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Dr. Catherine Macdonald

@drcatmac.bsky.social

10K followers 634 following 537 posts

Marine scientist and teacher Field School & University of Miami. Director of sharktagging. NatGeo Explorer. Shark & ray ecology, biology, conservation. She/her.

Posts Replies Media

Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

This actually sounds heavenly. Oh, to be a Greenland shark, and partake of the peace of their dark slowness. Every moment like:

A black box. No light. No people. Quiet, calm. Just the crushing pressure of depth and the knowledge that each day that passes is as little as 0.0005 percent of your life.

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Shark burn: like rug burn if your rug were made of extremely tiny knives.

A human leg with circular injuries that look like extreme rug burn.

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Also this really isn’t super-esoteric information available only to experts. There are details about sharks that media gets wrong that are genuinely nuanced or obscure, but this is literally the first result if you google “hammerhead shark catch and release”:

A headline reads “hammerhead sharks vulnerable to catch and release fishing”

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Here’s what claspers look like, with and without spurs deployed!

A photo of a shark, showing the claspers and the splayed clasper spurs. Picture from Jones et al. pictured in Hamlet et al. 2005

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

I promise I do genuinely understand that this is not a distinction that’s important for the vast majority of humanity, but: claspers! Spurs!

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Gru shows a chart and looks excited. First panel: “de-extinct dire wolves” second panel: “get lots of media coverage” third panel: blank fourth panel: “conservation?”

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

For any young scientist feeling sad about GRFP results today!

Bugs Bunny in a tuxedo says “I wish all [GRAD STUDENTS] a very pleasant [THERE IS NO MERITOCRACY]”

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Friendly reminder that I am 90% a poster about sharks and conservation, 10% shit posting to get on @whysharksmatter.bsky.social’s last nerve.

Meme with the Rock driving a car. He asks the passenger in the back seat what her favorite shark is. She says “sandbar shark”. He slams on the brakes and looks at her incredulously, because sandbar sharks are very medium. This meme format is from a movie, but I have no idea which one.

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

There are so many incredibly smart, serious people following me that I’m concerned I’ve accidentally intellectually catfished you, so here’s a refresher on what you can expect from me: -shark-related content -conservation content -teaching-related content -memes roasting sandbar sharks

The meme format that includes Johnny Depp sitting on a bench with a kid. I don’t know what movie it’s from, honestly. It looks a bit old time-y. The kid asks “are sandbar sharks the best sharks?” In the next frame, Johnny Depp says “no” with a compassionate look on his face. In the final frame, he embraces the grieving child, who is now aware of the truth of how mediocre sandbar sharks truly are.

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

@whysharksmatter.bsky.social Paging Dr. Shiffman

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 05/07/2023

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