Paco Cardenas
@paccardenas.bsky.social
Curator of zoology at Museum of Evolution (Uppsala University), in charge of the Linnaeus collection, marine biologist (sponges), naturalist and wannabe natural product researcher.
Even more interesting: we found that vilesids all produced large amounts of 24-isopropylcholesterols🧪, a unique sterol, precursor of the fossilized steroids found in Cryogenian and Ediacaran rocks, up to 635 million years old! They are the only recent sponges to do so.
November 29, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Even more interesting: we found that vilesids all produced large amounts of 24-isopropylcholesterols🧪, a unique sterol, precursor of the fossilized steroids found in Cryogenian and Ediacaran rocks, up to 635 million years old! They are the only recent sponges to do so.
Vilesids are today found worldwide, from shallow to deep waters. Some vilesids are actually common and well known species, like this Viles ophiraphidites in the Bahamas (photo Tse-Lynn Loh) or Cymbastella coralliophila from the Pacific, but they were classified elsewhere, in other orders.
November 29, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Vilesids are today found worldwide, from shallow to deep waters. Some vilesids are actually common and well known species, like this Viles ophiraphidites in the Bahamas (photo Tse-Lynn Loh) or Cymbastella coralliophila from the Pacific, but they were classified elsewhere, in other orders.
🧵We just described Vilesida @uu.se, a new ORDER of #sponges potentially linked to the earliest known animal biomarker! 🔬🪸🪼 #MueumofEvolution
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social
@ieo.es
@ucriverside.bsky.social
@sponbiodiv.bsky.social
@biodiversa.eu
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social
@ieo.es
@ucriverside.bsky.social
@sponbiodiv.bsky.social
@biodiversa.eu
November 29, 2025 at 3:50 PM
🧵We just described Vilesida @uu.se, a new ORDER of #sponges potentially linked to the earliest known animal biomarker! 🔬🪸🪼 #MueumofEvolution
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social
@ieo.es
@ucriverside.bsky.social
@sponbiodiv.bsky.social
@biodiversa.eu
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
@zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social
@ieo.es
@ucriverside.bsky.social
@sponbiodiv.bsky.social
@biodiversa.eu
Every year, we celebrate at the #MuseumofEvolution the #birthday of 'Carl Peter #Thunberg', disciple of Linnaeus, born the 11th of Nov. 1743 in Jönköping, Sweden. He's such an important scientist, taking care of the Linnaeus collection, and donating his own rich collections. Grattis Carl Peter ! 🎂
November 11, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Every year, we celebrate at the #MuseumofEvolution the #birthday of 'Carl Peter #Thunberg', disciple of Linnaeus, born the 11th of Nov. 1743 in Jönköping, Sweden. He's such an important scientist, taking care of the Linnaeus collection, and donating his own rich collections. Grattis Carl Peter ! 🎂
I had the immense privilege today of looking through the correspondence of Carl Peter #Thunberg, disciple of Linnaeus, who took over Linnaeus' professorship @uu.se. Hundreds and hundreds of letters + a handful of letters sent by Linnaeus to Thunberg!!! 🤩 @linneansociety.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 12:34 PM
I had the immense privilege today of looking through the correspondence of Carl Peter #Thunberg, disciple of Linnaeus, who took over Linnaeus' professorship @uu.se. Hundreds and hundreds of letters + a handful of letters sent by Linnaeus to Thunberg!!! 🤩 @linneansociety.bsky.social
These aquatic insect larvae appeared in my freshwater aquarium left outside in Uppsala, Sweden. I suspect they are #Chironomidae #larvae, anyone can confirm?
October 26, 2025 at 12:49 PM
These aquatic insect larvae appeared in my freshwater aquarium left outside in Uppsala, Sweden. I suspect they are #Chironomidae #larvae, anyone can confirm?
Some baby sponges grow inside their mothers, and little baby sponges are later released. This is the case in deep-sea golf ball sponges (genus Craniella). Want to know more? Read our new article 🙂
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
October 11, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Some baby sponges grow inside their mothers, and little baby sponges are later released. This is the case in deep-sea golf ball sponges (genus Craniella). Want to know more? Read our new article 🙂
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Congratulations to my student Ivan who's been carefully registering and labeling all of our #reindeer and #moose specimens in the #MuseumofEvolution collections! (and we have a lot in Uppsala so this was not easy). #Evolutionsmuseet
October 1, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Congratulations to my student Ivan who's been carefully registering and labeling all of our #reindeer and #moose specimens in the #MuseumofEvolution collections! (and we have a lot in Uppsala so this was not easy). #Evolutionsmuseet
PhD student @melbaghooee.bsky.social from Aarhus University is visiting the Museum of Evolution for a month, to improve insect biomass measurement algorithms using deep learning (AI). Her work will have immediate applications to monitor insects, both in agriculture and ecology studies.
September 19, 2025 at 8:03 AM
PhD student @melbaghooee.bsky.social from Aarhus University is visiting the Museum of Evolution for a month, to improve insect biomass measurement algorithms using deep learning (AI). Her work will have immediate applications to monitor insects, both in agriculture and ecology studies.
The first Swedish national park with a marine focus in the Baltic Sea! Yesterday, Sweden's 31st national park was inaugurated 🥳 : NÄMDÖSKÄRGÅRDENS outside Stockholm. Covering an area of 25,300 hectares, of which 97 percent is sea, the area contains just over 1,300 islands!
September 6, 2025 at 6:35 AM
The first Swedish national park with a marine focus in the Baltic Sea! Yesterday, Sweden's 31st national park was inaugurated 🥳 : NÄMDÖSKÄRGÅRDENS outside Stockholm. Covering an area of 25,300 hectares, of which 97 percent is sea, the area contains just over 1,300 islands!
All my animal/plant pictures from Kenya have now been uploaded to inaturalist.org totaling 241 observations free to use by scientists or any other passionate naturalist 🙂 :
26 plants
13 mammals
4 reptiles
1 amphibian
95 birds
72 insects
8 spiders
7 molluscs
2 crustaceans
+ a few other groups
26 plants
13 mammals
4 reptiles
1 amphibian
95 birds
72 insects
8 spiders
7 molluscs
2 crustaceans
+ a few other groups
August 3, 2025 at 7:36 PM
All my animal/plant pictures from Kenya have now been uploaded to inaturalist.org totaling 241 observations free to use by scientists or any other passionate naturalist 🙂 :
26 plants
13 mammals
4 reptiles
1 amphibian
95 birds
72 insects
8 spiders
7 molluscs
2 crustaceans
+ a few other groups
26 plants
13 mammals
4 reptiles
1 amphibian
95 birds
72 insects
8 spiders
7 molluscs
2 crustaceans
+ a few other groups
The Mediterranean coastal snail (Theba pisana) is hiding from the heatwave in the South of France 🇫🇷., 37 degrees today...
June 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The Mediterranean coastal snail (Theba pisana) is hiding from the heatwave in the South of France 🇫🇷., 37 degrees today...
First time I find the magnificent 'thick-legged flower beetle' (Oedemera nobilis) with its impressive swollen hind legs in the male. This is in the south of France 🇫🇷.
June 20, 2025 at 6:53 PM
First time I find the magnificent 'thick-legged flower beetle' (Oedemera nobilis) with its impressive swollen hind legs in the male. This is in the south of France 🇫🇷.
The elegant 'latticed heath' 🦋 comes to rest in my garden in the shade (it's 25 degrees today in Sweden). This widespread European species was originally described by Linnaeus.
June 15, 2025 at 11:03 AM
The elegant 'latticed heath' 🦋 comes to rest in my garden in the shade (it's 25 degrees today in Sweden). This widespread European species was originally described by Linnaeus.
Just found on a dusty shelf a slide collection of Carl August Nilsson-Cantell (1893 – 1987) a #cirriped world expert that worked for a while at Uppsala University. Some of the slides are from types! (I added a red sticker) What a treasure 🤩
June 11, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Just found on a dusty shelf a slide collection of Carl August Nilsson-Cantell (1893 – 1987) a #cirriped world expert that worked for a while at Uppsala University. Some of the slides are from types! (I added a red sticker) What a treasure 🤩
Easter is a perfect time to show the latest donation at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala🇸🇪: a private collection of eggs from around Gävle in 1947, and pretty much untouched since. Imagine all the cool science you could do wit that!
April 21, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Easter is a perfect time to show the latest donation at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala🇸🇪: a private collection of eggs from around Gävle in 1947, and pretty much untouched since. Imagine all the cool science you could do wit that!
NOTE: Extension for abstract submissions 25th of April.
April 19, 2025 at 4:25 PM
NOTE: Extension for abstract submissions 25th of April.
Uppsala University donated yesterday to our Museum hundreds of zoology posters previously used for teaching, most of them dating back to 1840-1890s ! What a treasure! I can't wait to sort them 🤩
April 5, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Uppsala University donated yesterday to our Museum hundreds of zoology posters previously used for teaching, most of them dating back to 1840-1890s ! What a treasure! I can't wait to sort them 🤩
Found the amazing diving bell spider (Argyroneta aquatica) in a Swedish🇸🇪 pond! It's the only species of spider known to live almost entirely under water, where it builds an underwater house 🤩
March 26, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Found the amazing diving bell spider (Argyroneta aquatica) in a Swedish🇸🇪 pond! It's the only species of spider known to live almost entirely under water, where it builds an underwater house 🤩
"Chondrite" meteorites like this one were formed by the accretion of particles in the primitive Solar System, 4.5 billion years ago! This exceptional specimen in our collections contains Calcium-Aluminium inclusions (white stains) which are among the oldest objects to form in the Solar System...
March 10, 2025 at 10:46 AM
"Chondrite" meteorites like this one were formed by the accretion of particles in the primitive Solar System, 4.5 billion years ago! This exceptional specimen in our collections contains Calcium-Aluminium inclusions (white stains) which are among the oldest objects to form in the Solar System...
There are more than 2200 species of #lichens in Sweden! And probably at least the same amount of species still to be discovered and described.
I photographed 'Evernia prunastri' next to me house. It is very common, ubiquitous, and especially likes to grow on fruit trees. #NameaSpecies
I photographed 'Evernia prunastri' next to me house. It is very common, ubiquitous, and especially likes to grow on fruit trees. #NameaSpecies
March 2, 2025 at 9:30 AM
There are more than 2200 species of #lichens in Sweden! And probably at least the same amount of species still to be discovered and described.
I photographed 'Evernia prunastri' next to me house. It is very common, ubiquitous, and especially likes to grow on fruit trees. #NameaSpecies
I photographed 'Evernia prunastri' next to me house. It is very common, ubiquitous, and especially likes to grow on fruit trees. #NameaSpecies
Amazing perfectly preserved trilobite "cemetery" from the mid-Silurian (430 Mya), recently acquired in our paleontological collections🇸🇪. #evolutionsmuseet #museumofevolution
February 19, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Amazing perfectly preserved trilobite "cemetery" from the mid-Silurian (430 Mya), recently acquired in our paleontological collections🇸🇪. #evolutionsmuseet #museumofevolution
Morning visitor in the snow near my house in Sweden🇸🇪 It's reproductive season for #foxes so this is when you see them more frequently. 🙂
February 15, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Morning visitor in the snow near my house in Sweden🇸🇪 It's reproductive season for #foxes so this is when you see them more frequently. 🙂
The tropical #greenhouse in the botanical gardens at Uppsala University🇸🇪, a perfect haven when you get tired of the dark cold Swedish winter 🥶 #BotaniskaTrädgården
January 24, 2025 at 7:55 AM
The tropical #greenhouse in the botanical gardens at Uppsala University🇸🇪, a perfect haven when you get tired of the dark cold Swedish winter 🥶 #BotaniskaTrädgården