, and/or molecular data, and showing evidence of broader impacts or applications in evolutionary biology and/or collections-based ecology, as demonstrated by a record of peer-reviewed publications. Candidates must have demonstrated the ability to establish an externally funded research program and to contribute to the growth and curation of the collections. Research in the Department is supported by the Museum’s shared laboratories, including the Laboratory of Analytic Biology and the Scientific Imaging facility, among others. The Department’s scientific collections are the largest in the world for fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, and the third largest for birds. These federal positions will be filled at the GS-12 level, with a starting salary of $102,415, and excellent benefits. The positions are permanent and require a one-year probationary period. The official announcement is posted on USAJOBS, where applications must be submitted. https://www.usajobs.gov/job/873849000 Please be sure to read the announcement and instructions carefully, as the process of applying via USAJOBS is stringent and differs from applying for an academic position. This website offers helpful advice: https://serc.si.edu/careers/tips-applying-federal-jobs Please contact the Search Committee Chair, Michael McGowen (mcgowenm@si.edu) or the Department Chair, Helen James (jamesh@si.edu) with any questions.
Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I am searching for a monograph: Gislén, T., and H. Kauri. 1959. Zoogeography of the Swedish amphibians and reptiles with notes on their growth and ecology. Acta Vertebratica. Stockholm 1: 197–397. Anyone happen to have a copy of this issue of Acta Vertebratica? Probably no PDFs exist! 🧪

Josh Millwood@jmillwood.bsky.social · 3mo ago

~Record scratches~ “Yeah, that’s me. I’m sure you are all wondering how I got here. Well, to explain that we have to go all the way back to the time I was just sprouting my hind legs…”

A large frog staring rather muppet-like at the camera, like Jim on The Office. The frog is being held in the gloved hand of a man.
Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Today I caught one of the largest frogs of my life. This gigantic Pelophylax ridibundus belongs to a Balkan lineage (formerly P. kurtmuelleri) that has an established introduced population in one lake in central Copenhagen. They are about twice the size of our native green frogs! 🐸🧪

Yours truly and the Very Large Frog, our faces with the same expression. The Frog (the F is capitalised; a proper noun for a proper Frog) is huge, about the size of my face, and held in a gloved hand.
Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Anyone else *hate* the term 'nested PCR'? Nested implies one round of PCR from template and then a second round on the product to amplify a piece within it. That's not what it is. It is tiled: separate PCRs on different, overlapping bits. Calling it 'nested' confused me for a solid decade. 🧪

Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We talk about the glamour of field research all the time. Today I spent three hours uploading mostly-hand-written receipts one by one into our finance system. I don’t think I’m even a quarter of the way done. What a thrill. Such glamour. Time, well, spent 🤷‍♂️🧪

Liz Weinberg@eaweinberg.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Had one of those moments where I thought SURELY everyone must know about the frog genus Mini, home to tiny frogs Mini mum, Mini scule, and Mini ature, only to text several friends and realize this isn't common knowledge. So now you, dear BlueSky friends, get to learn too. 🐸 🧪

The XKCD Lucky 10,000 comic, about how for each thing everyone supposedly knows by the time they're adults, each day there are approximately 10,000 people in the U.S. hearing about it for the first time. The second panel usually shows someone asking about diet coke and mentos and their friend saying oh man, come on, we're going to the grocery store. In this one, diet coke and mentos has been replaced with The Mini frog genus, and the grocery store has been replaced with Madagascar.
Dr Mark D. Scherz@markscherz.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Three weeks after being in the rainforest of Madagascar, I spent the day surveying reptiles and amphibians in Denmark. Somewhat different weather. But still very rewarding. We saw a whopping NINETEEN adders! 🐍🧪

A large female adder, curled in a defensive posture among leaf litter, sticks, and rocks.