Colin McCarthy
@colinmccarthy.bsky.social
Science, Reptiles, Music, Ireland
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
I live with 0.4% light pollution, which is a nice thing to know. And the stars are back before bedtime which is a very lovely thing. veryweather.co.uk/uklightpollu...
UK light pollution map.
veryweather.co.uk
September 6, 2025 at 6:56 AM
I live with 0.4% light pollution, which is a nice thing to know. And the stars are back before bedtime which is a very lovely thing. veryweather.co.uk/uklightpollu...
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
The Gramophone Awards 2025 shortlist has just been revealed. If you're not a regular reader of the magazine, the original reviews of all 66 recordings can be found in this free digital magazine:
email.gramophone.co.uk/c/14Te1ANRMv...
email.gramophone.co.uk/c/14Te1ANRMv...
Revealed: The Gramophone Classical Music Awards Shortlist 2025
Read the reviews of the 66 albums shortlisted for Gramophone Awards this year in our free digital magazine – out now!
email.gramophone.co.uk
August 31, 2025 at 11:20 AM
The Gramophone Awards 2025 shortlist has just been revealed. If you're not a regular reader of the magazine, the original reviews of all 66 recordings can be found in this free digital magazine:
email.gramophone.co.uk/c/14Te1ANRMv...
email.gramophone.co.uk/c/14Te1ANRMv...
@fossilhistory.bsky.social Yes I love Copenhagen too and have visited several occasions (first time 47 years) but found the differences between visits disorientating. The Danes themselves have been consistently delightful each time though!
July 25, 2025 at 6:14 PM
@fossilhistory.bsky.social Yes I love Copenhagen too and have visited several occasions (first time 47 years) but found the differences between visits disorientating. The Danes themselves have been consistently delightful each time though!
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Currently prepping these wooden beauties for a new display on Richard Owen’s science, art and legacy going into the NHM’s Images of Nature gallery tomorrow! #woodengraving #megatherium #bones #specialcollections
July 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Currently prepping these wooden beauties for a new display on Richard Owen’s science, art and legacy going into the NHM’s Images of Nature gallery tomorrow! #woodengraving #megatherium #bones #specialcollections
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
A rare photo of a rare species. The Lake Taal Sea Snake (Hydrophis semperi) has rarely been seen or studied by outsiders, having only been isolated from its ancestral species in 1754 when Taal Volcano's large eruption closed the bay, turning it freshwater over time. The story...
November 17, 2024 at 4:48 AM
A rare photo of a rare species. The Lake Taal Sea Snake (Hydrophis semperi) has rarely been seen or studied by outsiders, having only been isolated from its ancestral species in 1754 when Taal Volcano's large eruption closed the bay, turning it freshwater over time. The story...
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Thanks Colin! Glad you enjoyed it!
Charming, engaging and really informative - very well done! As a totally biased aside I'd add that personal favourites are two tortoises - Gilbert White's Timothy and Darwin's pet 🐢. Perhaps an 'alternative' podcast relating to specimens to be nominated for room 101 would be too controversial 😀?
June 4, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Thanks Colin! Glad you enjoyed it!
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
The biology and toxinology of blunt-nosed vipers
->Nature | #Science #Biology | More info from EcoSearch
->Nature | #Science #Biology | More info from EcoSearch
The biology and toxinology of blunt-nosed vipers
Despite its medical importance30, Macrovipera has received limited taxonomic attention compared to other Eurasian vipers, and previous works have failed to clarify the phylogeny of this genus42,43. The most comprehensive molecular study to date is a purely mitochondrial phylogeographic analysis...
www.nature.com
June 3, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Happy Birthday to master storyteller Sir David Attenborough! 🎉
We’ve loved working with Sir David as he delivered the narration to the upcoming immersive experience, Our Story with David Attenborough.
Tickets go on sale in just two weeks. Keep an eye out for the announcement!
We’ve loved working with Sir David as he delivered the narration to the upcoming immersive experience, Our Story with David Attenborough.
Tickets go on sale in just two weeks. Keep an eye out for the announcement!
May 8, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Happy Birthday to master storyteller Sir David Attenborough! 🎉
We’ve loved working with Sir David as he delivered the narration to the upcoming immersive experience, Our Story with David Attenborough.
Tickets go on sale in just two weeks. Keep an eye out for the announcement!
We’ve loved working with Sir David as he delivered the narration to the upcoming immersive experience, Our Story with David Attenborough.
Tickets go on sale in just two weeks. Keep an eye out for the announcement!
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Happy #TuataraDay! It's now 158 years since the New Zealand #tuatara (Sphenodon) was recognised to be the only living representative of #Rhynchocephalia rather than some kind of lizard.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
.
May 2, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Happy #TuataraDay! It's now 158 years since the New Zealand #tuatara (Sphenodon) was recognised to be the only living representative of #Rhynchocephalia rather than some kind of lizard.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
.
Very nice discussion with the considerable bonus of an extract from 'Codebreaker' - a marvellous composition by my son James McCarthy!
Out now on all good podcast platforms, check out our conductor @datconductor.bsky.social on #ChoralaChihuahua...
open.spotify.com/episode/4s8r...
open.spotify.com/episode/4s8r...
April 13, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Very nice discussion with the considerable bonus of an extract from 'Codebreaker' - a marvellous composition by my son James McCarthy!
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
New #Seychelles #caecilian paper from the awesome Miranda Sherlock: Submerged Corridors of Ancient Gene Flow in an Island Amphibian. 𝐻𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 pops. connected by palaeo-islands @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @nhm-london.bsky.social 🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
April 8, 2025 at 11:01 AM
New #Seychelles #caecilian paper from the awesome Miranda Sherlock: Submerged Corridors of Ancient Gene Flow in an Island Amphibian. 𝐻𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 pops. connected by palaeo-islands @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @nhm-london.bsky.social 🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Didn't expect to see my writing on the labels of these jars - many years on!
A Country Life article on museum stores! 📜 www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/art-a...
Includes a section on NMS's National Museums Collection Store at Granton, north Edinburgh
Includes a section on NMS's National Museums Collection Store at Granton, north Edinburgh
What lies beneath: The weird and wonderful things lurking in Britain's museum basements
From radioactive rocks to great white sharks, and a dolphin called Boris, the things stored in Britain's museum basements make the mind boggle — and now plans are afoot to improve visitor access.
www.countrylife.co.uk
April 2, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Didn't expect to see my writing on the labels of these jars - many years on!
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
March 17, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
We are extremely sad to hear Richard Fortey has passed away. Alongside his many outstanding achievements, Richard won the Linnean Medal in 2006.
He will be missed by all of us here at the Society.
Read more about his life and work: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Photograph: Paul Barrett/BBC
He will be missed by all of us here at the Society.
Read more about his life and work: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Photograph: Paul Barrett/BBC
March 14, 2025 at 5:06 PM
We are extremely sad to hear Richard Fortey has passed away. Alongside his many outstanding achievements, Richard won the Linnean Medal in 2006.
He will be missed by all of us here at the Society.
Read more about his life and work: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Photograph: Paul Barrett/BBC
He will be missed by all of us here at the Society.
Read more about his life and work: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Photograph: Paul Barrett/BBC
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Brand-new from @princetonupress.bsky.social and very nice it is too! The Lives of #Snakes by Chris Mattison. More comments soon. #books #reptiles #herpetology
March 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Brand-new from @princetonupress.bsky.social and very nice it is too! The Lives of #Snakes by Chris Mattison. More comments soon. #books #reptiles #herpetology
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Paper out today in which we describe the world's oldest cerapodan dinosaur specimen. Morocco's El Mers 3 Fm might be the world's most important Middle Jurassic terrestrial ecosystem
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
The world’s oldest cerapodan ornithischian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco | Royal Society Open Science
The cerapodan dinosaurs were an ornithischian clade that achieved a global distribution in the Cretaceous Period. The ichnological record suggests that these dinosaurs had evolved by the Middle Jurassic, but only a single cerapodan body fossil, an ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
March 12, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Paper out today in which we describe the world's oldest cerapodan dinosaur specimen. Morocco's El Mers 3 Fm might be the world's most important Middle Jurassic terrestrial ecosystem
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Really sad to report that our friend and colleague Richard Fortey passed away this morning after a short battle with cancer. We’ll all miss his wit and wisdom. Here he is checking out a dino footprint we found while filming together on the Isle of Wight
March 7, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Really sad to report that our friend and colleague Richard Fortey passed away this morning after a short battle with cancer. We’ll all miss his wit and wisdom. Here he is checking out a dino footprint we found while filming together on the Isle of Wight
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 6, 2025 at 10:27 AM
New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Could it be that the destruction of the habitable planet is not just an accidental outcome of Trump's policies, but is in fact the policy?
My column this week asks another question that most people, I think, would rather not face.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My column this week asks another question that most people, I think, would rather not face.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The fact that humans can only survive on Earth doesn’t bother Trump – and I know why | George Monbiot
He is surrounded by people who have plans and dreams beyond our planet. Vengeful nihilism is a big part of the Maga project, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
March 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Could it be that the destruction of the habitable planet is not just an accidental outcome of Trump's policies, but is in fact the policy?
My column this week asks another question that most people, I think, would rather not face.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My column this week asks another question that most people, I think, would rather not face.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
☺️
Listen to this wonderful Life Scientific with @toriherridge.bsky.social . From fossil elephants through the Ice Age to Trowel Blazers. It's a wonderful interview with a wonderful scientist ❤️
The Life Scientific - Tori Herridge on ancient dwarf elephants and frozen mammoths - BBC Sounds
Dr Tori Herridge on her fascination with Ice Age elephants and their evolutionary story.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 26, 2025 at 8:34 AM
☺️
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
I can confirm there is nothing worse than having to talk about yourself, rather than someone actually interesting, even when the host is as gracious as @jimalkhalili.bsky.social.
But hopefully that stuff was mostly cut in favour of dwarf elephant content!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
But hopefully that stuff was mostly cut in favour of dwarf elephant content!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - The Life Scientific, Tori Herridge on ancient dwarf elephants and frozen mammoths
Dr Tori Herridge on her fascination with Ice Age elephants and their evolutionary story.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 24, 2025 at 10:21 AM
I can confirm there is nothing worse than having to talk about yourself, rather than someone actually interesting, even when the host is as gracious as @jimalkhalili.bsky.social.
But hopefully that stuff was mostly cut in favour of dwarf elephant content!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
But hopefully that stuff was mostly cut in favour of dwarf elephant content!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
@stephholtnh.bsky.social Many thanks for following me back Steph!
December 11, 2024 at 10:23 PM
@stephholtnh.bsky.social Many thanks for following me back Steph!
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
Out of Africa: my lifelong mission to trace the origins of humanity www.theguardian.com/focus/2022/d...
Out of Africa: my lifelong mission to trace the origins of humanity
Chris Stringer, who has just received a CBE for his work on human evolution, tells how his remarkable quest as a young researcher transformed understanding of our species
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2024 at 8:28 AM
Out of Africa: my lifelong mission to trace the origins of humanity www.theguardian.com/focus/2022/d...
Reposted by Colin McCarthy
#Education resource! Over the years I created this collection of colored skull #3Dmodels for teaching. They're available to download on MorphoSource & to view on Sketchfab. Because of recent changes to Sketchfab, I migrated them to my website: www.graysvertebrateanatomy.com/work/colorso... (1/3)
December 2, 2024 at 6:41 PM
#Education resource! Over the years I created this collection of colored skull #3Dmodels for teaching. They're available to download on MorphoSource & to view on Sketchfab. Because of recent changes to Sketchfab, I migrated them to my website: www.graysvertebrateanatomy.com/work/colorso... (1/3)