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Aaron Griffing

@aaronhgriffing.bsky.social

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Jun 19

Excited to share a new #OA paper in @journalofanatomy.bsky.social detailing evolution and development of hemibacula: bizarre mineralized elements in hemipenes of croaking geckos.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#GeckoEvoDevo #Aristelliger

graphical abstract for our paper showing µCT images, histology, and illustrations of croaking gecko hemipenes hemibaculahttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.70009

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · 14d

I was collecting #quail #embryos this morning and found an individual with albinism! Look at the lack of pigment in the retinal epithelium! Reminds me of finding a leopard #gecko embryo with the same condition during my PhD.

Two quail embryos. The individual on the left has dark pigment in it's eye while the individual on the right has no visible pigment in the eye.

Two leopard gecko embryos. The individual on the left has dark pigment in it's eye while the individual on the right has no visible pigment in the eye.

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · 15d

Beautiful work, Bonnie and company!

Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · 15d

@a-weberling.bsky.social & I characterize oogenesis from initiation in the germinal bed to ovulatory follicles for the first time in the brown anole, a powerful reptile model for evo-devo & functional genetics!
Full preprint here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Mathieu Preußner @mathpreu.bsky.social · 22d

1🧵
Excited to share my first PhD paper, published in @dev-journal.bsky.social
What if fish gills —often overlook —hold secrets about development, patterning, and function?
We uncovered how early patterning shapes adult gill architecture.
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

#DevBio #Zebrafish

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Heather F. Smith. Ph.D. @heatherfsmith.bsky.social · 29d

🐺 Happy to share our recent article, “The dire wolf resurrection that wasn’t”
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Thanks to my awesome co-authors Annie Burrows, Adam Hartstone-Rose, and Mike Jensen-Seaman!

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Thom Sanger @thomsanger.bsky.social · 29d

I am one of a growing number of voices encouraging the scientific community to engage with people and policymakers outside of our typical professional circles. Our professional organizations, including @sicb.bsky.social, also need to engage with new audiences by making their science accessible.

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · Sep 8

Here, the 'ballistic tongues' paper by Yu Zeng and team
www.cell.com/current-biol...

plus dispatch by Sam Van Wassenbergh

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Biomechanics: Squeezing power drives ballistic tongues

Chameleons and lungless salamanders independently evolved very fast projectile tongues. In both cases, ballistic performance involves a long, blunt-ended skeletal rod that slides freely within a power...

www.cell.com

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Sep 8

Shifting my research program to exclusively study "Bads"

Stacy Farina @stacyfarina.bsky.social · Sep 8

Good to know that AI image generation hasn't (yet) conquered my "draw a vertebrate phylogeny" assignment.

Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Caroline Hu @hudrewthis.bsky.social · Aug 20

Seeking scientist volunteers for this fall! Want to practice science communication and help author a 🌟comic🌟 about your research? I need collaborators for the next cohort of SciComm & Comics art and design students. All countries and scientific fields eligible.

An anole extends its dewlap, which says "call for scientists!"

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Sep 5

Thanks, Alexa!

Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Sep 5

Collaboration with @tonygamble.bsky.social @shylonatasha.bsky.social @aussiebiologist.bsky.social @celestemnelson.bsky.social

#AnoleEvoDevo #GeckoEvoDevo #ChameleonEvoDevo

Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Sep 5

New preprint from some of my postdoc work on lungs! Co-led with Kaleb Hill, we studied smooth muscle and epithelial development in lizard lungs. Stay tuned for more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

brightfield images of three lizard embryos of approximately the same developmental stage. Below each embryo image is an immunofluorescence image labeling E-cadherin (green) and alpha-smooth muscle actin (magenta) of their developing lungs

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Dr. Karly E. Cohen @karlycohen.bsky.social · Sep 4

New paper is officially out!
Ratfish have a second jaw on their foreheads - CT + histology show they’re real teeth, built from the same tissues and signals as oral teeth.

www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

This common fish has an uncommon feature: forehead teeth, used for mating

New findings call into question one of the core assumptions about teeth. Adult male spotted ratfish, a shark-like species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, have rows of teeth on top of their heads,...

www.washington.edu

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Dan Paluh @danpaluh.bsky.social · Sep 2

Our new paper is out in Royal Society Open Science! The metamorphic transition of the frog mouth: from tadpole keratinized mouthparts to adult teeth doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Cody Limber @codylimber.bsky.social · Aug 26

My feather cell type paper is finally out! doi.org/10.1111/ede.... We’ve packed a ton of stuff into this paper but I’ll go through some highlights in this thread!

Genetic Characterization of the Cell Types in Developing Feathers, and the Evolution of Feather Complexity

We used single cell sequencing to investigate the cell types of developing chicken feathers. From these data, we are able to describe the transcriptional profile of feather cell types, look at their ....

doi.org

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Dr. Jaimi Gray @jaimiagray.bsky.social · Aug 26

Hey folks out there who ❤️ to #CTscan things and ❤️ museums! the @amnh.org is hiring a Laboratory Manager for their Microscopy and Imaging Facility, a.k.a. the CT lab 🧪

careers.amnh.org/postings/4550

Laboratory Manager

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, and has as its mission to discover, interpret and disseminate information about human cult...

careers.amnh.org

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · Aug 20

🦖 Presmykaiushchiiasia (Reptilia) =
Petrograd: Akademiia nauk, 1915-1916.

[Source]

Illustration of a Eublepharis macularius, a species of gecko, shown from a dorsal view with its head at the top and tail curved at the bottom. The lizard's body is covered in patterned spots and raised bumps, with distinct digits on each of its four limbs. The detailed texture highlights the reptile's scaly skin. The image is presented on an aged, beige background with Russian text at the top and the species name labeled below.

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Ed Stanley @drscanley.bsky.social · Aug 14

Keeping it local for world lizard day- Rhineura floridana, also known as the Florida worm lizard or, brilliantly, the thunderworm, is a truly bizarre and wonderful creature. Eyeless, burrowing and restricted to the sandy soils of the sunshine state. What a fabulous weirdo!

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Aug 14

Sphaerodactylus geckos loom large in my mind (but sit small on my hand)

an adult miniaturized gecko, Sphaerodactylus macrolepis, sitting on top of my thumb

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Aug 13

“I think”

Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Antonia Weberling @a-weberling.bsky.social · Aug 11

1/6
Preprint Alert
Ever thought that humans & chameleons look alike?
We follow chameleon development from fertilisation to oviposition & uncover the process through which they form an epiblast lumen that exhibits striking similarity to human embryos
#devbio #evodevo

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Bill Ryerson @billryerson.bsky.social · Jul 30

New Comparative Anatomy Textbook! Completely free to read and open access!

doi.org/10.59319/YHF...

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Reposted by Aaron Griffing

Gabriel Ugueto @serpenillus.bsky.social · Jul 23

Here it is! Please welcome the AMAZING Mirasaura grauvogeli, a NEW MARVELOUS Drepanosaur published in NATURE today!
This astonishing reptile lived during the Middle Triassic in Europe and it possessed an amazing crest made of plume-like structures!

I was commissioned to bring it to life
#paleoart

Illustration showing a pair of Mirasaura perched on fern fronds. The green animals show their tall orange, brown and white crests while a small beetle flies over one of them

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Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Jul 17

So proud of my academic sibling @ecokatsully.bsky.social for defending her PhD today! Well done, Kat! To celebrate, here are some classy photos 🦋 🐛

The Gamble Lab in front of the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame at Evolution 2022

Kat doing her best impression of a cocoon

The first four Gamble Lab PhD students looking fancy at the Pabst Mansion