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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald

@evoimec.bsky.social
128 followers 25 following 13 posts

Evolutionary Biomechanics lab @unigreifswald.bsky.social | Diversity & evolution of function in biological materials and animal traits | PI @wolffspider.bsky.social

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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Dr. Jonas Wolff @wolffspider.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
One of the remaining larger construction sites in resolving the phylogenetic systematics of spiders has been cleaned up! You find out refined classification system of the marronoid clade of spiders here: doi.org/10.1111/cla.... (Open Access) 1/5
A phylogenetic tree showing the relationships of the spider families Amaurobiidae, Agelenidae, Macrobunidae, Hahniidae, Cybaeidae, Cicurinidae, Toxopidae, Dictynidae, Argyronetidae, Lathyidae, Cycloctenidae, Aorangiidae, Neolanidae, Stiphidiidae, Desidae, Amphinectidae, Matachiidae and Porteriidae.
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Silk line of the common cellar spider Pholcus phalangioides after immersion in water. Recorded with a Field emission scanning electron miscoscope at 3,400x magnification. Sample and image selection by Siripanyo Promnil from our lab.
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · 16/08/2026
A spider that catapults ants into its web! “The snare mechanism seems to have evolved as a highly specialized way of allowing the spider to ‘pick off’ potentially hazardous prey one at a time and transport them a safe distance away from ant trails and nests.” @wolffspider.bsky.social
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Dr. Jonas Wolff @wolffspider.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Three of us @evoimec.bsky.social presented about our research on the behavioural ecology of silk spinning in spiders.
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Spider running performance varies enormously. We joined forces with David Labonte's Evolutionary Biomechanics lab in London for the broadest spider speed assay so far: 258 spp / 139 families Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202... Press coverage by the New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2532...
newscientist.com
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
The most comprehensive database ever compiled of how fast arachnids can run has shown how leg anatomy and evolutionary history influence spiders’ running speed
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Wow, our ballista spider study was literally catapulted across the media, e.g. BBC, ABC, CNN, New York Times, New Scientist, Spiegel and a lot of regional newspapers, radio and tv stations. We were also highlighted by Nature: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Daily briefing: Humans and great apes giggle in the same rhythms
The findings hint that vocal motor control might have evolved from a shared ancestor. Plus, sea turtles’ navigation skills are only so-so and what’s next for the International Space Station.
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Ajay Narendra @pipilika.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Very excited to share our discovery of an engineering masterpiece from the Australian rainforest! In our latest paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social we report a hunting strategy in a spider, whose web outperforms every known biological catapult system.
Propostira sp spider with egg sac resting underneath a leaf during the day.
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The #Australian ballista #spider (Propostira sp.) uses its silk's elastic energy storage capacity to build the most powerful snare and selective in the #animal kingdom. Read about our discovery here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... Video by Ajay Narendra. Recorded with 3,000 fps, playback 100x slowed down!
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
found this when looking through old excursion photos - can you spot the spider?
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Spiders possess multiple types of silk glands, which produce silk materials with contrasting properties. What happens if they combine different silks into a single line - Does this reinforce, even toughen, the silk thread? We got some answers from cellar and cave spiders: doi.org/10.1039/D5SM... 🔓
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Daniela Rößler @roesslerdaniela.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
🕸️ Massive web stretch from our cribellating friend (Asianopis subrufa) recorded in the field. If you’re intrigued by this fabulous #spider #silk read on doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2529200123 by @evoimec.bsky.social et al :) 🕸️
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Daniela Rößler @roesslerdaniela.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
🕸️ The #silk of this gorgeous little cribellator is not your standard silk - read @evoimec.bsky.social new study here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... 🕸️
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Netcasting spiders modulate silk thread stiffness via a tailorable multi-fibre meta-structure to construct a web that is hyperelastic and high load-bearing at the same time. Read about our discovery in PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... 🔓 & with video content!
Figure showing a video still from a high speed video of a netcasting spider capturing a cricket with its elastic web held in the front legs. Left to the video still there are load-strain diagrams of different lines in the web showing that the upper lines are stiff and strong and the lower lines are highly extensible. Left to the diagrams there are scanning elactron microcopy images of the dfifferent lines, showing that the upper, stiffer lines are cables made of many parallal fibres, whereas the lower lines have a soft central core with adjoined looped fibres. The degree of looping correlates with how much the spiders post-process the silk after spinning. This way they can tailor the stiffness of each line in the web separately and create a vertical stiffness gradient throughout the whole web architecture from stiff and strong in the upper load bearing frame to soft and hyper-elastic in the lower part that is rapidly extended and thrown against the prey at high speed during the predatory strike.
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Dr. Jonas Wolff @wolffspider.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
@maitryjani.bsky.social from my lab @evoimec.bsky.social talks about her scientific journey and newest paper in @jexpbiol.bsky.social ERC Spotlight: journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Photo of Maitry Jani in the lab, smiling, showing a large live spider sitting on her hand.
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Dr. Jonas Wolff @wolffspider.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Just back from a productive writing retreat of @evoimec.bsky.social and @multipleye-lab.bsky.social on the remote island of Hiddensee. Look out for new papers coming up from our labs!
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 04/12/2025
We're excited to announce the finalists of the #RSPPhotoComp 2025! 🎉 Starting with #microimaging and overall winner, 'Mesmerizing spider threads' by Dr Martin Ramirez, capturing two exceptional silk threads of the Australian net-caster spider (sample obtained by Dr Jonas Wolff @evoimec.bsky.social).
'Mesmerizing spider threads' by Dr Martin J. Ramirez, captures two exceptional silk threads of the Australian net-caster spider, Asianopis subrufa.
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Very nice visualisation of sexual dimorphism in arthropod jump performance 😎
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Sandy Kawano, PhD @sandyk.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Are you interested in learning about how engineering and physics can be applied to study the motions of #plants, #invertebrates, and #animals? Here's a non-exhaustive list of Comparative Biomechanists to get started! 🦋 🐟 🦎 🌿 🧪 go.bsky.app/HvHFgvB Apologies for any that I may have been missed.
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Check out the beautiful light arts in our little city. Featuring an animation of bird flight that you get going by running inside the installation. #Kinematics / #biomechanics meets arts.
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Reposted by Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald
Jillian 정화 @bugsorbust.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Eight legs to bring a little joy to your timeline (skyline?). Zoropsis spinimana, aka the “Nosferatu spider.” Isn’t she so cute? 🥹 Thank you to @wolffspider.bsky.social and your lab @evoimec.bsky.social for a warm welcome in Greifswald! Please follow them and their amazing work!
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Evolutionary Biomechanics lab Greifswald @evoimec.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
We are looking forward to an exciting new year of science. Which fascinating new discoveries will it bring?
Members of the EvoMec lab standing on a wooden bench on the hilltop of Dornbusch, Hiddensee Island, with lighthouse in the background.
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