Dr Steven Allain
@stevoallain.bsky.social
The Pop Punk Herpetologist 🤘 | Anglia Ruskin, Imperial College London, and University of Kent alumnus | Lover of all #amphibians and #reptiles | #FirstGeninSTEM | #Herpetologist | #Neurodivergent
Book announcement!! 🎉 CREATURES OF STORY AND SONG looks through Britain’s stories and poems to rediscover our lost species. It’s time to remember what people thought about wolves, lynxes, great whales, great auks, sturgeon & more when they were all still here! 🐺🦫🐳💚 @reaktionbooks.bsky.social
We need to show rightwing newspapers that actions have consequences. Add your name: goodlawproject.org/s/abb8a1
Jason Arday: Demand a public inquiry now | Good Law Project
Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.
goodlawproject.org
London let its roadsides run wild, and butterflies are starting to return London’s transportation authority has doubled its wildflower verges in two years to 520,000 m², about 100 Trafalgar Squares, and butterfly sightings are up more than 50%. buff.ly/CFyUheM #ShareGoodNewsToo
buff.ly
Couldn’t make it to #DinoconUK this year so decided to visit the Natural History Museum instead, to get my fill instead. Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep is exciting but could have more fossils on display. #JurassicOceans #Ichthyosaur #Mosasaur #Futabasaurus @nhm-london.bsky.social
I'm happy to say that the new DK Eyewitness Amphibian is now out, which is a title I acted as a consultant for! You can find out more on my blog, I hope you enjoy the book if you purchase a copy! stevenallain.co.uk/Blog/stevesl... #StevesLibrary #Amphibians #Herpetology #Frogs #Conservation
#StevesLibrary: DK Eyewitness: Amphibian
Thinking about my own personal development, few publishers have shaped children’s non-fiction as profoundly as Dorling Kindersley (DK). For more than three decades, the Eyewitness series has …
stevenallain.co.uk
Applications are NOW OPEN for Smith Fellows conservation research Fellowships beginning in 2027! View the Proposal Guidelines and apply here: smithfellows.org/proposal-gui...
Apply — Smith Fellows
smithfellows.org
So excited to announce our search for 4 postdocs (funded by the Simons Foundation) who will use genomics to "test how ecological interactions, natural selection, natural enemies, hybridization & environmental gradients shape...tropical tree communities" in Panama: stri.si.edu/story/bci-ev... ...1
stri.si.edu
A Grass Snake that bit off a little more than it could chew with this Common Toad. Eventually it gave up and the toad lives to fight another day! At Holt Lowes @norfolknats.bsky.social
Ever wondered what a hackathon is? I wrote this to accompany our paper on data- and code- sharing where all the data came from a hackathon... methodsblog.com/2026/04/09/t... Paper: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
The What, Why and How of Hackathons
Post provided by Natalie Cooper, MEE Senior Editor In September 2025 we ran a hackathon to collect data for a paper on data- and code-sharing across the BES journals. After the event, we thought it…
methodsblog.com
Guinness is amazing. It tastes great and is as black as my soul.
A newly metamorphosed toadlet for day 2 of #30DaysWild The UK has two native toads, but for more than a century a third 'interloper' has been present in parts of England: @stevoallain.bsky.social looked at the long history of the Midwife Toad in Britain in www.britishwildlife.com/article/arti...
We are animals, and that’s not an insult. Despite how we often separate ourselves from the 'Animal Kingdom', humans sit firmly within it. Understanding where we fit in doesn’t diminish us, it helps explain our origins. #SciFri @linneansociety.bsky.social stevenallain.co.uk/Blog/scifri-...
#SciFri: Homo sapiens – Classifying the Human Animal
The classification of the human species has occupied philosophers, physicians, theologians, and naturalists for thousands of years. Long before the emergence of modern biology, human beings sought …
stevenallain.co.uk
Africa’s amphibians are 99% endemic, yet only 12 specific action plans exist for them across the continent. Experts are calling for more research and community involvement to fill data gaps and protect these sensitive species from climate and habitat loss.
Africa’s amphibians are overlooked in conservation planning, experts warn
Herpetologists are calling for greater inclusion of amphibians in African conservation planning, in a recent letter published in the journal Science. Africa is home to roughly 1,170 known species of…
mongabay.cc
🦎 A new species of leopard gecko, Eublepharis jhuma, was discovered in India’s Chota Nagpur Plateau. ✨ Its name was chosen as a tribute to Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, the first female Director of the Zoological Survey of India: doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.39.e183441
I had an amazing day fossil hunting with friends at Kings Dyke Nature Reserve last weekend! We found ammonites, belemnites and lots of other Jurassic treasures hidden in the clay. #SciFri #FossilHunting #Jurassic #Geology #Palaeontology #FossilFriday stevenallain.co.uk/Blog/scifri-...
#SciFri: Fossil Hunting at the Kings Dyke RIG Site
It will be no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I really enjoy fossil hunting! Recently, I visited a new site with a number of friends of mine, at the Kings Dyke Nature Reserve, which i…
stevenallain.co.uk
I’ve just been given a great tour of the British Optical Association Museum tour by Neil Handley, learning more about the history of optometry as we went around. It was interesting to learn so much about the history of our eyes. #Museums #Optometry #LondonMuseums
I recently visited the Barts Museum of Pathology and thought I would share the experience with you all. It is a stunning museum with a large collection, have you ever visited? #MuseumMonday #Pathology #Museums #London #LondonMuseums @qmul.bsky.social stevenallain.co.uk/Blog/museumm...
#MuseumMonday: My visit to the Barts Pathology Museum
Okay, it is finally here! If you’ve been following my blog and social media accounts over the past few weeks, you’ll be aware this post has been coming for a while. The Barts Pathology …
stevenallain.co.uk
Have you ever taken out a student loan? Parliament's Treasury Committee, which scrutinises the Treasury & its policies, is conducting a survey on student loans. They are seeking input to help inform their scrutiny of the student loans system and the taxation of graduates.
If anyone's lost some tadpoles, they're all over here. #Spring @froglife.bsky.social @arc-trust.bsky.social @tetzoo.bsky.social @stevoallain.bsky.social
Musculoskeletal function of stem tetrapod limbs onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @crocodilejulia.bsky.social @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social @royalvetcollege.bsky.social
Do you like aquariums as much as I do? If so, you'll love this new sea life playset from Toymany! Find out more about the animals it contains and how to get your hands on one on my blog: stevenallain.co.uk/Blog/toytues... #ToyTuesday #MarineBiology #Zoology #CoralReef #Conservation
#ToyTuesday: Reviewing the Toymany 16-Piece Sea Animal Figurines Playset
If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you’ll know that I really love to visit aquariums to see what species are on display, and to try to increase my knowledge on the specie…
stevenallain.co.uk
Earlier this month I visited St Bartholomew’s Hospital Museum, located within one of the oldest hospitals in the country. You can read more about my visit to the museum by clicking on the link below: stevenallain.co.uk/Blog/museumm... #MuseumMonday #Museums #LondonMuseums
#MuseumMonday: Why visit the St Bartholomew’s Hospital Museum?
The St Bartholomew’s Hospital Museum is one of the most significant medical history museums in the United Kingdom. Located within the grounds of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in West Smithfield, …
stevenallain.co.uk
Just some of the birds I’ve heard this afternoon on my lunchtime walk. Glad to say that spring is here, and the chiffchaffs are going mental! I wonder when the hirundines will join us? @angliaruskin.bsky.social #ARUWrittle @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social #BirdCalls #Bioacoustics
My @ehologenome.bsky.social sampling kit came today. I plan to be out and about as much as I can over Easter, sampling newts to get these samples back to Copenhagen! #Herpetology #Amphibians #Newts #EarthHologenomeIntiative #Microbiome
