Evolutionary stasis in horseshoe crabs!

MASSIVELY excited to see Tityus achilles, South America's first #venom spraying #scorpion, finally described in
@zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social !
This new species from #Colombia can spray venom at potential predators, a striking case of convergent #evolution 🧵 (1/n)

academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...

Who dis ?
Meet Acanthops #mantises! (fam. Acanthopidae, here an unidentified species). These count among the few mantis genera in which adults retain the high abdomen flexure so often seen in juveniles. Can you make out this adult female's wings?
Photographed in #Colombia.

For #crustmas, let's pop the hood on an #isopod!
This 3D render, which shows the animal's trunk anatomy in intricate detail, was generated based on micro-CT data.
Sarah Losso, @invertebratepal.bsky.social and I had a blast making this (and more) over the summer @harvardoeb.bsky.social!

Up close and personal with a
#scorpion from #Colombia. Tityus (Atreus) icarus, which I had the privilege of describing (and naming!) earlier this year. Yes, I like Greek mythology...

To kick things off, here's a sneak peek at my current work: species delimitation in South African pest weevils !
We're looking for signals of admixture between sympatric Phlyctinus populations (Entiminae) and potential signatures of selection following host shifts. Powered by phytools! ⬇️