Prosanta Chakrabarty
@prosanta.bsky.social
Hunter #SciComm Chair & Prof, Director & Curator of Fishes Museum of NatSci @LSU, TED Fellow, F@AAAS, Fulbrighter, #Evolution #TeamFish, ASIH Past President, he/him #BLM ✊🏿 #ProtectTransKids #SaveTheNSF
I wanted to re-read Gould’s ‘Full House’ because I know he wrote it after a cancer diagnosis with a short average life expectancy made him look more closely at the nature of variation (which can look progressive if you cherry pick). I think this might be my favorite book of his. #evolution
November 23, 2025 at 9:58 PM
I wanted to re-read Gould’s ‘Full House’ because I know he wrote it after a cancer diagnosis with a short average life expectancy made him look more closely at the nature of variation (which can look progressive if you cherry pick). I think this might be my favorite book of his. #evolution
Very much enjoyed ‘My Life as a Fish’ by @gdgrossman.bsky.social
He survived lots of childhood drama and pain to become an excellent ichthyologist only
to be punished by his university admin for being unorthodox.
The bio has lots or descriptive art by Ryan Tavarez that helped with readability.
He survived lots of childhood drama and pain to become an excellent ichthyologist only
to be punished by his university admin for being unorthodox.
The bio has lots or descriptive art by Ryan Tavarez that helped with readability.
November 20, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Very much enjoyed ‘My Life as a Fish’ by @gdgrossman.bsky.social
He survived lots of childhood drama and pain to become an excellent ichthyologist only
to be punished by his university admin for being unorthodox.
The bio has lots or descriptive art by Ryan Tavarez that helped with readability.
He survived lots of childhood drama and pain to become an excellent ichthyologist only
to be punished by his university admin for being unorthodox.
The bio has lots or descriptive art by Ryan Tavarez that helped with readability.
I always enjoy reading about the Roosevelt’s - flaws and all - and this book about Teddy’s sons Ted Jr. and Kermit trekking through China in search of the then mostly mythical panda 🐼 was a fun read.
November 9, 2025 at 1:23 PM
I always enjoy reading about the Roosevelt’s - flaws and all - and this book about Teddy’s sons Ted Jr. and Kermit trekking through China in search of the then mostly mythical panda 🐼 was a fun read.
@solomonrdavid.bsky.social did you see the “gar girl” skit on SNL from last night - your promotion of #garweek hit the big time
November 2, 2025 at 8:34 PM
@solomonrdavid.bsky.social did you see the “gar girl” skit on SNL from last night - your promotion of #garweek hit the big time
Loved the audiobook for the new Mark Twain bio by Rob Chernow especially all the folksy quips delivered in a slow drawl. I then reread Huck Finn which is a tough read in today’s context but I found ‘James’ a great revenge story that helps fill in the sad gaps from ‘Jim’s’ story that Huck missed.
October 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Loved the audiobook for the new Mark Twain bio by Rob Chernow especially all the folksy quips delivered in a slow drawl. I then reread Huck Finn which is a tough read in today’s context but I found ‘James’ a great revenge story that helps fill in the sad gaps from ‘Jim’s’ story that Huck missed.
Congrats @danielgeldof.bsky.social on defending your Master's today. It's been wonderful having a CT expert and poacher enthusiast in the lab. Well done.
October 28, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Congrats @danielgeldof.bsky.social on defending your Master's today. It's been wonderful having a CT expert and poacher enthusiast in the lab. Well done.
Thanks to @coralreeffish.bsky.social and @raynacbell.bsky.social
for nominating me to be a new Fellow of the @calacademy.bsky.social California Academy of Sciences.
It is an honor.
Natural history is more important than ever.
for nominating me to be a new Fellow of the @calacademy.bsky.social California Academy of Sciences.
It is an honor.
Natural history is more important than ever.
October 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Thanks to @coralreeffish.bsky.social and @raynacbell.bsky.social
for nominating me to be a new Fellow of the @calacademy.bsky.social California Academy of Sciences.
It is an honor.
Natural history is more important than ever.
for nominating me to be a new Fellow of the @calacademy.bsky.social California Academy of Sciences.
It is an honor.
Natural history is more important than ever.
Loved this fish-themed float in the Baton Rouge ‘Fifolet’ Halloween Parade. Yes it is Nemo and Dory but still cute. My youngest caught enough candy to last her through elementary school.
And now I can’t wait for Mardi Gras …
And now I can’t wait for Mardi Gras …
October 18, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Loved this fish-themed float in the Baton Rouge ‘Fifolet’ Halloween Parade. Yes it is Nemo and Dory but still cute. My youngest caught enough candy to last her through elementary school.
And now I can’t wait for Mardi Gras …
And now I can’t wait for Mardi Gras …
I know I have colleagues who get 5K citations a month, but this is a nice little milestone for me.
What really matters is the impact of your work and who and what it influences. You can't quantify that.
But, I do like the symmetry of these numbers.
What really matters is the impact of your work and who and what it influences. You can't quantify that.
But, I do like the symmetry of these numbers.
October 18, 2025 at 11:38 AM
I know I have colleagues who get 5K citations a month, but this is a nice little milestone for me.
What really matters is the impact of your work and who and what it influences. You can't quantify that.
But, I do like the symmetry of these numbers.
What really matters is the impact of your work and who and what it influences. You can't quantify that.
But, I do like the symmetry of these numbers.
Loved visiting the recreated wunderkammer or "cabinet of curiosities’ at the Houston Museum of Natural Science today. I always wondered what it was like to stroll through these early natural history collections so eclectically curated.
Also couldn’t resist a coelacanth selfie.
Also couldn’t resist a coelacanth selfie.
October 13, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Loved visiting the recreated wunderkammer or "cabinet of curiosities’ at the Houston Museum of Natural Science today. I always wondered what it was like to stroll through these early natural history collections so eclectically curated.
Also couldn’t resist a coelacanth selfie.
Also couldn’t resist a coelacanth selfie.
Petting a ray to save your day.
October 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Petting a ray to save your day.
This acorn has a shark teeth hat. 🦈 🧢
October 2, 2025 at 11:17 PM
This acorn has a shark teeth hat. 🦈 🧢
I’ve had an MRI, CT, and PET scan this month.
MRI was loud. CT prep was gross. PET prep included radioactive ☢️ dye.
Now I know how the poor fishes @danielgeldof.bsky.social scan feel:good thing they are long dead. Dan will be defending his thesis on CT scanning Agonids next month! He is a wiz!
MRI was loud. CT prep was gross. PET prep included radioactive ☢️ dye.
Now I know how the poor fishes @danielgeldof.bsky.social scan feel:good thing they are long dead. Dan will be defending his thesis on CT scanning Agonids next month! He is a wiz!
September 30, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I’ve had an MRI, CT, and PET scan this month.
MRI was loud. CT prep was gross. PET prep included radioactive ☢️ dye.
Now I know how the poor fishes @danielgeldof.bsky.social scan feel:good thing they are long dead. Dan will be defending his thesis on CT scanning Agonids next month! He is a wiz!
MRI was loud. CT prep was gross. PET prep included radioactive ☢️ dye.
Now I know how the poor fishes @danielgeldof.bsky.social scan feel:good thing they are long dead. Dan will be defending his thesis on CT scanning Agonids next month! He is a wiz!
There were perhaps too many parallels between me and the author of ‘The Last Lecture’ - 3 kids, 46 years old, cancer ♋️ … but maybe the most important is being thankful for living out your childhood dreams and for the people you have in your life.
September 17, 2025 at 10:11 PM
There were perhaps too many parallels between me and the author of ‘The Last Lecture’ - 3 kids, 46 years old, cancer ♋️ … but maybe the most important is being thankful for living out your childhood dreams and for the people you have in your life.
Just finished the excellent ‘Every Living Thing’ that focuses on the taxonomic battle and lives of Carl Linnaeus and the Comte de Buffon. The former gave us Systema Naturae and the binomial system we use for classification; the later gave us Histoire Naturelle which anticipated evolutionary theory.
September 9, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Just finished the excellent ‘Every Living Thing’ that focuses on the taxonomic battle and lives of Carl Linnaeus and the Comte de Buffon. The former gave us Systema Naturae and the binomial system we use for classification; the later gave us Histoire Naturelle which anticipated evolutionary theory.
Sad to hear about the passing of the great paleontologist Mark Norell - who I knew during my postdoc at the American Museum of Natural History. I once asked him to sign this mammoth 🦣 tooth because we both thought it would be funny. It is still funny but a little less so with his passing. RIP Mark.
September 9, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Sad to hear about the passing of the great paleontologist Mark Norell - who I knew during my postdoc at the American Museum of Natural History. I once asked him to sign this mammoth 🦣 tooth because we both thought it would be funny. It is still funny but a little less so with his passing. RIP Mark.
Also not sure who dis is?
September 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Also not sure who dis is?
Fun fish tank at my doctors office with South American cichlids and Asian rainbow fish among other critters from around the world.
Who is this cat @ichthyangela.bsky.social ?
Who is this cat @ichthyangela.bsky.social ?
September 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Fun fish tank at my doctors office with South American cichlids and Asian rainbow fish among other critters from around the world.
Who is this cat @ichthyangela.bsky.social ?
Who is this cat @ichthyangela.bsky.social ?
Had fun giving a Museum tour to a graduate class in geology explaining the ways biology can inform geology from DNA-based phylogenetic trees being used to estimate the separation of landmasses (freshwater fishes are great for this) to looking at living species to help us understand extinct forms.
September 4, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Had fun giving a Museum tour to a graduate class in geology explaining the ways biology can inform geology from DNA-based phylogenetic trees being used to estimate the separation of landmasses (freshwater fishes are great for this) to looking at living species to help us understand extinct forms.
Going to give a talk to LSU undergrads about NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP).
Are there still 0 awards in the Life Sciences?
Image from www.science.org/content/arti...
Are there still 0 awards in the Life Sciences?
Image from www.science.org/content/arti...
September 2, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Going to give a talk to LSU undergrads about NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP).
Are there still 0 awards in the Life Sciences?
Image from www.science.org/content/arti...
Are there still 0 awards in the Life Sciences?
Image from www.science.org/content/arti...
Fun #Jaws night with @lsu.bsky.social LSU Museum of Natural Science folks. We’ve learned a lot about #sharks since this movie came out. Like they don’t live for thousands of years, and won’t eat up your boat. 🦈 🚤
September 1, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Fun #Jaws night with @lsu.bsky.social LSU Museum of Natural Science folks. We’ve learned a lot about #sharks since this movie came out. Like they don’t live for thousands of years, and won’t eat up your boat. 🦈 🚤
Yesterday’s #LSUsciencecafe was from Dr. Crystal Johnson who
discussed Vibrio bacteria 🦠 and it’s impact on oysters 🦪 (see image and alt text above) - and I just read about two people who died yesterday from eating infested oysters. She’s saving lives!
discussed Vibrio bacteria 🦠 and it’s impact on oysters 🦪 (see image and alt text above) - and I just read about two people who died yesterday from eating infested oysters. She’s saving lives!
August 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Yesterday’s #LSUsciencecafe was from Dr. Crystal Johnson who
discussed Vibrio bacteria 🦠 and it’s impact on oysters 🦪 (see image and alt text above) - and I just read about two people who died yesterday from eating infested oysters. She’s saving lives!
discussed Vibrio bacteria 🦠 and it’s impact on oysters 🦪 (see image and alt text above) - and I just read about two people who died yesterday from eating infested oysters. She’s saving lives!
I’m the host of @lsu.bsky.social #LSUsciencecafe and it is one of my favorite things I do. We have LSU researchers speak to the general public to talk about their work. It’s not just great for the attendees but #scicomm practice for the speakers discussing their work in broad and approachable terms.
August 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
I’m the host of @lsu.bsky.social #LSUsciencecafe and it is one of my favorite things I do. We have LSU researchers speak to the general public to talk about their work. It’s not just great for the attendees but #scicomm practice for the speakers discussing their work in broad and approachable terms.
For #Jaws50 here is a 43 year old Spiny Dogfish collected in the Gulf of Mexico. Good to remember these are wild creatures not just models for vertebrate dissection.
Also here are some jaws of a larger 🦈 and a reminder of the continuous and endless rows of teeth. 🦷 #LSU_fish #ichthyology
Also here are some jaws of a larger 🦈 and a reminder of the continuous and endless rows of teeth. 🦷 #LSU_fish #ichthyology
August 26, 2025 at 7:15 PM
For #Jaws50 here is a 43 year old Spiny Dogfish collected in the Gulf of Mexico. Good to remember these are wild creatures not just models for vertebrate dissection.
Also here are some jaws of a larger 🦈 and a reminder of the continuous and endless rows of teeth. 🦷 #LSU_fish #ichthyology
Also here are some jaws of a larger 🦈 and a reminder of the continuous and endless rows of teeth. 🦷 #LSU_fish #ichthyology
I enjoy people sending me pics of my #evolution book in the wild, this one is from @etyfishchris.bsky.social (check out his fish nomenclature project etyfish.org) in a bookstore in Richmond.
If you've read the book, please consider leaving a review with the bookseller. Thanks!
If you've read the book, please consider leaving a review with the bookseller. Thanks!
August 23, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I enjoy people sending me pics of my #evolution book in the wild, this one is from @etyfishchris.bsky.social (check out his fish nomenclature project etyfish.org) in a bookstore in Richmond.
If you've read the book, please consider leaving a review with the bookseller. Thanks!
If you've read the book, please consider leaving a review with the bookseller. Thanks!