Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
@biojlinnsoc.bsky.social
Highlighting ground-breaking science, news and key papers from the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, the world's oldest scientific journal dedicated to biological science.
Blog: https://www.linnean.org/news/categories/the-paper-trail
Blog: https://www.linnean.org/news/categories/the-paper-trail
Accelerating #BiodiversityLoss, environmental degradation & social instability affect tropical & subtropical regions in South America. Museum collections are critical for documenting & preserving biodiversity, yet often get overlooked. Introducing: INALI snake collection (1/2) 🧪🌍
buff.ly/DbvmLsf
buff.ly/DbvmLsf
Fighting biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene: the INALI snake collection as a key resource for natural history in the Global South
Abstract. In the Anthropocene, accelerating biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and social instability are profoundly affecting tropical and subt
doi.org
January 27, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Accelerating #BiodiversityLoss, environmental degradation & social instability affect tropical & subtropical regions in South America. Museum collections are critical for documenting & preserving biodiversity, yet often get overlooked. Introducing: INALI snake collection (1/2) 🧪🌍
buff.ly/DbvmLsf
buff.ly/DbvmLsf
Ever wondered how males 'roos increase their reproductive success? While they might look like they fight it out in the ring, larger males actually show less investment in sperm competitive traits, though that doesn't mean they're not successful...🧪🌍
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
#AustraliaDay
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
#AustraliaDay
January 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Ever wondered how males 'roos increase their reproductive success? While they might look like they fight it out in the ring, larger males actually show less investment in sperm competitive traits, though that doesn't mean they're not successful...🧪🌍
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
#AustraliaDay
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
#AustraliaDay
New Blog Alert! 🚨 🐘
Elephants are known to be Ecosystem Engineers, but did you know they are also the largest gardeners on Earth? Our latest blog, written by guest blogger Jin-Gyu Chang, reveals their pollinator role...but it's less green thumb and more elephant dung...(1/6) 🧪🌍
buff.ly/GSCUM4R
Elephants are known to be Ecosystem Engineers, but did you know they are also the largest gardeners on Earth? Our latest blog, written by guest blogger Jin-Gyu Chang, reveals their pollinator role...but it's less green thumb and more elephant dung...(1/6) 🧪🌍
buff.ly/GSCUM4R
January 21, 2026 at 10:30 AM
New Blog Alert! 🚨 🐘
Elephants are known to be Ecosystem Engineers, but did you know they are also the largest gardeners on Earth? Our latest blog, written by guest blogger Jin-Gyu Chang, reveals their pollinator role...but it's less green thumb and more elephant dung...(1/6) 🧪🌍
buff.ly/GSCUM4R
Elephants are known to be Ecosystem Engineers, but did you know they are also the largest gardeners on Earth? Our latest blog, written by guest blogger Jin-Gyu Chang, reveals their pollinator role...but it's less green thumb and more elephant dung...(1/6) 🧪🌍
buff.ly/GSCUM4R
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
With the diversity of flowers comes the diversity of ways to analyse them, but which is best & how are they linked? Here, combining flower morphology characters of 951 species revealed that the most common characters are rarely found together in 1 flower! 🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
#Conservation
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
#Conservation
January 20, 2026 at 4:23 PM
With the diversity of flowers comes the diversity of ways to analyse them, but which is best & how are they linked? Here, combining flower morphology characters of 951 species revealed that the most common characters are rarely found together in 1 flower! 🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
#Conservation
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
#Conservation
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
What do you call a reptile that looks like a lizard but isn't? I'm Nothosaurus...
Helping to understand ecosystem recovery after the PT-extinction, a large new nothosaurian is described, adding to the evidence of large predators in the Tethys shallow seas! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
#FossilFriday
Helping to understand ecosystem recovery after the PT-extinction, a large new nothosaurian is described, adding to the evidence of large predators in the Tethys shallow seas! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
#FossilFriday
January 16, 2026 at 11:18 AM
What do you call a reptile that looks like a lizard but isn't? I'm Nothosaurus...
Helping to understand ecosystem recovery after the PT-extinction, a large new nothosaurian is described, adding to the evidence of large predators in the Tethys shallow seas! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
#FossilFriday
Helping to understand ecosystem recovery after the PT-extinction, a large new nothosaurian is described, adding to the evidence of large predators in the Tethys shallow seas! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
#FossilFriday
This year, why not publish your research with a Society Journal?
The Linnean Society is committed to publishing high-quality and groundbreaking scientific research across the four themes of botany, zoology, biology and evolution, striving to make these accessible & engaging to a global audience.
The Linnean Society is committed to publishing high-quality and groundbreaking scientific research across the four themes of botany, zoology, biology and evolution, striving to make these accessible & engaging to a global audience.
January 14, 2026 at 9:01 AM
This year, why not publish your research with a Society Journal?
The Linnean Society is committed to publishing high-quality and groundbreaking scientific research across the four themes of botany, zoology, biology and evolution, striving to make these accessible & engaging to a global audience.
The Linnean Society is committed to publishing high-quality and groundbreaking scientific research across the four themes of botany, zoology, biology and evolution, striving to make these accessible & engaging to a global audience.
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
📢 Call for Papers: @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social invites submissions on Organismal Resilience in a Rapidly Changing World – from molecular mechanisms to ecosystem-level responses.
Submit by 20 May 2026: oxford.ly/3MPUtgr
Submit by 20 May 2026: oxford.ly/3MPUtgr
January 8, 2026 at 3:00 PM
📢 Call for Papers: @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social invites submissions on Organismal Resilience in a Rapidly Changing World – from molecular mechanisms to ecosystem-level responses.
Submit by 20 May 2026: oxford.ly/3MPUtgr
Submit by 20 May 2026: oxford.ly/3MPUtgr
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Call these Martians the way they Rove(r)...
The rove beetle genus Xenogaster has 12 described species, yet their biology & interspecific relationships remain poorly understood. Here, a taxonomic revision & phylogenetic analysis uncovers a new genus & a new species! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
The rove beetle genus Xenogaster has 12 described species, yet their biology & interspecific relationships remain poorly understood. Here, a taxonomic revision & phylogenetic analysis uncovers a new genus & a new species! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
January 13, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Call these Martians the way they Rove(r)...
The rove beetle genus Xenogaster has 12 described species, yet their biology & interspecific relationships remain poorly understood. Here, a taxonomic revision & phylogenetic analysis uncovers a new genus & a new species! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
The rove beetle genus Xenogaster has 12 described species, yet their biology & interspecific relationships remain poorly understood. Here, a taxonomic revision & phylogenetic analysis uncovers a new genus & a new species! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
On the fifth day of Christmas, Linnaeus gave to me...FIVE ANOLES! Well, more like anoles adapting to temperature change in the Andes, as taught to us in this lunchtime lecture! Kicking off the journal series, it contributed to the 1000+ lecture attendees this year! 🌍🧪👇
buff.ly/Tgjn9Pk
buff.ly/Tgjn9Pk
December 5, 2025 at 10:24 AM
On the fifth day of Christmas, Linnaeus gave to me...FIVE ANOLES! Well, more like anoles adapting to temperature change in the Andes, as taught to us in this lunchtime lecture! Kicking off the journal series, it contributed to the 1000+ lecture attendees this year! 🌍🧪👇
buff.ly/Tgjn9Pk
buff.ly/Tgjn9Pk
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
We all know ornithologists loved naming birds, but less so trying to understand their evolutionary history...
Using the (perfectly named) Buzzing Flowerpecker as a case study, phylogenetic studies revealed rapid evolution & shared genes, making it difficult to draw boundaries...
Using the (perfectly named) Buzzing Flowerpecker as a case study, phylogenetic studies revealed rapid evolution & shared genes, making it difficult to draw boundaries...
Rapid divergence with gene flow creates intractable nodes in the tree of life: An empirical demonstration in the Buzzing Flowerpecker (Dicaeum hypoleucum)
Abstract. The avian tree of life contains a series of famously intractable nodes and controversial relationships whose resolution varies between studies de
doi.org
December 2, 2025 at 3:03 PM
We all know ornithologists loved naming birds, but less so trying to understand their evolutionary history...
Using the (perfectly named) Buzzing Flowerpecker as a case study, phylogenetic studies revealed rapid evolution & shared genes, making it difficult to draw boundaries...
Using the (perfectly named) Buzzing Flowerpecker as a case study, phylogenetic studies revealed rapid evolution & shared genes, making it difficult to draw boundaries...
Straight out of the Upside Down, this semi-aquatic (yes, they can swim) caterpillar uses warning colouration to deter predation. The fish? Well, they don't care and try eating them anyway, much to their eventual regret... 🌍 🧪 👇
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
November 27, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Straight out of the Upside Down, this semi-aquatic (yes, they can swim) caterpillar uses warning colouration to deter predation. The fish? Well, they don't care and try eating them anyway, much to their eventual regret... 🌍 🧪 👇
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
Our classic sister @botjlinnsoc.bsky.social raising a cute little baby demogorgon...did they learn nothing from Dustin & Dart in season two?!
Ahhh Rafflesia, the parasitic corpse flower...what's not to love? Known for their scent of rotting flesh, these Strange(r) Things can be found in the rainforests of South East Asia, and may remind you of a certain Demogorgon, henchmen of the upside down...
#StrangerThings #Demogorgon
#StrangerThings #Demogorgon
November 27, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Our classic sister @botjlinnsoc.bsky.social raising a cute little baby demogorgon...did they learn nothing from Dustin & Dart in season two?!
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
I spy with my little eye, a brand new...butterfly?
Found hiding from Panama to Colombia, whole-genome sequencing uncovered this new species as part of the tribe Phocidini!
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
Found hiding from Panama to Colombia, whole-genome sequencing uncovered this new species as part of the tribe Phocidini!
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 11:30 AM
I spy with my little eye, a brand new...butterfly?
Found hiding from Panama to Colombia, whole-genome sequencing uncovered this new species as part of the tribe Phocidini!
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
Found hiding from Panama to Colombia, whole-genome sequencing uncovered this new species as part of the tribe Phocidini!
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Weevil, weevil, rock you!
Not quite as catchy as the Queen hit, the phylogeny of broad-nosed weevils was explored using mitochondrial genomes of 130 species, helping to classify the subfamily & uncover their biogeography! 🌍👇🧪
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
Not quite as catchy as the Queen hit, the phylogeny of broad-nosed weevils was explored using mitochondrial genomes of 130 species, helping to classify the subfamily & uncover their biogeography! 🌍👇🧪
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Weevil, weevil, rock you!
Not quite as catchy as the Queen hit, the phylogeny of broad-nosed weevils was explored using mitochondrial genomes of 130 species, helping to classify the subfamily & uncover their biogeography! 🌍👇🧪
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
Not quite as catchy as the Queen hit, the phylogeny of broad-nosed weevils was explored using mitochondrial genomes of 130 species, helping to classify the subfamily & uncover their biogeography! 🌍👇🧪
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@linneansociety.bsky.social
What's that? You didn't know boxfish made sound? Me neither...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
November 25, 2025 at 8:30 AM
What's that? You didn't know boxfish made sound? Me neither...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
We all know humans are having an impact on the environment, but most efforts to preserve #Biodiversity are designed for vertebrates, with little known about invertebrates! Here, European gastropods are given their time in the sun, helping identify human hotspots & influence conservation! (1/2) 🌍 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 10:12 AM
We all know humans are having an impact on the environment, but most efforts to preserve #Biodiversity are designed for vertebrates, with little known about invertebrates! Here, European gastropods are given their time in the sun, helping identify human hotspots & influence conservation! (1/2) 🌍 🧪
The mourning gecko has apparently many things to be sad about, but its cranial development is not one of them! Using CT scans of three embryonic stages, the skull development of these little reptiles was studied, revealing the phylogenetic potential of such data in reptiles!🌍
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
November 18, 2025 at 10:12 AM
The mourning gecko has apparently many things to be sad about, but its cranial development is not one of them! Using CT scans of three embryonic stages, the skull development of these little reptiles was studied, revealing the phylogenetic potential of such data in reptiles!🌍
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
If you had the world's highest fish diversity, how would you protect it? Brazil faces this challenge, highlighting the important role of Scientific Fish Collections in #Biodiversity & Conservation research! Yet, challenges such as digitization & gender-inequality remain...
The CARDUME initiative: integrating Brazil’s scientific fish collections to promote research and biodiversity conservation
Abstract. Brazil hosts the highest fish diversity globally, underscoring the critical role of Brazilian Scientific Fish Collections (BSFCs) in biodiversity
doi.org
November 15, 2025 at 8:01 PM
If you had the world's highest fish diversity, how would you protect it? Brazil faces this challenge, highlighting the important role of Scientific Fish Collections in #Biodiversity & Conservation research! Yet, challenges such as digitization & gender-inequality remain...
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
This #FossilFriday marvel at the presence of Astropanax leaves & pollen in Ethiopia 21.73 million years ago, found in the Mush Valley, providing the earliest evidence for Araliaceae on the African continent! (around the time when ancient rhinos & horses began to evolve)🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
November 14, 2025 at 8:30 AM
This #FossilFriday marvel at the presence of Astropanax leaves & pollen in Ethiopia 21.73 million years ago, found in the Mush Valley, providing the earliest evidence for Araliaceae on the African continent! (around the time when ancient rhinos & horses began to evolve)🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
doi.org/10.1093/botl...
India is one of the most biodiverse & unique countries on Earth, with high levels of endemism & evolutionary distinctiveness, yet its biodiversity is still poorly understood. It is important to make biodiversity research available to all, starting with collections 👇 🌍
Linking eras and data: natural history collections as the foundation of India’s biodiversity science
Abstract. India, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries and now the most populous, stands at a critical intersection of ecological wealth and intense
doi.org
November 13, 2025 at 10:12 AM
India is one of the most biodiverse & unique countries on Earth, with high levels of endemism & evolutionary distinctiveness, yet its biodiversity is still poorly understood. It is important to make biodiversity research available to all, starting with collections 👇 🌍
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Interested in the biogeography of lizards?🦎
We studied the historical biogeography of Sceloporus lizards and the link between their dispersal and climatic niches 🌎🌦️ @fabrovillalobos.bsky.social @ndimhypervol.bsky.social @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social
Learn more here 👇:
academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
We studied the historical biogeography of Sceloporus lizards and the link between their dispersal and climatic niches 🌎🌦️ @fabrovillalobos.bsky.social @ndimhypervol.bsky.social @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social
Learn more here 👇:
academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
Historical biogeography and climatic niche dynamics in spiny lizards of the genus Sceloporus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae)
Abstract. Although we now have extensive biogeographical datasets for tetrapods, unravelling the drivers of species’ distributions remains challenging, esp
academic.oup.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Interested in the biogeography of lizards?🦎
We studied the historical biogeography of Sceloporus lizards and the link between their dispersal and climatic niches 🌎🌦️ @fabrovillalobos.bsky.social @ndimhypervol.bsky.social @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social
Learn more here 👇:
academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
We studied the historical biogeography of Sceloporus lizards and the link between their dispersal and climatic niches 🌎🌦️ @fabrovillalobos.bsky.social @ndimhypervol.bsky.social @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social
Learn more here 👇:
academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
Can museum collections help identify a species conservation status? Through a systematic survey of primate specimens at MZUSP, 85 species were identified, with 12 classified as #Endangered & 6 #CriticallyEndangered, highlighting the importance of collections in research! 🌍👇
Mammalian diversity and conservation status of Brazilian primates: insights from a museum collection
Abstract. Brazil harbours one of the highest levels of primate species richness and endemism globally, with its taxonomic diversity extensively documented
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Can museum collections help identify a species conservation status? Through a systematic survey of primate specimens at MZUSP, 85 species were identified, with 12 classified as #Endangered & 6 #CriticallyEndangered, highlighting the importance of collections in research! 🌍👇
Incy wincy spider, didn't help the Bromeliad out?
Little is known about the interactions between spiders & bromeliads in the Caatinga, until now! Looking at 41 plants, the presence of spiders led to reduced leaf & fruit growth, suggesting a parasitic interaction!🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
Little is known about the interactions between spiders & bromeliads in the Caatinga, until now! Looking at 41 plants, the presence of spiders led to reduced leaf & fruit growth, suggesting a parasitic interaction!🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
November 7, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Incy wincy spider, didn't help the Bromeliad out?
Little is known about the interactions between spiders & bromeliads in the Caatinga, until now! Looking at 41 plants, the presence of spiders led to reduced leaf & fruit growth, suggesting a parasitic interaction!🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
Little is known about the interactions between spiders & bromeliads in the Caatinga, until now! Looking at 41 plants, the presence of spiders led to reduced leaf & fruit growth, suggesting a parasitic interaction!🌍🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
New Blog Day! 📣👻
Ghosts of the past come back to haunt the genetic record of island colonisation events, revealing silent extinctions! Written by guest blogger Adam Brachtl, this blog explores how molecular genetics can uncover these hidden stories...(1/6) 🌍🧪👇
www.linnean.org/news/2025/11...
Ghosts of the past come back to haunt the genetic record of island colonisation events, revealing silent extinctions! Written by guest blogger Adam Brachtl, this blog explores how molecular genetics can uncover these hidden stories...(1/6) 🌍🧪👇
www.linnean.org/news/2025/11...
November 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM
New Blog Day! 📣👻
Ghosts of the past come back to haunt the genetic record of island colonisation events, revealing silent extinctions! Written by guest blogger Adam Brachtl, this blog explores how molecular genetics can uncover these hidden stories...(1/6) 🌍🧪👇
www.linnean.org/news/2025/11...
Ghosts of the past come back to haunt the genetic record of island colonisation events, revealing silent extinctions! Written by guest blogger Adam Brachtl, this blog explores how molecular genetics can uncover these hidden stories...(1/6) 🌍🧪👇
www.linnean.org/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Two birds of a feather, yet they don't grow together...
By comparing Afrotropical & European temperate species, distinct latitudinal differences in feather growth rates were found, with tropical passerines growing wing feathers faster! Why? Take a beak to find out...
By comparing Afrotropical & European temperate species, distinct latitudinal differences in feather growth rates were found, with tropical passerines growing wing feathers faster! Why? Take a beak to find out...
Afrotropical passerines grow wing feathers faster than their European counterparts
Abstract. Latitudinal gradients in environmental conditions shape avian life-history strategies by influencing resource allocation among growth, survival,
doi.org
November 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Two birds of a feather, yet they don't grow together...
By comparing Afrotropical & European temperate species, distinct latitudinal differences in feather growth rates were found, with tropical passerines growing wing feathers faster! Why? Take a beak to find out...
By comparing Afrotropical & European temperate species, distinct latitudinal differences in feather growth rates were found, with tropical passerines growing wing feathers faster! Why? Take a beak to find out...