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Dr. Solomon David

@solomonrdavid.bsky.social
15K followers 2.3K following 11K posts

“The Gar Guy” Fish Scientist & Prof | 🌎Freshwater Conservation | SciComm • GarLab | Views mine | he/him | #GarWeek 📍Saint Paul, Minnesota Wherever you go, there you gar linktr.ee/solomonrdavid • @garlab.bsky.social

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Dr. Solomon David
Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 05/10/2026
The SPEAKER implies. The LISTENER infers. The DUDE abides.
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
😂😂😂👍
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Reposted by Dr. Solomon David
Ronald Howard @ronaldohoward.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Pumpkin spice gars
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Fall colors really coming in on our young-of-year Alligator Gars @garlab.bsky.social 🍂🍁
Tails of two Alligator Gar fish.
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It’s o-fish-ial, Maryland is now the first US state with an official state shark. I wrote about megalodon, which is definitely extinct, a few weeks ago. www.southernfriedscience.com/fun-facts-an...
southernfriedscience.com
Fun facts and FAQs about Megalodon, Maryland’s new (and definitely extinct) official state shark
This week, Maryland became the first U.S. State to have an official state shark! Otodus megalodon was a really cool shark that is rightfully beloved by many, and Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs are…
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Dr Hannah M. Rowland @hannahmrowland.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hope your day was better than Darwin’s, on this day 165 years ago
I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody &everything.

Charles Darwin
Letter to Charles Lyell
1st October 1861
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Matthew L. Miller @matthewlmiller.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Bison have the right of way. Yellowstone National Park.
Bison
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wake up babe new shark just dropped
A new species of lanternshark has been described
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Whatever you do, don’t eat hakarl at a job interview. Many people find the scent of fermented Greenland shark flesh, prepared by burying it for a year to remove the toxicity from urea in their flesh, to be unpleasant. Raises real questions about how you’d fit in with the team.
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Fun* fact: The SHARKED Act is, according to my sources on the Hill, the first time that Congress created a back-ronym name for a law using ChatGPT.
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Metroid. Yeah, the FIRST one 🪼
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Oh man TIE Fighter was great! Was playing Lego Star Wars with my kids the other day and an X-Wing v TIE Fighter level definitely brought back those memories. Played it on our Tandy from RadioShack, if I recall correctly 😅
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Reposted by Dr. Solomon David
Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"If eco-social anomie describes a societal forgetting, dam removal achieves the opposite—a 'collective remembering' that unshifts our baselines." This week @biographic.bsky.social published my story on the rewilding of New England rivers, a mill dam at a time. (1/6) biographic.com/death-by-a-t...
biographic.com
Death by a Thousand Dams | bioGraphic
Tens of thousands of small barriers hamper fish recovery in the northeastern United States. But while the demolition of big dams out west gets the most attention, a similar revolution is revitalizing ...
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Reposted by Dr. Solomon David
Coliseum of Comics @coliseumofcomics.com · 24/09/2026
We remember Jim Henson - puppeteer, animator, actor, musician, filmmaker, and creator of The Muppets - born on this day in 1936.
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Dallas Zoo & Fort Worth Zoo, both wonderful programs, are working with Texas Parks & Wildlife to restore wild populations of Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) via zoo breed & release programs. 2026 is already a RECORD year: > 1000 lizards released, with documented wild-born babies.
A gloved human hand holds a round plastic container like you might put a salad in, but there are teeny-tiny horned lizards all alert looking and fierce inside.

"Aaand off they go!
Yesterday, 116 Texas horned lizards started their exciting journey to be released into the wild. Our team has worked tirelessly since their hatching to ensure these little ones are fully prepped and ready for this big moment. Stay tuned for more details on their release!
Our Texas horned lizard conservation program is a collaborative effort with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation, and several of our dedicated zoo partners."An adult horned toad sitting in sandy dirt in West Texas, with a mix of native shrubs and non-native grasses in the background.  They're well camouflaged against the red-brown dirt, covered in spikes and watch the camera warily.
CREDIT:  Dallas Zoo
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Have you ever tried to read a scientific journal article and been told “you don’t have access, pay to download this article?” Did you know that the author of that article gets $0 if you pay? Instead, you can email the author and ask for a free copy! I’d be delighted to help and answer questions!
Screenshot of a scientific journal paywall
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Greywolf 🐺 @greywolfsjw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Outstanding work by @michigandnr.bsky.social and their partners! content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MID... #Sturgeon
content.govdelivery.com
DNR, partners rescue 27 isolated lake sturgeon in Ontonagon River channel
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Gar fish carcass, aka “garcass”
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
How your latest email finds me
A gar carcass on a dirt road. Also known as a “garcass”.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A couple weeks ago I heard a joyful shriek from across the street. My neighbor kids, who I planted milkweed for, found 2 monarch caterpillars by their stoop. This week, those monarchs hatched. Our block is fully concrete, .3 miles to the closest green space. But we’re supporting the life cycle 🥰
A freshly hatched monarch butterfly
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This is about one thing and one thing alone. Steering our research dollars for cancer, heart disease, and new infectious diseases to Trump’s political allies and friends.
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𝐊 𝐀 𝐆 @kagamikoi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Almost 29yo and can you believe I'd never read 'Pride and Prejudice' before ? ...anyway 🐟 #digitalart
a parody of 'Pride and Prejudice'. The title is now 'Pride and Prejufish' and both main character are portrayed as fish. Mr Darcy is now Mr Garcy and he is- well- a gar ; and Elizabeth Bennet is named Miss Elizabass...so she's a bass. Both are dressed with clothes inspired by 'Pride and Prejudice' from 1995.
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Oh man I’ll have to read closer for your quotes! Glad you commented! I had only skimmed it, as several more localized and regional media pieces had been out, and it’s largely ridiculous how media has taken the 400 year old fish and run with it. LOTS of fish aging folks (myself included) disagree.
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nassim coolguy 🃏 @sinistrecigogne.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
@solomonrdavid.bsky.social Did you hear of this new species of gar discovered in Japan in 2004? They dubbed it the Archer Gar, or Garcher for short
picture of an alligator gar with archer fate atay night's hair edited on its head
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Dr. Alexandra Schoen @scienceschoen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
💯💯 hard to age sturgeon even past 25 years 🤷🏻‍♀️
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Unfortunately, media has taken the upper bound of one model estimate (among many) and run with it to say Lake Sturgeon *could* live for over 400 years. This isn’t necessarily what the science says, and methods used are somewhat tenuous. Several other fish aging experts agree it’s an overestimate.
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Was awesome to contribute to that chapter with you both!!! Will look forward to the NEXT time too 🔥👍
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Jason GRIZZLED Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Ha, at least it’s a fish sometimes referred to as a “living fossil”! Though @solomonrdavid.bsky.social has some caveats… thanks, Riley!! ❤️🐻❤️
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Riley Black 🏳️‍⚧️ 🦕 @restingdinoface.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It’s great! And some dinosaur lady you know is in it talking about 🙀 fish. Congrats, Jason!
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Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them.” The @USFWS's new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, as revealed by Nesvik's memo, is the perfect blend of evil and stupidity. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Moves to Gut a Core Endangered Species Protection
An internal memo reinterprets the law so that only the intentional killing of animals, not collateral harm, is illegal.
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Kate Laskowski @katelaskowski.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Visiting Michigan State for a seminar today and PEOPLE, I GOT TO HOLD A GAR! @solomonrdavid.bsky.social - I'm told these were once your babies! (Yes this looks very awkward but this is how they told me to do it 😆)
Me wearing a multiple colored shirt, grinning maniacally, holding a roughly foot-long gar, as directed, with one hand over the eyes and one on the tail resulting in a very awkward, but apparently safe and secure, hold on the animal.
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Bill Witte @anisian.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Sensation sells. Gar bites dog.
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Trevor Davies @bcfish.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Wow, that looks like a heck of a stretch. Growth rates in sturgeon (juv. white here) are HIGHLY variable. If you took the smallest fish here and extrapolated it from the growth rate of the largest things would get a bit silly. Sometimes the average is poor method to understand a distribution.
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Otoliths are indeed the gold standard for fish aging in most bony fishes! Sturgeon otoliths are notoriously difficult to age, so I understand using alternative methods…those methods have their own issues, and coupled with media hype, the “400 year old” sturgeon left the proverbial station 🫠
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
😅😅😅 Thanks for making that decision. I owe you a reply on other stuff, will be in touch soon. Please enjoy the grass👍
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Unfortunately, media has taken the upper bound of one model estimate (among many) and run with it to say Lake Sturgeon *could* live for over 400 years. This isn’t necessarily what the science says, and methods used are somewhat tenuous. Several other fish aging experts agree it’s an overestimate.
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Spidermax @spidermax3000.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Alligator gar - Atractosteus spatula (Shot at @cincinnatizoo.bsky.social 1-1-26) 🐟🐠 #photography #animal #fish #fishtank #aquarium #zoo #cincyzoopic
A close up profile shot of an alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) facing the right of frame
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Amazing #GARtwork!!!
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ᙎOᗫᙓᙎOᖇᙏ🔻 @wodeworm.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Alligator Gar
Super ancient is the long-snouted fish that gulps the air and breathes the fresh water ways, outlasting the dinosaurs and the reptiles of water and air. Its kind, hard scales resist it to weathering time. Blessed is the fish olive drab and spotted strangely, long snouted, placid and calmly,  swimming through the pyrocene, and it is an unknown future fish unseen,
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
FINtastic #GARtwork!!!
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Quake & Quiver @quakeandquiver.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Saw a beautiful longnose gar at the New England Aquarium yesterday #SundayFishSketch #sciart
a pen drawing of a longnosed gar, a long fish with a long skinny nose, done in blues, red, and greens. the fish is outlined in contours of green and blue
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Mindy Weisberger @laminda.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A man in Bangladesh harbored an eel in his colon for more than a day, after it swum into his rectum while the man was fishing. He held off on seeking medical attention immediately, hoping the fish would find its own way out. Reader, it did not.
livescience.com
Diagnostic dilemma: Fisher's colon punctured by eel that snuck in through his rectum
A man's intestines were perforated in an "exceedingly rare" medical case involving a live eel.
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
"The whole “Oh no, our models went rogue” thing … When a bridge collapses, you don’t analyze whether the bridge was ethical or sentient or why it decided to collapse. You ask, who is the person who built this bridge to be so flimsy?" www.wired.com/story/one-of...
wired.com
One of AI’s Fiercest Critics Says All the Doom Talk Is ‘Meant to Distract Us’
Timnit Gebru argues that AI companies are stoking fears of extinction to avoid discussing actual harms, like autonomous weapons.
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I was thinking about you today when I read this headline, Dr. David.
chron.com
Texas fisherman catches rare mashup of 2 prehistoric predators
This rare river catch comes with a surprising genetic twist.
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Jess Keating @jesskeatingbooks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The sea was angry that day, my friends!
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
😅😅😅👍
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Brett Favaro @brettfavaro.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Meanwhile the kids are sitting there wondering what show that is, and who the guy in the red hat is
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Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde @albrechts-h.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
George's explanation of the evolution of the octopus' nostrils is comedy gold.
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Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I’m teaching Intro to Marine Biology this semester and used these images in my first lecture. Unsure if either of them increased or decreased my credibility 😅😅😅 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social
A freshwater biologist and marine biologist sit on a shark-tagging vessel “RV Garvin” with the “Gar” crossed out. Meme from the “Marine Biologist” episode of Seinfeld.
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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Forget planting trees for a second. Let's talk about BOGS. Did you know that peatlands cover a tiny 3% of Earth’s land, but store MORE CARBON than all the world's forests combined?They are an ultimate MVP of our climate system and it’s time we start hyping them. Join me! 🧵 1/
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