iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 7h

Please share And FYI: Review of applications will begin 11/16/26 ...

Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 9h

Exciting news! We here at the LSU Museum of Natural Science @lsumns.bsky.social and Dept. of Biological Sciences are looking for Curator and Assistant Professor of Vertebrate Paleobiology! Come work with us! We are fun, supportive and active! lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/LSU/jo...

lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Assistant Professor

All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Loved reading ‘80 Days’ about the 1889 race around the world (in opposite directions) by two intrepid women - both reporters in New York City. The women were very different (although they had many coincidental parallels in their lives) and came back with different views of the world. 🌎

Book cover showing two women in 1800s garb with a ship in the background. Text says Matthew Goodman at bottom and title ‘
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World’

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Moby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

this labyrinth is indisputable

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My friends, one way we can help get more smart folks over to Bluesky is if we can make it a useful place for scholars to promote their work. Help me share this, and consider pre-ordering a copy of my book or requesting that your local library buy a copy. 🦑🌍🧪🐟 #SciComm

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Just finished the most excellent ‘This Thing of Darkness’ that casts Captain FitzRoy as the tragic forgotten hero of HMS Beagle and beyond. He helps Darwin grow only to see his protege stand for views that are opposite his own. It’s historical fiction but so well written and insightful.

Book being held up by a hand with a beach view and ocean in background.

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Eric Schuettpelz @ferncurator.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) is now accepting applications, with a deadline of 15 October. This includes the Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.

fellowships.si.edu

Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP)

node:field_teaser]

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Love a good toothy ‘Wolf Herring’ (Chirocentridae) - it’s like finding a pigeon with fangs. This #LSU_Fish specimen is from my trip to Tanzania in 2017. Unlike other herrings (Clupeomorpha) that are mostly small and planktivorous - these fishes are meter long carnivores. #ichthyology #naturalhistory

Close up of a wolf herring head showing the toothy grin

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Andrew D Thaler @drandrewthaler.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The Hoff Crab is neither a crab nor is it David Hasselhoff. It is a Yeti Crab, which is neither a Yeti nor a Crab but a sub-group of Squat Lobsters, which are not lobsters, they're Anomurans, like Mole Crabs, which are neither moles, nor crabs.

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Collections support staff will be retained so it sounds like the science will continue. For now it is only the public facing exhibits that will remain closed.

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Tom Near @tjnear.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

1/7 🐟🧬 New preprint! "The largest radiations of freshwater fishes initiated at the K-Pg boundary" Phylogeny of Otocephala: Clupeiformes, Alepeocephaliformes, & Ostariophysi 144 species, UCEs + whole genomes, Bayesian dating. 11,700+ species covered. Here is what we found 🧵👇

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

It is the 2-year anniversary of the surgery that removed a large cancerous tumor from my colon. I subsequently did 24 rounds of chemo, and then immunotherapy. I'm on a new med but still not cancer-free. I've lost friends younger than me. Please mind your health and get your screenings.

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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

NSF just announced its GRFP solicitation due in October - deadline varies by field: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo... Now for the bad news... * NSF estimates they will issue 1,500 awards, down from 2,500+ last year. * NSF removed STEM Education and Learning Research as a Major Field.

nsf.gov

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Wanted an image of a muscular 'person' to explain that you don't inherit big muscles (I'm teaching #evolution) - the Google algorithm just showed me dudes, same when I asked for a cartoon version. If you Google "Strong Muscular Person" does it only show men, and not women or non-binary folks? Why?

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CG Partridge @partridgecg.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Don't forget to comment! Docket is here: www.regulations.gov/search?searc... Docket number: NSF-2026-OTR-0001

regulations.gov

Regulations.gov

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Everyone loves a blobfish right? Image from @lsuscience.bsky.social Open House

Prosanta Chakrabarty showing off a blobfish on a tray to a person in front of a LSU BioScience table

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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Upclose of a great white opening its jaws infront of camera. Original post

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Goodbye Iberian Peninsula! - had so much fun in a very easy place to imagine I could retire to - Vila do Conde (a sleepy quiet beach 🏖️ village outside of Porto, Portugal) 🇵🇹 I love this reaction video showing it getting dark pretty quickly while I watched the #solareclipse2026 on a hill in Galicia 🇪🇸

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Headed to Porto, Portugal 🇵🇹 to see the solar eclipse (and hopefully talk science with folks)! According to this list from The Century Club, this will be my 48th country or territory. I don’t think I’ll ever hit 100 but I’m ahead of my age at least. travelerscenturyclub.org/countries-an...

travelerscenturyclub.org

Countries & Territories – Travelers' Century Club

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Brooke Fitzwater, PhD (she/her) 🐟🪱🏳️‍🌈♾️ @oceanfilly.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

The reception to our paper about being neurodivergent in biology has received such a wonderful and warm reception, I am so glad that it is resonating with people and that is helping to educate our neurotypical peers! If you haven't checked it out, be sure to do so. Message me if you can't access it!

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

From collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museums The IUCN Species Survival Commission has published a Position Statement on the vital role of biological collections in biodiversity conservation iucn.org/news/202607/...

iucn.org

From collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museums

The IUCN Species Survival Commission has published a Position Statement on the vital role of biological collections in biodiversity conservation: a formal acknowledgement that natural history museums,...

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Every #sharkweek it seems ‘Megalodon ‘is still alive’ comes up.’ ‘What evidence do you have that it went extinct?’ Sharks lose their teeth all the time, like a lot. All the megalodon teeth we have found - and there are a lot of them - are from millions of years ago, fossilized stone, not recent.

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I wrote a short piece with @bruno-soares.bsky.social in BioScience about the importance of allowing researchers (particularly from the Global South) who might not be able to easily access type specimens to use topotypes instead. This podcast explains more: bioscience-talks.aibs.org/episodes/typ...

bioscience-talks.aibs.org

BioScience Talks | Type Localities and Topotypes, with Prosanta Chakrabarty and Bruno Soares

For this episode, we're joined by Prosanta Chakrabarty, Director of Louisiana State University's Museum of Natural Science, where he is also the Fish Curator and a professor. Also joining us is Bru...

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

It seems that the awful news is true. Kent Carpenter, eminent ichthyologist, was killed in the Philippines. A tragedy, and I’m sorry to all who knew him.

Me and Kent Carpenter in Virginia about 10 years ago

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Randy Klabacka @chico-huico.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The plenary by @prosanta.bsky.social on the first day of #JMIH26 was the best introductory conference talk I’ve ever seen. The mix of society, cultural, and natural history was awesome.

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Tom Near @tjnear.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🧵1/11 New paper alert! One of 2 out today from #NearLab. Tunas are basically the superheroes of the ocean — warm-blooded, massive, and blazing fast. But HOW did they get that way? A new study just cracked open 50+ million years of evolutionary history. Let's dive in. 🐟⬇️

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Super excited to be going down to NOLA with my lab and I’m giving the opening plenary for the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists! #JMIH26 #ASIH2026

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Awesome new American cavefish! New genus and species just under our noses and feet Surprising cryptic cavefish diversity in a long-studied karst cave ecosystem of northern Alabama Niemiller et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

Surprising cryptic cavefish diversity in a long-studied karst cave ecosystem of northern Alabama - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Surprising cryptic cavefish diversity in a long-studied karst cave ecosystem of northern Alabama

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

A 4th of July tradition I prefer to fireworks 🎆 #Jaws #4thofJuly

A scene from Jaws showing Quint saying ‘the head, the tail, the whole damn thing’

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Chase Brownstein @chasedbrownstein.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

1/12 🚨🚨 I am so excited to share chapter 1 of my dissertation, now preprinted here: biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We ask if are their fundamental, shared mechanisms that stop us from inferring the relationship of species and their timescale of divergence #biology #science

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Bruce Stallsmith @laimosemion.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson, MS is looking to fill an aquarium biologist position responsible for the upkeep, and maintenance of native fish aquariums and live animal exhibits. Those who are interested should reach out to James Hill (james.hill@mmns.ms.gov). 🧪🌍⚒️🐟

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

They found a moribund Indonesian coelacanth in shallow waters in Sulawesi yesterday. This species was described in 1997 and has a story behind the description and discovery almost as crazy as the one from the original Western species in 1938. www.facebook.com/share/r/1VNQ...

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Y'all - the Smithsonian is hiring three new curators - herpetology, ichthyology, and ornithology! Notably, this is a 2nd fish curator position - i.e., not the same as the one advertised last month. So if you applied for that one apply again. www.usajobs.gov/job/873849000

Curator of Vertebrates

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History currently has openings for three early-career Research Curators in Vertebrate Zoology, one each from the disciplines of ornithology, herpetology and ichthyology. The Department of Vertebrate Zoology seeks candidates with demonstrated expertise in, and a commitment to, collections-based research centered on systematics and evolution of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. This includes the ability to pursue an original approach to systematics and comparative analyses using, for example, morphology, development, and/or molecular data, and showing evidence of broader impacts or applications in evolutionary biology and/or collections-based ecology, as demonstrated by a record of peer-reviewed publications.

Candidates must have demonstrated the ability to establish an externally funded research program and to contribute to the growth and curation of the collections. Research in the Department is supported by the Museum’s shared laboratories, including the Laboratory of Analytic Biology and the Scientific Imaging facility, among others. The Department’s scientific collections are the largest in the world for fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, and the third largest for birds.

These federal positions will be filled at the GS-12 level, with a starting salary of $102,415, and excellent benefits. The positions are permanent and require a one-year probationary period.

The official announcement is posted on USAJOBS, where applications must be submitted.
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/873849000

Please be sure to read the announcement and instructions carefully, as the process of applying via USAJOBS is stringent and differs from applying for an academic position. This website offers helpful advice: https://serc.si.edu/careers/tips-applying-federal-jobs

Please contact the Search Committee Chair, Michael McGowen (mcgowenm@si.edu) or the Department Chair, Helen James (jamesh@si.edu) with any questions.

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 24/06/2026

Every time I make the typo "grabity" part of me wants to argue that it should have been called that all along.

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

An American Ichthyologist’s Guide to Swedish birds The pigeons here are eatin’ size Compare chonker of a Common Wood Dove (Columba palumbus) on the left to the regular ol’ Rock Pigeon (C.livia) on right 🕊️ I was surprised these things could fly. It looks like a pigeon that eats other pigeons.

Feral rock pigeon Columba livia domestica

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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

At the Evolution Museum (Evolutions Museet) in Uppsala, Sweden. More of a taxonomy museum but still fun. I love all the museums on the campus of the University of Uppsala #naturalhistory

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