Jessica Light (she/her)
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jeclight.bsky.social
Jessica Light (she/her)
@jeclight.bsky.social
770 followers 700 following 54 posts
Prof @TAMU. Evolutionary Biology. Mammalogy. Parasitology. Curator. March Mammal Madness. Mom.
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jeclight.bsky.social
Job Alert! Please share widely. Tenure-track position in Plant Systematics in the Dept. of Ecology & Conservation Biology at Texas A&M @tamueccb.bsky.social. Job details here: apply.interfolio.com/171016 #plants #botany #herbaria #systematics #ecology #conservation #evolution
Picture of an oak tree showing leaves beginning to brown for fall. Picture taken College Station, Texas.
September 30, 2025 at 1:52 PM
jeclight.bsky.social
The Interrupted Fern gets its name from the structure of their blades. In the middle of each blade is a section of dark-colored leaf structures that are used for reproduction. When they dry up and fall off, they leave an "interrupted" gap behind. #2025MMM
A close up of one blade of the fern. At the top of the blade, the leaves are green, branching off the central stem into smaller stems, which each branch into small leaves. Lower on the blade, the blade branches into smaller sections that are dark brown and appear to be drier.
March 14, 2025 at 12:37 AM
jeclight.bsky.social
Behold, the humble fern! In particular, today's combatant is the Interrupted Fern, found in Eastern North America and Eastern Asia. A true relic, some of this species closest relatives were alive in the Triassic, ~237 million years ago! (Bomfleur, 2017) #2025MMM
The interrupted fern in a forested area surrounded by trees and other ferns. The plant has several long blades, which each branch out into small leaves. In the center of the plant, the blades stand tall and the middle section is darker in color and with no branching leaves.
March 14, 2025 at 12:36 AM
jeclight.bsky.social
Clocking in at 6.6ft (5.92 stoats) in length, the Frilled Shark is an eel-like shark found near the ocean floor in the Atlantic and Pacific, named for its six pairs of wavy gill slits. This shark's most striking feature is its curved, needle-sharp teeth (300 in total!). (Garman, 1884). #2025MMM
The head of a frilled shark. Its mouth is open, displaying multiple rows of small, sharp teeth. Behind its mouth are rows of gill coverings that are wavy in texture. The jaw bones of a frilled shark, showcasing multiple groups of sharp teeth with three points. These teeth are arranged in groups, with rows of points facing towards the back of the jaw and slightly raised.
March 14, 2025 at 12:31 AM
jeclight.bsky.social
Mudskipper is a SMALL FISH, < 0.3 m long with large front (pectoral) fins. Mudskippers spend time in the water & on land (amphibious) & they can BREATHE AIR. But Mudskippers don't use lungs to breathe when on land; they absorb oxygen through their skin & mouth lining #2025MMM
On the left is a mudskipper in the hand of a human to give an idea of size. Large head and pectoral fins observable. Image from: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/151466936. On the right top, a mudskipper on land, in muddy substrate near water. Image from: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243490103. On the bottom right is a mudskipper swimming in the water. Image from: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/253968281
March 14, 2025 at 12:06 AM
jeclight.bsky.social
FIRST UP: #4-seed Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) vs #13-seed Mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri) #2025MMM
Coelacanth image is on the left; a dark colored fish with lighter, bluish colored spots all over it's body. Body has many fins. Image taken from https://www.fishi-pedia.com/fishes/latimeria-chalumnae and image credit given to Laurent Ballesta (Expeditions Gombessa, Andromede Oceanologie). Mudskipper on the right. Fish is floating in shallow water with pectoral fins spread out. Image is from https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72247272
March 14, 2025 at 12:04 AM
jeclight.bsky.social
Super cute yellow-rumped warbler for your #Friday #backyardbirding #birding
yellow-rumped warbler in a tree yellow-rumped warbler in a tree yellow-rumped warbler in a tree
February 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM
jeclight.bsky.social
Friday morning good omen: Rick rolled by the radio station #rickrolled #volumeup
January 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
jeclight.bsky.social
Similar in College Station. This is a bad picture of the moon with a halo early this am (Mars to the upper left)
Bad picture of the moon over houses early morning. Mars is a bright spec to the upper left of the moon.
January 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
jeclight.bsky.social
I would totally be friends with this person #cows
Picture is of a sticker on the back window of a car. The sticker reads: “When I see cows I make an announcement to the rest of the car that there are cows.” There also are two funny cow pictures on the back window
November 1, 2023 at 1:01 PM
jeclight.bsky.social
Overnight adventures included 2 kiddo nightmares & much worse: a click beetle stuck between the window screen & window for ~2 hrs. Every time we got up to search out the source of the sound, Clicky was nowhere to be seen. Here Clicky is, finally rescued. Yawn. #insects #invertfest
Click beetle in hand after 2 hrs of hide click seek in our window last night/this morning
August 26, 2023 at 10:01 AM