iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alice Petzold

Wendel van der Sluis @wendelvandersluis.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

🐸🦎 Hidden biodiversity. Museum specimens. Taxonomic mysteries. Welcome @alicepetzold.bsky.social from the University of Potsdam, Germany, as our new Associate Editor for Amphibia-Reptilia! Her research explores amphibian & reptile diversity, evolution and systematics. @carodittrich.bsky.social

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

The description of P. efatra also involved some #museomics and comparative osteology, to resolve the identity of the highly similar P. tetra. @alicepetzold.bsky.social managed to get DNA sequence from the holotype and a paratype, so we could place them in a mitochondrial tree—far from P. efatra! 🐸🧪

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Pensoft @pensoft.net · 17/11/2025

Three newly discovered toad species skip the tadpole phase entirely and give birth to live toadlets! 🐸 Learn more about these rare amphibians on our blog: blog.pensoft.net/2025/11/17/t...

blog.pensoft.net

Three new toad species skip the tadpole phase and give birth to live toadlets

Researchers have identified three new species of tree-dwelling toads from Africa, all of which skip the tadpole phase and give birth to live toadlets.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Natural History Museum, London @nhm-london.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Three new species of tree toads from Tanzania have been discovered. 🐸 These amphibians don’t lay frogspawn or have a tadpole phase like most other toads, but instead give birth to live young! Find out how museum specimens helped scientists to discover these species. 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

nhm.ac.uk

New species of toads that give birth to live young discovered in Tanzania | Natural History Museum

Museum specimens have helped scientists discover three new species of tree-dwelling toads.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Having a diffuse research group means that I rarely get to spend any time with my group in 3D. It was a great delight therefore to be joined by @collinbos.bsky.social @alicepetzold.bsky.social @njorisfleck.bsky.social and @clarakeusgen.bsky.social together in Bonn for the #SEH2025! 🧪🐸🦎🐍🧬

Most of my group gathered in one place for the first time possibly ever. From left to right, former master's student Collin Bos, current postdoc Alice Petzold, me (Mark D. Scherz), former bachelor's student Joris Fleck, and current master's student and former bachelor's student Clara Keusgen.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

N. Joris Fleck @njorisfleck.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

I’m setting up a Discord server for young herpetologists, derived from an idea at #SEH2025. The goal is to create a space for quick help, collaboration, and networking. If you’d like to give input or get involved, let me know! #herpetology

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Frederic Griesbaum @fg-wild.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

#SEH2025 what a week! Plenty of great talks, lovely people and chats… Also presented a poster on our Grass Snake project in Berlin.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Loving the Herp-Omics symposium at #SEH2025! Proud to see several members of my lab presenting here—my postdoc @alicepetzold.bsky.social presented and is one of the chairs! Up now, @clarakeusgen.bsky.social is presenting on the Bachelor’s thesis that she did with us.

Clara presenting her slides. Featuring some very cute frogs, including a frog with a few eggs around it.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Caro Dittrich @carodittrich.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Firstly, @alicepetzold.bsky.social and I organized our first symposium: Herp-omics: a #genomic perspective on earth’s herpetofaunal #diversity, with 27 participants and it was great fun. The variety of projects showed just how exciting this field of research is. #systematics #conservation #ecology

My colleague, Alice Petzold and I are standing in front of the symposium schedule in the Grass Snake Room at the 23rd European Congress of Herpetology. We are holding yellow and red cards to signal to the presenters at the symposium how much time they have left for their presentation.

Alice and I opening our symposium "Herp-omics: a genomic perspective on earth’s herpetofaunal diversity".

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Museum für Naturkunde Berlin @mfnberlin.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Join us in shaping the future! 🦋 Support the museum as a volunteer! Current opportunities: ✅ Help disclose our collections ✅ Support the discovery of new species ✅ Review nature observations 👉 Apply by 4 May: bit.ly/jobs-mfnberlin 📸 Pablo Castagnola

The so-called insect wall in the special exhibition "digitize!" at the museum, consisting of dozens of insect boxes from the research collection.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Blown away by this paper on body size variation among 11,264 (!!!) measured plethodontid salamanders over an elevational gradient. Super surprised to see that it is not temperature that has the main explanatory role, but mostly humidity and precipitation 🧪🦎 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The Structure Equation Model (a fancy kind of Path model) from the paper, constructed of four factors influencing body size: elevation, which acts indirectly via its effect on temperature and precipitation; temperature, which acts directly only weakly, but more strongly via a direct effect on humidity; precipitation, which acts directly on body size but also has a significant relationship with humidity; and humidity, which has a direct influence. It's an elegant figure. There's a salamander representing body size, illustrated by one of the coauthors, Fleming.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Have a look at this coverage of the new paper led by Daniel Shaykevich, featuring Andrius Pasukonis, both currently at @klivvvienna.bsky.social 😊 Link to paper in the comments 🐸 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Take me home, country toads

Cane toads have remarkable navigation abilities, even when their sense of smell and magnetic-sensory systems are compromised.

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

✨We are hiring!✨🧪🏛️🧬 The @nhmdk.bsky.social at the University of Copenhagen is seeking a permanent, full-time Molecular Biology Lab Manager to help us establish and run our National Facility for #Museomics in the heart of one of Europe's most beautiful cities! Please reskeet!

candidate.hr-manager.net

Full-time Molecular Biology Lab Manager at Natural History Museum Denmark

Natural History Museum Denmark, Faculty of Science, the University of Copenhagen is looking for a full-time Molecular Biology Lab Manager, to start 1st June 202

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Reposted by Alice Petzold

Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

💕Happy Valentine's Day!❤️ We got you a gift: Anilany karsticola, a #newspecies of miniaturised frog from Madagascar! 🧪 Published #OA today in Salamandra Read more and get the paper here: www.markscherz.com/archives/6117 Phenomenal 🐸 illustrations by postdoc & first author, @alicepetzold.bsky.social

A crazy cute illustration of a frog with a dark umber belly and a coffee brown brow, suspended in the air by pink heart-shaped balloons that say 'Be Mine' on them. I mean, if it were any cuter I would be physically ill.

An illustrated box of Valentine's day chocolates except—what's that? One of them is a frog‽ Yup. New species of frog described on valentine's day that really looks a lot like it could be made of chocolate. You guys, Alice Petzold's artistic talent knows no bounds.

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Alice Petzold @alicepetzold.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

💕AniLOVEly Valentine's Day💕 Check out our new article adding another miniaturised species to Madagascar's anuran fauna 🐸 The article is #OA and can be downloaded here: www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/ne...

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