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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

This month, #SuperTyphoonBavi crossed Rota Island as a Cat 5 storm - too soon after ST Sinlaku. As Rota's people try to recover, my coworkers & I do our best for the wildlife. We left out fruit for fanihi fruit bats, checked on native birds & akaleha' tree snails, & cleaned up field sites

Satellite image of Super Typhoon Bavi's eye crossing Rota Island.

Songsong Village, Rota, as seen from within nearby jungle. Normally, jungle vegetation is too dense to see out into the village.

An area of Rota jungle repeatedly damaged by super typhoons. This site is a home to akaleha' Luta (Rota tree snails, Partula lutaensis).
Top left: Habitat in 2025.
Top right: Same area 5 days after Super Typhoon Sinlaku, with trees mostly bare of leaves.
Bottom left: Same area 7.5 weeks after Sunlaku, showing signs of recovery.
Bottom right: Same area 2 weeks after Super Typhoon Bavi, with even more damage to vegetation, such as downed trees.

Akaleha' Luta (Rota tree snails, Partula lutaensis) that survived Super Typhoon Bavi.

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Ocean Lani 🇲🇵🇬🇺 @oceanlani.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Another monster typhoon is brewing (a smaller one than last time HOPEFULLY) and I'm lining up for gas and getting PTSD 😪😫😩😭⚰️

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

It's dry season & the akaleha' are sleeping 🐌💤 When it's hot & dry, snails enter dormancy aka estivation so they don't overheat or dry up. When a snail estivates, it glues its shell shut with slime, then hides way back in the shell. See alt text for more #MolluskMonday #MolluscMonday #JoyOfMolluscs

Akaleha' dilikao (English: fragile tree snail, scientific name: Samoana fragilis) have transparent shells, which makes it easy to see how far an estivating akaleha' dilikao has withdrawn into its shell.

Photo shows an estivating akaleha' dilikao attached to wire fencing. The snail's flesh has withdrawn about half a whorl away from the shell opening. However, it is clearly still alive, based on the vibrant color of the body under the transparent shell.

Some akaleha' luta (English: Rota tree snail, scientific name: Partula lutaensis) have pale, semi-transparent shells, which also let you see how far it's withdrawn.

Photo shows an estivating akaleha' luta attached to a fern leaf growing from a tree trunk. The snail's flesh has withdrawn into the tip of the shell. It is possible that this snail died from hot, dry weather, and its body is continuing to dry up in the shell.

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Danna Staaf @dannastaaf.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

The wonderful malacology curator at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Jennifer Trimble, showed me around last week! I saw a model of the biggest Giant Pacific Octopus, a drawer full of argonaut shells, and a box of squid beaks found in the stomach of a dead whale in 1869 🤯 I LOVE MUSEUMS

Photo of a huge octopus model hanging in the atrium of one of the Harvard Museum buildings.

Top-down photo of a specimen drawer filled with boxes of different sizes. Each box holds a beautiful shell of an argonaut octopus (or sometimes multiple shells).

Photo of a specimen box in a drawer with other boxes visible around it. It is filled with hundreds of dark brown squid beaks and has several labels, including a very old handwritten note that reads "Taken from the stomach of a Cetacean. found dead on Dennis Beach. Jan 29, 2869 Mass."

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Super Typhoon #Sinlaku devastated human communities in the CNMI & injured our more-than-human communities: jungle, ocean, & animals. People of the CNMI help each other recover & rebuild. I hope our jungle, ocean, & animals will recover too, just as they have for millions of years #MarianasStrong

Photos taken before Super Typhoon Sinlaku, immediately after, and during habitat recovery, comparing beachside jungle on Rota Island. Photos taken in August 2025 (top), April 2026 (middle), and June 2026 (bottom). "Before" photo shows a small, sandy clearing with dappled light in a lush, green jungle. There are large, knotted trees, vines and screw pines grow along the ground, and bright green leaves fill the background. "After" photo shows the same clearing. Many of the large trees are standing, but some are broken or leaning at steep angles. The ground is bare sand with a tangle of dead branches. Most of the green leaves are gone, revealing stark tree trunks and the ocean in the background. "Recovery" photo shows the same clearing, with a few leaves returning to the trees and new vines creeping across the sand.

Photos taken before Super Typhoon Sinlaku, immediately after, and during habitat recovery, comparing jungle near Songsong Village on Rota Island. Photos taken in August 2025 (top), April 2026 (middle), and June 2026 (bottom). "Before" photo shows a lush, green tree canopy arching over a forest floor covered in leaf litter. More trees and screw pines grow in the background. The foreground is shaded, but there is sunlight on the ground behind. "After" photo shows the same arching tree, now with most leaves missing. Background trees have few leaves, and many bare branches are visible. The screw pine leaves are folded and yellowing. The entire scene is lit by harsh sunlight. "Recovery" photo shows the same arching tree, filling with new leaves. Background trees have new leaves as well. The foreground is softly shaded.

Photos taken immediately after Super Typhoon Sinlaku and during habitat recovery, comparing beachside jungle on Rota Island. Photos taken in April 2026 (top) and June 2026 (bottom). Before the storm, this area was an open, shaded grove. "After" photo shows large, bare tree trunks arch over a mess of dead branches on the ground. The branches lay so thick that it is impossible to see the ground underneath. Some of the branches are quite large. The ocean is visible on the left side of the photo, suggesting that these branches were collected and pushed inland by high surf, while strong winds knocked them down. "Recovery" photo shows the same trees and logs. The trees have patches of new leaves, and fresh vines are beginning to cover the logs.

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Emoji Meadow @emojimeadow.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

🍀🌿🌿🌿🌸🌼🌸🌿🌸 🌿🌿🌿🍀🌿🌸🌿🌿🍀 🌿🌿🍀🌿🍀🌸🌸🌿🌿 🌿🌿🌿🍀🍀🌷🌿🌿🌸 🌸🌿🌿🌿🌼🌸🌿🌿🌸 🌿🌿🌿🐌🍀🌼🌸🌸🌿 🌸🌿🌿🌼🌸🌿🌿🌿🌿

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 08/05/2026

Overnight this Omni ICE flight landed in Guam, where it sat for 7+ hours, before continuing west. It is about to make its first deportation stop, in Cambodia. Migrants passengers onboard have likely been shackled for at least 63 hours.

A FR24 map showing a 767 (N486AX) descending toward Phnom Penh.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Happy 100th Birthday to Sir David Attenborough Thank you for teaching me about slug sex youtu.be/wG9qpZ89qzc?... #JoyOfMulluscs

youtu.be

BBC Who Knew Slugs Could Be So Romantic

YouTube video by unireality

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

New paper on barriers faced by US/UK trans people in STEM. Good read (as much as reading about discrimination can be "good") The part about anti-trans laws limiting mobility resonated with me (cis woman) re: excluding US states with abortion restrictions from my job search doi.org/10.1111/asap...

doi.org

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Super Typhoon #Sinlaku devastated the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory. Luta Cares is delivering necessities like water to Rota Island residents in need $56.25 = 1 day of water for Rota residents on Saipan for medical referral www.paypal.com/qrcodes/mana... #MarianaStrong 🇲🇵

QR code to donate to Luta Cares.
https://www.paypal.com/qrcodes/managed/68f014ca-5956-4df1-913f-6ebe8a0a8299

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Weather forecast: "scattered showers becoming isolated showers" What is scattered vs isolated in this context???? Genuine question

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Akaleha' dilikao (fragile tree snail, scientific name: Samoana fragilis) have translucent shells. Their colors come from the skin underneath, usually yellow & brown. The yellow varies from white to orange, and the brown from red to black. Some are mostly yellow or mostly brown 🤍💛🧡❤️🤎🖤 #JoyOfMolluscs

An akaleha' dilikao crawls on a leaf. The skin under its shell is marigold yellow with maroon splotches.

An akaleha' dilikao crawls on the underside of a leaf. The skin under its shell is creamy white with dark brown splotches. Light shining through the leaf casts a green hue on the snail.

An akaleha' dilikao crawls on a leaf. The skin under its shell is mostly lemon yellow, with spidery threads of darkest brown.

An akaleha' dilikao crawls up a tree trunk. The skin under its shell has islands of butter yellow in a sea of nearly black.

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Did you know that the bees that need saving are NOT honeybees? Honeybees are the dairy cows of bees. People brought them over from Europe to make us honey. The problem with honeybees, esp in resource-limited ecosystems (like hey! cities!) is that they compete with our native bees for food.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

This morning, a couple local kids job shadowed me for an experiment on flatworm predation on slugs. This evening, I submitted a paper on science education and outreach with molluscs. It's been a good day 🐌🤓 #JoyOfMolluscs

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Oh Deer! Philippine deer (Chamorro: binadu, scientific name: Rusa marianna) were introduced to Guam in the 1770s & later the Northern Marianas. Deer hunting is important to CNMI culture. In the Philippines, deer are vulnerable to extinction. But here, deer are invasive & damage native habitat 🦌

A deer skull with knobby antlers, submitted to the 2024 Bisita Luta deer hunting competition on Rota Islands. The skull sits in front of a "Most Unique" sign.

Seedling of a native plant (Chamorro: kafu, English: screwpine, scientific name: Pandanus tectorius) damaged by deer grazing. Kafu is an important host plant for akaleha' luta (English: Rota tree snail, scientific name: Partula lutaensis), an at-risk tree snail species found only on Rota.

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Chipockalips Now! @fragboner.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Snail helm is go

Snail helmet with the shell being the helm and snail being the face cover

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

2025 was a year of progress & discoveries for akaleha' tree snail conservation here in the CNMI 🐌 Akaleha' are tree snails in Family Partulidae native to the Mariana Islands🇲🇵🇬🇺 To count down the new year, Here's our Top 10 Akaleha' Conservation Moments of 2025 #InverteFest #JoyOfMolluscs

Collage of akaleha’ luta (Rota tree snails, Partula lutaensis) from Rota Island.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

I had the delight of meeting these (or a related species) and other very large snails while studying abroad in Ecuador back in 2013 Why are there giant land snails in the tropics (e.g. these Ecuadorian species, giant African snails), but giant slugs in temperate zones? #JoyOfMolluscs 🐌

I look at two very large land snails sitting on a bed of lettuce in a market stand in Quito, Ecuador. The snails may be the same species as the snail in the quoted video.

I look at a large land snail hanging from a tree in coastal Ecuador. The snail's extended foot, which clings to a thin branch, is surprisingly small compared to its shell. It is a different species from the other snails in this post.

I hold up a large land snail in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The snail extends from its shell as if looking back at me. It is a different species from other snails in this post.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Gotta love Lisa Frank squid babies Also gotta love creative uses of mucus #JoyOfMolluscs

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Emoji Meadow @emojimeadow.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

🍄🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🌷 🍀🍀🍀🌷🍀🍀🍀🌷🍀 🍀🍀🌷🌷🍄🍀🌷🍀🌷 🍀🍀🍀🌺🍀🍀🌷🌷🌷 🌺🌺🍀🌷🍀🍀🍀🍀🌷 🌷🍀🍀🐌🍀🌺🍀🌺🍀 🍀🍀🍀🌺🍀🌷🍀🍀🍀

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Lovely piece from @anngawel.bsky.social on akaleha' tree snails in Guam & the CNMI. Dr. Gawel visited Rota to hear from elders on how they collected & used akaleha'. And she helped me map living akaleha' & showed me an akaleha' site I didn't know! #JoyOfMolluscs www.guampdn.com/lifestyle/st...

guampdn.com

Start small, start now: Akaleha’—our forests’ living gems

When you grow up in Micronesia, you can sometimes feel a bit small and overlooked compared to the rest of the world. After all, “Micro,” meaning “small,” is literally in

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

- obsessed with slugs as a kid - learned in 8th grade that paid to play with slugs = "biology" - research opportunities in undergrad & grad school for shelled snails, so I expanded my horizons to the shelly - postdoc was ending & saw a job posting for snail conservation on a tropical Pacific Island

I stand under a tree in a tropical rainforest on Rota Island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. I gaze up at the tree, searching its leaves for endangered tree snails (Rota tree snails, Chamorro: akaleha' Luta, scientific name: Partula lutaensis). I stand on a fern-covered slope, flanked by limestone cliffs. The forest behind me glows in the sunlight.

An endangered tree snail (Rota tree snail, Chamorro: akaleha' Luta, scientific name: Partula lutaensis) crawls on a coconut palm frond. Its shell is beige, and its foot and tentacles are pale, translucent gray.

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Elizabeth Beston @elizabethbeston.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Cutie baby sea snails hanging out. #marineplankton 🦑

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

#HappyHalloween! Did you know - Hermit crabs use snail skeletons to cover their butts 😱 🐚 Hermit crabs don't build their shells 🐌 But snails do! A snail's shell is its skeleton and grows as the snail grows. Hermit crabs use dead snails' shells protect their soft backsides. Creepy! ☠️ #JoyOfMolluscs

A hermit crab inside an adult akaleha' tree snail shell.

A small hermit crab inside a subadult akaleha' tree snail shell.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

These 2 showed up on our doorstep just days after my birthday, when they were maybe 2 months old. Raising them is the unexpected birthday gift that keeps on giving 🖤🖤

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Happy #MolluscMonday! Snail shells in traditional Pacific arts: 🐚In the Marianas, Chamorro & Refaluwasch people used akaleha' tree snails to make beaded bags & jewelry 🌏Many Pacific cultures use seashells for islands in stick chart maps, combining art, science, & geography #JoyOfMolluscs

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Clara Peeters clearly had excellent taste in still-life subject #JoyOfMolluscs 🐚

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 11/09/2025

Biology Department xkcd.com/3140/

Comic. [Building with large sign in front of it[ SIGN: Welcome to the *Biology Department* It has been [changeable sign: 3] days since we discovered something existentially horrifying about bugs that makes you question your whole reality

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Want an #SnailSunday challenge? 🤓 Try to find the snails in these photos! Partula lutaensis (Family Partulidae, Chamorro: akaleha' Luta) Answers in the alt text This snail was much harder to find in the field than in the photo #InverteFest #JoyOfMolluscs 🐌 1/5

Snail hanging from the underside of the right leaf of sapling.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Sometimes, I confuse baby akaleha’ (Mariana Islands tree snails in Family Partulidae) with other, smaller species Here’s what a baby akaleha’ looks like 👶🐌 #InverteFest #SnailSaturday #JoyOfMolluscs 1/4

Juvenile Partula lutaensis on the underside of a leaf, with one tentacle extended.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Liardetia sp., Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 🇲🇵 #InverteFest #JoyOfMolluscs

Tiny, disc-shaped snail, which has stuck itself to the underside of a leaf.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Elasmias cf. quadrasi, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands #InverteFest #JoyOfMolluscs

Small snail held in a researcher’s fingers, with the shell opening facing the camera.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Speedy Omphalotropis land snail crawling along the inside of a plastic terrarium 🏎️ #InverteFest #JoyOfMolluscs 🐌

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Lauren @tinylongwing.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Out in the CNMI here, where I currently am, the best answer I know of is the local Golden Huntsman, Olios sp. Relatively abundant among the spiders here, but undescribed regardless. #InverteFest #spiders 🌏🧪

Photo of a pale yellow huntsman spider underneath a leaf. It is relatively small compared to most well-known huntsman species at about 1-2 inches in diameter. It has fuzzy legs, a gray abdomen, and a bunch of tiny black eyes on the front of its face.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Some invasive inverts in the Mariana Islands 1️⃣ coconut rhinoceros beetle 🪲 These jerks are on Rota, but our invasive species team keeps them contained 🏅 2️⃣ succineid snails 🐌 We might have native ones, too, but this one was at my apt, so I think it's introduced #InverteFest #JoyOfMolluscs 1/3

Bucket of coconut rhinoceros beetles, slowly dying in ethanol.

Succineid land snail crawling on a white surface next to a mm ruler. Shell is about 15 mm long.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Want an #InverteFest challenge? 🤓 Try to find the snails in these photos! Partula lutaensis (Family Partulidae, Chamorro: akaleha' Luta) Answers in the alt text We’ll start off easy… #JoyOfMolluscs 🐌 1/5

Snail hanging from the underside of the lowest, left-most leaf of sapling.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Samoana fragilis (Family Partulidae, Chamorro: akaleha'), found on Rota Island in the Northern Mariana Islands and on Guam These snails have translucent shells, so color differences are from their flesh, not their shells #InverteFest #JoyOfMolluscs 🐌

Snail crawling up a screw pine leaf. The flesh under the largest shell whorl is bright yellow with thin, dark brown lines. Under smaller whorls, the snail is mostly dark brown with yellow splotches. The snail’s head is dark gray, and its tail is pale gray.

Snail crawling up a tree trunk. The snail’s upper tentacles and the top of its head are dark gray, and its lower tentacles, foot, and tail are pale beige. The flesh under the snail’s shell is dark brown with large, pale gold splotches.

Snail hanging from the underside of a leaf. Under the largest shell whorl, the snail has large, golden splotches on dark brown. Under smaller whorls, the snail is mostly dark brown with smaller golden spots.

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Happy #MolluscMonday of #InverteFest! Please enjoy these Partula lutaensis (Family Partulidae, Chamorro: akaleha' Luta) These snails are only found on Rota Island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 🏝️ #JoyOfMolluscs #MolluskMonday 1/2

Two snails hang next to each other on a leaf. One has a yellow shell with a white lip at the opening. The other has a pink-tinged binge shell.

A snail hangs from the underside of a palm frond.

A snail crawling on a branch, as viewed from behind. The snail’s shell is pale lemon yellow near the opening, with an ever-widening dark brown stripe around the spiral towards the shell tip.

Snail crawling on the underside of a leaf. The shell is light beige with a dark brown lip at the shell opening and a dark brown brown stripe around the spiral. The snail’s head is dark gray with long tentacles, and its tail is light gray.

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Reposted by Teresa Rose Osborne

Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Clearly amazing appearance around 888m in #MarDelPlataCanyon: Amphitretus sp. This telescope octopus has adapted to live in a place where there is nowhere to hide but in plain sight. Deep gratitude to @autsquidsquad.bsky.social for species ID. Description on Insta: www.instagram.com/reel/DNittGh...

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Incredible glass models of soft-bodied inverts 😍 vt.tiktok.com/ZSSTt9pFB/

vt.tiktok.com

TikTok - Make Your Day

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Teresa Rose Osborne @trosborne.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

How to recognize akaleha' on Rota vs other snails #JoyOfMolluscs Akaleha' 📏 adults ~1/2 inch long 🐚 flared "lip" around adult shell opening 🌴 in the jungle on plants 🌈 Partula lutaensis: many different colors 💛 Samoana fragilis: yellow & dark brown splotches 1/4

Partula lutaensis (akaleha') crawling on a vine. Ruler in mm.

Samoana fragilis (akaleha') crawling on a leaf.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." -Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953

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Katie Collins @spissatella.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Come see me wrestle with the philosophical conundrum of what we measure and why and how, plus some stuff about geometry that hopefully would bewilder the teacher who kicked me out of high school math!

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