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Wolfgang Wüster

@wolfgangwuster.bsky.social

370 followers 150 following 46 posts

🐍🐍🐍 Herpetologist, love snakes and venoms! 🐍🐍🐍 😎 Professor at Bangor University, UK All views strictly my own!

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Wolfgang Wüster is a herpetologist and Professor in Zoology at Bangor University, UK.

Source: Wikipedia

Biology 42%

Environmental science 30%

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Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Sep 4

Absolute nonsense. The issue re Homoroselaps was resolved back in the 1980s or 1990s IIRC - they did indeed evolve a proteroglyphous dentition independently from the elapids. The remaining elapids are unquestionably monophyletic.

Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Kirsty MacLeod @kjmacleod.bsky.social · Sep 4

An exciting new study now out in which I played a small part - Wood Frog Testicular Microstructure
Correlates with Plasma Hormone Concentrations
During Late-Stage Spermatogenesis www.herpconbio.org/Volume_20/Is...
Excited to see this out, and to add a new taxonomic group to my pub list!! 🐸❤️

www.herpconbio.org

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

GRC Venoms @grcvenom.bsky.social · Aug 19

The GRC Venom Evolution, Function and Biomedical Applications is back for 2026! The conference and corresponding ECR seminar will be held in Barcelona in May 🐍🐜🐌🐝🦂🐡🪼🕷️🐞🇪🇸🌞

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Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Aug 17

My kind of homecoming after an evening of roadcruising in Arizona!

Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster, Tom Shakespeare, Jonathan Wolff , and 2 more Wolfgang Wüster, Tom Shakespeare, Jonathan Wolff, Employment, Elizabeth Eva Leach

Oliver Darkshire @deathbybadger.bsky.social · Aug 9

reverse heist movie where a single snake has to chase all the priests back into ireland

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster, Karen R. Lips

Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 8

I traveled to Guinea to find out what U.S. budget cuts mean for the fight against malaria. Here's my story in @science.org - with powerful photography by Marta Moreiras. www.science.org/content/arti...

In Guinea, the United States helped beat back malaria. Now, the disease is set to soar

Foreign aid cuts are expected to cause a rise in malaria cases and deaths across sub-Saharan Africa

www.science.org

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Reposted by David L. Roberts, Wolfgang Wüster, Vincent Raoult

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Aug 3

Whenever I (or other shark conservation experts) say "Ocean Ramsey does not raise awareness, she says very wrong things about threats to sharks and their policy solutions," some people feel the need to say "but she taught me something" ...and what they say is always a very wrong thing!

What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on “the Shark Whisperer” documentary

Netflix has a new (sarcastic air quotes) “documentary” out about Ocean Ramsey, who longtime readers and followers know is a serial wildlife harasser who also coordinates massive online …

www.southernfriedscience.com

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

PGR Research: College of Science & Engineering (Bangor Uni) @bangorcosepgr.bsky.social · Jan 10

Today we are releasing 64 (!) adverts for Masters by Research projects at the College of Science & Engineering. All are self-funded. Spanning 18 themes/disciplines this is the richest offering we’ve had in years. Check out the projects now and get in touch: tinyurl.com/4bw29ucv

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Amelia Harvey @ameliaharvey.bsky.social · Apr 15

Hi all! I've been shortlisted for the BIAZA Photo Competition 2025 in the Native Species category!📸 Please can you vote for my photo on their Facebook! (just by reacting to my submission!)

www.facebook.com/share/16MksF... - voting closes on Thursday night!

The image below is the one to look for!🐍

An adder basking in the sun on top of bracken

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · Jul 23

This photograph series by Mark Cowan documents a phenomenon called 'lachryphagy' ("tear-feeding").

The caiman excretes salt in their tears & the butterflies need the precious minerals for their metabolism & reproduction.

So, they're feeding on crocodilian tears.

(📷: Mark Cowan, Curtin Uni.)

Three shots of a green-silver colored caiman wreathed in 4-6 colorful yellow and orange butterflies. He blinks in two of the shots, looking delighted somehow, while the butterflies swarm his head.
CREDIT: Mark Cowan.

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Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jul 23

Feeding on crocodile tears… sounds like a staff meeting after the latest round of redundancies is announced…

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · Jul 23

Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jul 18

Many congratulations!

Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jul 16

Happy #WorldSnakeDay
Here’s my favourite lifer of the year so far: four-lined snake, Elaphe quatuorlineata, from Krk Island, Croatia, earlier this year. Why not post yours? 🐍 #herp #herpetology #herper

Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jul 8

Stuck in the paywall? Go to tinyurl.com/3uxafr42 😉
🤫 don’t tell anyone!

Dropbox

tinyurl.com

Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jul 8

How many mamba species are there? Find out from our new paper: Phylogeny and species delimitation in an iconic snake genus: the African mambas (Serpentes: Elapidae: Dendroaspis)

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

Phylogeny and species delimitation in an iconic snake genus: the African mambas (Serpentes: Elapidae: Dendroaspis)

Abstract. The African mambas (Dendroaspis) comprise an iconic genus of four large-bodied, highly venomous elapid snakes: the black mamba (D. polylepis) fro

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation @arc-trust.bsky.social · Jul 8

Join our @naturambyth.bsky.social #AdderAction team for Celebration of Nature at St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff on 12th July. Project Officer Matt will be running an info stall and talking about adder awareness, conservation & attitudes. More info 👇
www.arc-trust.org/Event/celebr...

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · Jul 7

Thank you to everyone who has shared & responded to our Call for Support thus far. Our Call proposes a more distributed & sustainable future where BHL is shared across multiple hosts supported by multiple funding sources. Find out more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/06/tran... 🌱 📖 🧪 🌏 #ILoveBHL

BHL Transition Update #2

Help us shape the future of the Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is at a turning point. After nearly two decades of calling the Smithsonian Institution home, BH…

blog.biodiversitylibrary.org

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Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jul 4

Named for the beer or the Argentinian dictator? 😉
Nice work!

Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social · Jun 24

We're delighted to announce the winner of our most recent Undergraduate Primatology Recognition Award: Molly Alum. 🎉

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Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jun 24

A Border Patrol truck will do a more convincing job. You know, for the insurance folks.

Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · Jun 8

1. It’s good to see this scandal being called out at last. My thanks and congratulations go to Lee Schofield, Karen Lloyd and Ian Convery. But it’s also absolutely infuriating that it has come to this point, as I explain in this thread.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Conservationists call for Lake District to lose Unesco world heritage status

Campaigners say designation promotes unsustainable sheep farming at expense of nature recovery and local communities

www.theguardian.com

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Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jun 7

www.nature.com/articles/s44...
New review paper on the large Middle Eastern vipers of the genus Macrovipera, led by Ignazio Avella. For those interested in #nomenclature, check out out little act of rebellion against changes to established names imposed by nomenclatural historians! #ICZN #taxonomy

The biology and toxinology of blunt-nosed vipers - npj Biodiversity

npj Biodiversity - The biology and toxinology of blunt-nosed vipers

www.nature.com

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Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · Jun 6

Thelma and Louise

Wolfgang Wüster @wolfgangwuster.bsky.social · May 28

Nice work!

Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · May 27

Over the course of taxonomic history, a small but nefarious band of researchers have taken to publishing taxonomic names that their colleagues have regarded as poorly founded, poorly supported by good data, or unneeded and contradicting existing work... 1/n

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Emily Taylor @emilytaylorscience.com · May 27

CW: Another baby rattlesnake is taken by a magpie!

This footage is from "after hours" when we do not operate the cam, but live observers watched as a magpie boldly strode right into the den opening and snagged a baby.

youtu.be/c4d2Cu6vkCg

Magpie goes inside rattlesnake den to eat baby snake!

YouTube video by Project RattleCam

youtu.be

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation @arc-trust.bsky.social · May 23

NEW GUEST BLOG 🐍
In this Guest Blog, the adder author Nicholas Milton discusses sensationalist stories and recommends reporting them to the Independent press regulator. Read more 👇
www.arc-trust.org/ne...

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

ARG UK @argroupsuk.bsky.social · May 7

Announcing our Vanishing Viper 2025 conference to be held in September at Chester This special two-day event focused on our native adder, Viper berus, seeks to unlock the drivers behind adder declines & determine how research & landscape-level projects can meet the challenges #vanishingviper2025

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Benjamin Jarrett @bjmjarrett.bsky.social · May 7

Divergent selection and plasticity increases reproductive isolation early during incipient speciation. Find our new meta-analysis on experimental speciation studies here: rdcu.be/ek019 🧪 @EvolOdonata.ecoevo.social.ap.brid.gy @pipdowning.bsky.social

Meta-analysis reveals that phenotypic plasticity and divergent selection promote reproductive isolation during incipient speciation

Nature Ecology & Evolution - The authors examine factors affecting reproductive isolation in the early stages of speciation by collating data from 34 experimental speciation studies in 15...

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Wolfgang Wüster

Philip Downing @pipdowning.bsky.social · May 7

Scientists have experimentally recreated the speciation process in several species. They split one population of the same species into two, let them adapt to environment A or B, and then bring them back together. Our meta-analysis of these experiments may surprise you: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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