iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Novataxa | Species New to Science

The Palaeontological Association @thepalass.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Bataspis crux, a galeaspid (jawless stem gnathostome) from the Lochkovian of Yunnan with a batwing-shaped head adapted for hydrodynamic efficiency onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @morphobank.bsky.social

Top left: a photograph of the holotype of Bataspis crux (IVPP V30969) the headshield of a Devonian fish, more complete on the right hand side, showing the extended, curved cornual process. Scale bar in lower right corner is 1 cm.
Bottom right: a life restoration of Bataspis crux rapidly moving away up and to the right from a eurypterid on the left of the scene. Artist: Dinghua Yang.
Blue rectangle at top right is a cover image from the journal Palaeontology.

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old wildlife illustrations @wildlife.nathan.fun · 20/08/2026

Le Règne végétal; Paris, L. Guérin, 1870-72. (source: biodiversitylibrary.org/page/120218…) #nature #illustration #art

Le Règne végétal;
Paris, L. Guérin, 1870-72.
https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12021826�

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Stavros Svensson Kundromichalis @stavrossk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It doesn’t take much to jump scare this slightly paranoid Hexinlusaurus multidens. China, Middle Jurassic. #dinosaur #paleoart #sciart #jurassic #prehistoric #paleontology

A small dinosaur, Hexinlusaurus multidens, gets jump scared.

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Edward Philips Art @edwardphilips.co.uk · 21/08/2026

Morning all. We’re almost at the weekend. I hope it’s a magnificent one, nearly as magnificent as this here frigate bird. xx 🪶

A new poster depicting a magnificent frigate bird

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

New #paleoart of the Welsh theropod Dracoraptor hanigani, restored with appropriately neotheropodan features. UK marine sediments have a glut of small Jurassic theropods, with Dracoraptor one of the best-known. #sciart Like this image? You can own a copy! www.markwitton.co.uk/product-page...

A small predatory dinosaur emerges from the darkness of a Welsh cave into the bright sunlight of a beach. Waves crash over dark rocks, and the sand is bleached almost white by the sun. A solitary cloud occurs in the deep, blue sky.

It's all fantasy, of course. The weather in Wales is never this good.

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Novataxa | Species New to Science @novataxa.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

🔓 Bau djinna (Araceae) • A #NewSpecies from the Rejang Basin, #Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo novataxa.blogspot.com/2026/03/djinn.html djinna, the sense that the spadix is concealed by the hardly opening spathe. #Araceae #Borneo #djinn Wong Sin Yeng, et al. 2026. DOI: doi.org/10.1002/fedr.70063 🔓

Bau djinna is described as a new species from Central Sarawak and compared with three species to which it is most similar. Recognition of B. djinna takes the genus to 27 species, 25 of which are endemic to Borneo. A brief note is provided on Schismatoglottis ambigua, a recently published name synonymous with Bau inculta. The paper also introduces the term ‘anthomorph’ for the flowering structure that in general is termed an inflorescence in the Araceae and explains why the term ‘bloom’ that the authors have employed previously is unsatisfactory.

Bau djinna S.Y.Wong, P.C.Boyce & A.Hay, sp. nov

Etymology: Djinn, in the context of ‘hidden beings’, originates from Arabic, an extension of the word meaning to hide, conceal, or cover, emphasizing the elusive and unseen nature of djinn, who are believed to inhabit a realm parallel to humans reflecting the belief that these beings are invisible to humans.
Here the word is used in the feminine nominative, djinna, in the sense that the spadix is concealed by the hardly opening spathe.

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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Back from the field on this #FossilFriday to see the humbling news that a gorgeous little Carboniferous fish bears a new name: Unionichthys friedmani. Thanks to Struan Henderson and @gilespalaeo.bsky.social for this honor. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Four panel figure showing a fossil fish skull, a 3D model of the surface of the fossil, a rendering of the bones in many colors in a semitransparent matrix, and the bones in isolation.

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old wildlife illustrations @wildlife.nathan.fun · 19/06/2026

Natural history of Victoria. Dec. 6-10 Melbourne, J.Ferres, government printer;1885-90. (source: biodiversitylibrary.org/item/27160) #nature #illustration #art

Natural history of Victoria. Dec. 6-10
Melbourne, J.Ferres, government printer;1885-90.
http://biodiversitylibrary.org/item/27160�

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ferrutxoart.bsky.social @ferrutxoart.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

It's Pride Month, so I made this illustration. Yeah, it's because there are rainbows—that's the whole point of the tribute. It's not like I racked my brain over it, but whenever I want to show support or celebrate these things, I always get this “I-don't-know-what-to-do” feeling.

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old wildlife illustrations @wildlife.nathan.fun · 14/06/2026

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil. Paris, 1834. (source: biodiversitylibrary.org/page/476973…) #nature #illustration #art

Oiseaux brillans du Brésil.
Paris, 1834.
http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47697305�

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Annales Botanici Fennici @anbf.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Another new species from the Western Ghats: Sonerila roxburghii is described from India. With only ~100 mature individuals, the known habitats are threatened by human disturbance and natural flooding and landslides. doi.org/10.5735/085....

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Lauren @tinylongwing.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

This #BirdOfTheDay is certainly #HiddenInPlainSight - the well-camouflaged Great Eared Nightjar, tucked away in the leaf litter in a forest in Vietnam. That jungle cat has very little hope of finding it! Done for @northstargames.bsky.social 's Nature, Flight expansion. 🪶 #BirdArt #SciArt

Digital illustration of a Great Eared Nightjar, a nocturnal bird with cryptic tan and brown feathers that make for good camouflage against the ground where it rests during the day. Mossy tree trunks and tropical foliage help to hide it from the keen-eyed jungle cat in the background of the image, which stalks toward the viewer with a paw paused mid-step.

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Introducing the undulating tripod gait, the walking strategy used by many fishes. We tracked the fishes, built a model, a robot, and found that 3 body segments, 2 fins, and friction are all it takes. No specialized anatomy required. Out today in Nature Communications www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Our paper on turtle origins is finally out in Current Biology, with two major implications for our understanding of reptile evolution 🐢 #Paleontology #Turtles #Evolution www.cell.com/current-biol...

A pair of Eunotosaurus by Gabriel Ugueto: a sense of scale is provided by Glossopterus leaves in the fore-and-background and by a prosbolid hemipteran insect

Phylogeny of major reptile groups, showing turtles (Pantestudines) as early archosauromorphs and the putative stem-turtle Eunotosaurus as a millerettid stem reptile

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Systematics and Biodiversity @nhmsystbiodiv.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

#TaxonomyTuesday Frainer 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2021) used museum specimens to reveal a rare new characid fish genus, helping to refine the interrelationships of the Probolodini (Characidae: Stethaprioninae). Read the full study here: buff.ly/WPZmE1v #Taxonomy #endangeredspecies #biodiversity

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Sophie M. @sophiesaurus98.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Today's four random pieces of palaeoart: Chris Santoro's Rhamphorhynchus, John Sibbick's Apatosaurus, Charles Knight's Eohippus, and John Holmes' Styracosaurus and Albertosaurus!

A flock of toothy Rhamphorhynchus with high-contrast white, black, yellow, and pink skin soar across a calm sea.

A colossal, hump-backed Apatosaurus with elephantine skin strides across a dusty plain, snagging a mouthful of leafy greenery as it passes a palm-like tree.

A trio of Eohippus with lightly spotted, light-brown fur stand in alert postures in a forest clearing.

A reddish-brown Styracosaurus faces off against a blue-grey Albertosaurus in front of a stony hillside.

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SaurianCYH @sauriancyh.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

New species of peafowl Pavo miejue (extinct peafowl) from Pleistocene Taiwan! Yong-Jie Lan, Gerald Mayr, Cheng-Hsiu Tsai; A new Pleistocene peafowl from Taiwan reveals the extinction of a large galliform bird in East Asia. R Soc Open Sci. 1 May 2026; 13 (5): 260347. doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

Pavo miejue reconstruction by Cheng-han Sun.

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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Ray-finned fishes are famously diverse, but we know little about their brains or cranial endocasts. @rodrigoichthys.bsky.social opens this black box with a dice-CT survey of 86 species across the actinopt tree of life. #OA in @royalsocietypublishing.org 🐟🧠 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Figure of radial phylogeny featuring colored branches and tips representing brain-to-endocranial cavity correlation and endocast complexity. Select endocasts (rendered as semitransparent gray) and brains (rendered in peach) are shown for some terminals. They show substantial variation in shape and the degree of brain:endocast correspondence.

From Figueroa & Pierce (2026) Proc Biol Sci 293 (2070): 20253277 .
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.3277

Shared under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Novataxa | Species New to Science @novataxa.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

🔓 #Sphenomorphus tophus • A New endemic Forest Skink from the sandstone ecosystem of the Khorat Plateau, #Thailand L. Lee Grismer, et al. 2026. TAPROBANICA: J. of Asian Biodiversity. Researchgate.net/publication/400821972 🔓 #novataxa #reptile #Biodiversity #newspecies #Scincidae #FaunaofThailand

A new Forest Skink, belonging to the Sphenomorphus stellatus complex, was discovered in the unique forested sandstone ecosystem of the #KhoratPlateau in northeastern Thailand. This new skink was recovered as the sister species to the other Indochinese skinks, S. phuquocensis + S. annamiticus, based on a phylogeny using 1,184 base pairs of 12S and 16S. A multiple factor analysis (MFA) based on a concatenated dataset comprised of size-corrected morphometric, meristic, and color pattern characters revealed this species’ isolated position in morphospace with respect to all other species in the S. stellatus complex. This is the fourth endemic lizard species reported from the Khorat Plateau and adds to a growing list of endemic species across a broad range of taxa. As such, this region desperately needs legal protection and increased field-based systematic research to uncover more unrealized species on this plateau in need of description and protection.

Sphenomorphus tophus sp. nov.

Etymology. The specific epithet ‘tophus’ is a Latin noun given in apposition, meaning “sandstone,” “porous rock”. The name is given in reference to the natural history of the new species, in that it is the only member of the S. stellatus group known to date that is strictly associated with sandstone habitats.

#Reptilia #Sphenomorphinae #forestskink #skinks #morphology #taxonomy #phylogenetics #systematics #speciescomplex #phylogeny #newspecies #sandstone #endemic #Indochina #GreaterMekong #Squamata #isan #Esan #จิ้งเหลน #จิ้งเหลนภูเขา #SoutheastAsia #Herpetology

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Mongabay @mongabay.com · 14/05/2026

Targeted reforestation could be the lifeline for the endangered Javan leopard. Researchers have modeled how new forest corridors can help the remaining 320 leopards overcome human-made barriers, reducing the risks of inbreeding and conflict in densely populated Java. @basten.bsky.social reports.

mongabay.cc

New study explores how reforestation could help Java’s leopards survive

Reforestation done right could be key to helping rebuild habitat connectivity for Javan leopards on an island with one of the highest human densities on Earth, a new study says. It frames strategic…

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ferrutxoart.bsky.social @ferrutxoart.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

By the way, I’ve had the immense honor of being featured again in *Koprolitos*, this time in the second volume on the dinosaurs of the Iberian Peninsula, which is dedicated to the thyreophores...

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old wildlife illustrations @wildlife.nathan.fun · 14/05/2026

Edinburgh journal of natural history and of the physical sciences. Edinburgh [etc.]: Published for the proprietor [etc.], 1835-1840. (source: biodiversitylibrary.org/page/336653…) #nature #illustration #art

Edinburgh journal of natural history and of the physical sciences.
Edinburgh [etc.]: Published for the proprietor [etc.], 1835-1840.
https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33665393�

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Novataxa | Species New to Science @novataxa.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

🔓 #Balticolasma wunderlichi • 3D analyses of the First ortholasmatine Harvestmen ( #Opiliones: Nemastomatidae) from European #Eocene Ambers Artwork by Joshua Knüppe. #paleoArt C. Bartel, et al. 2026. Acta Palaeontol. Pol. doi.org/10.4202/app.01283.2025 🔓 #Paleontology #novataxa #amber #Ukraine

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old wildlife illustrations @wildlife.nathan.fun · 13/05/2026

Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or birds of paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, or bower-birds. London: H. Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. (source: biodiversitylibrary.org/page/487352…) #nature #illustration #art

Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or birds of paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, or bower-birds.
London: H. Sotheran & Co., 1891-98.
https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48735205�

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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 13/05/2026

Enamel proteins from the teeth of six Homo erectus individuals that lived in China around 400,000 years ago offer insights into how ancient genetic material might have made its way into modern humans, according to a paper in Nature. go.nature.com/3PmzHXA 🏺🧬🧪

This is figure 1, which shows the geographic locations and samples of the Middle Pleistocene H. erectus sites used in this study.

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Annales Botanici Fennici @anbf.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

New alpine Asteraceae species from the Himalayas: Melanoseris pendryi described from Sikkim, India. Only few populations known from a restricted area, with ongoing pressures from grazing and tourism placing the new species at high risk: doi.org/10.5735/085.....

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 27/04/2026

Scientists at the @uofwa.uw.edu have discovered a new ancient rodent-like species 🐭🌿 Named Cimolodon desosai, it was about the size of a golden hamster, lived both on the ground and in trees, and likely feasted on fruits and insects. www.washington.edu/news/2026/04...

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The Linnean Society of London @linneansociety.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Have you seen #TheMagicFarawayTree yet? We've been reminiscing about our own Lovely As a Tree exhibition, and this magical Mora tree which has a whole story of its own! Read more at buff.ly/xTGcbZZ Image is from R. H. Schomburgk, 'Description of the Mora Tree', 1838, DA/ENG/2/SP/999

A Mora tree, showing rich green leaves and a tall trunk with tabular butress roots, creating a hollow cavern in which a group of people are standing and sitting.

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Neil Gostling/EvoPalaeoLab @neilgostling.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Our new paper published in @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social on the osteology and neuroanatomy of the crocodyliform Koumiodontosuchus. Great study led by @christijanibarker.bsky.social with @tetzoo.bsky.social et al academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a... @linneansociety.bsky.social @sotonbiosciences.bsky.social

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eongriel.bsky.social @eongriel.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

A juvenile Mosasaur swims bellow a Nanaimoteuthis haggarti #paleoart #paleontology

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old wildlife illustrations @wildlife.nathan.fun · 27/04/2026

Wild life of the world: London ;F. Warne and co., 1916. (source: biodiversitylibrary.org/page/332704…) #nature #illustration #art

Wild life of the world:
London ;F. Warne and co., 1916.
http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33270498�

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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 28/04/2026

A paper in Nature Ecology & Evolution reports insights into how ancient plants lived around 252 million years ago at the time of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction, the most severe loss of biodiversity in Earth’s history. go.nature.com/4cGiEY5 #PlantScience 🌍🧪

This is figure 1, which shows representative lycophytes reconstructions from Late Permian to recent.

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ISYEB @isyeb.mnhn.fr · 21/04/2026

"Integrative taxonomy of the Praomys tullbergi complex (Rodentia, Muridae): a new species from..." Hounmavo, A., Demos, T. C., Lutz, H. L., Delapré, A., Cornette, R., Segniagbeto, G. H., Kerbis Peterhans, J. C., & Nicolas, V. @isyeb.mnhn.fr Journal of Mammalogy, gyag007 🐀 doi.org/10.1093/jmam...

doi.org

Integrative taxonomy of the Praomys tullbergi complex (Rodentia, Muridae): a new species from West Africa

Abstract. The rodent genus Praomys, endemic to the Afrotropical region, is characterized by significant diversity including cryptic species that complicate

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Novataxa | Species New to Science @novataxa.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

🔓Molecular and acoustic evidence for large-scale underestimation of frog species diversity on #NewGuinea 🐸 DOI: doi.org/10.21425/fob.18.137988 🔓 F. Ferreira, P. Oliver, et al. 2025. Frontiers of #Biogeography. 18: e137988. #frog #novataxa #Oreophryne #WestPapua #bioacoustics #phylogeneitcs

• Species delimitation combining molecular and acoustic data, exemplified in an #Oreophryne species complex. In this example, the species delimitation between O. roedeli and O. cf. roedeli 2 is confirmed by their difference in note repetition rate and mean number of pulses per note. ...

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Ville Sinkkonen @villesinkkonen.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Cambrian on my mind #sciart

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Rocío Deanna @rociodeanna.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

A new phylogeny and phylogenetic classification for the nightshades 🍅🌶🍆 Thirteen years after the previous family phylogeny, we expanded the sampling, reaching 1474 species and resulting in a new rank-free classification for Solanaceae dx.doi.org/10.1002/tax....

dx.doi.org

A new phylogeny and phylogenetic classification for Solanaceae

Solanaceae are a globally distributed family of considerable economic importance. Recent phylogenetic work on various clades in the family has resulted in a plethora of names at various taxonomic lev...

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Alberta Claw @albertonykus.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Review of the ecology of Archaeopteryx: link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🪶🧪 (📷NICE PaleoVisLab studio & Samantha Clark)

Diagram showing hypothesized life history and ecological relationships of the bird-like dinosaur Archaeopteryx.

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Novataxa | Species New to Science @novataxa.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Bothidae Taeniopsettidae Monolenidae n. fam. Grammatobothidae n. fam. __ resolve Long-standing Classification challenges in the Sinistral Flatfish (Teleostei: #Carangiformes) Tongboonkua, et al. 2025. DOI: doi.org/10.1111/zsc.70020 #Pleuronectiformes #Ichthyology #flatfish #IndoPacific

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Emily Higgs Art @emilyhiggs-art.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Ammonite Rock ~ 🐚🦑🦀🪸 . For years I’ve been curious by all the different ammonite shapes and types, I knew I wanted to create a design that brought them altogether! . #paleoart

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old wildlife illustrations @wildlife.nathan.fun · 22/04/2026

Favourite flowers of garden and greenhouse London and New York: Frederick Warne & co., 1896-97. (source: biodiversitylibrary.org/page/363991…) #nature #illustration #art

Favourite flowers of garden and greenhouse
London and New York: Frederick Warne & co., 1896-97.
http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36399183�

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Tony Robillard @tonyrobillard.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Our new paper on taxonomy of Lebinthini in J. Orthoptera Research #OpenAccess: Lutinthus gen nov, Diablotinthus gen nov and Gnominthus hihilai sp. nov.: 2 new genera + 3 new sp of fairy-folk crickets from New Guinea doi.org/10.3897/jor.34.131932 with MK. Tan & C. Rhamadi @mnhn.fr @isyeb.mnhn.fr

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Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

What do you get when you study deep sea annelids & sea sponges on the Getsuyo Seamount? A symbiotic relationship resulting in two newly-described species of Hesionid from two sister-clades! Inhabiting the same sponge host, they share a niche...suggesting convergent specialisation! 🧪

doi.org

Single origin and convergent host use of hexactinellid sponge symbiosis in Hesionidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) with descriptions of two new deep-sea species

Abstract. Symbiotic associations between annelids and sponges are widespread and have evolved repeatedly across diverse families. However, their evolutiona

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Annales Botanici Fennici @anbf.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

A new cauliflorous tree species, Illicium nymphiiflorum, described from Yunnan, China. Rare in the genus, its flowers develop directly on the trunk; the name refers to their resemblance to water lilies (Nymphaea). Only four mature individuals are known. doi.org/10.5735/085....

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