Jo Wolfe, PhD
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jopabinia.bsky.social
Jo Wolfe, PhD
@jopabinia.bsky.social
16K followers 2.9K following 15K posts
Why things evolve into crabs. Evolutionary biologist (species alive today AND fossils, and how to study them together). Canadian at UCSB and Harvard (she/her)

My science: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CKqoVjEAAAAJ&hl=en
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jopabinia.bsky.social
Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · Aug 1
Our paper on convergent evolution of land crabs is out in its final final form. The journal didn't pick my image as the cover, so I'm sharing it here because it must be seen!

academic.oup.com/sysbio/artic...

🦀🦑🧪
Circular timetree of crabs with pie slices colored by superfamily (Figure 2 in the paper). Simplified version with no text/labels. Line drawings of crabs arranged around the perimeter like a zodiac, with colors matching the superfamily pie slice. Figure by me, drawings by Harrison Mancke and Javi Luque
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
jopabinia.bsky.social
Every day:
Peppermint narwhal collage of many arthropod species drawn in cartoon extra cute style. Text: I am thankful for arthropods. Be thankful and protect what you love
November 28, 2024 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
taylornprice.bsky.social
crab prints!
November 26, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
tamvmat.bsky.social
Hemigrapsus nudus - Purple Shore Crab
I see these little guys often at our local beach. Alcohol brush markers
#crabs #crustaceans #ohuhu #inkart #sciart #inverts
A brownish purple crab with green markings
November 27, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
ivacheung.com
Amending to include unsettling yet compelling PSAs from Concerned Children's Advertisers.
youtu.be/5AuLkMBAFZg?...
November 26, 2025 at 9:23 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
iykyk
November 27, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
yee-qi.bsky.social
Archaeocyathans (the sponges) really do feel Seussian to me. This followed. Also present are Australohalkieria and Turcutheca.
#sciart #paleoart #paleontology 🐡
Colorful, strangely-shaped sea sponges cover a seabed coated in grasslike algae. Pink, scaly worms with scales strip the colorful coating of the sponges, leaving a white skeleton behind. Living in the sponge holes are orange hyoliths with facial tentacles and a "shell cap" for protection.
June 16, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
k-hermit.com
One of the most beautiful creatures in the world 👑✨️
November 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
themerl.bsky.social
It's a beautiful day. We just dropped new merch for the first time in a year.

merl-shop.co.uk

(and, yes: we ship internationally!)

🧵
Merch for The Museum of English Rural Life. Each item - a tote bag, a mug, and two coasters - is adorned with an artwork of a mouse riding a lobster, holding a scroll decorated with the device of The Museum of English Rural Life.
November 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
restingdinoface.bsky.social
When you buy my books, ask for them at the library, or recommend them to someone you know, you help me keep writing.

I’m a freelancer. There is no safety net under me. I literally live by my writing. The reason I can do this is because of you all.
When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
bookshop.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
crustaceansociety.bsky.social
📸 TCS Photography Competition 2025 🦐
There’s still time to submit your crustacean photos! Deadline: 30 Nov.
Prizes: $300 + JCB cover, $150, TCS membership & more. Find out more here: www.thecrustaceansociety.org/ssss_up/file...

📸 Hans Hillewaert (CC)
November 26, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
wandklex.art
War erfolgreich auf Krebsfang. (no animals were harmed und so...)
Handgemalter #wandklexschmuck, zu finden auf www.wandklex.art/product/hand....
#marineLife #watercolor #art #artShop #miniaturepainting
Handgemalte Krebs-Illustration, 30mm Durchmesser, Originalaquarell auf schimmernd perlmuttweiß grundiertem und gesprenkeltem Echtbüttenpapier, gefasst unter Glas und in Fassung aus Echtsilber festmontiert, auf Muschel fotografiert
November 25, 2025 at 7:41 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
One of the largest single cell organisms
November 26, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
Was really tempted to try to unpack the larval progression, but I couldn't find any good visual guides.

I knew there would be stages, but I didn't expect
shrimp (zoeae)-->bug (megalops)-->tiny crab-->big crab
Christmas Island National Park has a brochure on the red crab life cycle that shows the various stages.
November 26, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
artbyemilytull.bsky.social
I've not made accurate 3d crabs here's some 2d. Will have a think on some 3D artists
Hand embroidered brown crab body shell on a light brown linen Hand embroidered cooked crab body and claws on a jade green fabric background
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
twigtechnology.bsky.social
Seals singing in a sea cave

#Orkney 🦭🎧
November 21, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
kaitlinruiz.bsky.social
in other news: bagworm!
a bagworm's case: a tapered cylinder formed of twigs and leaf detritus
November 26, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
xenomatt.bsky.social
I don't think I'd ever seen the Christmas Island crab babies before. I had no idea how adorable they are!

🦀
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d
There are so many that they form the base of a lot of food webs, including filter-feeding whale sharks who swallow them by the thousands.

Those that survive a few months will return to forage in the forests until they're about 3 yrs old & reach sexual maturity, ready to join Crab Spring Break.
November 26, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
derek.bike
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
christaylornyc.bsky.social
Lots of pie discourse on Bluesky I see

I will take the opportunity to stan for Canadian butter tarts 🇨🇦

cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019...
Butter Tarts (Published 2018)
cooking.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social
huge news I just found a folder of these that I forgot i had!!!!!!!
November 25, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
greyauk.bsky.social
p.s. and here is a giant crab made out of trash ... I really like this one
ca.news.yahoo.com/norwegian-ar...
Norwegian artist builds giant crab out of plastic trash, inspired by N.L. scientist
Perched over a crevice next to a coastal trail on the western tip of Norway sits a giant, plastic crab — and it's there partly thanks to Newfoundland.Norwegian artist Eirik Audunson Skaar enlisted the...
ca.news.yahoo.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
lindacdolan.bsky.social
I often talk about “stitching” so I thought you might like to see one of my pieces. I am fascinated by moss, lichen and fungi so try to interpret what I see with stitches and beads.
#fiberart #embroidery
A piece of embroidery in a round frame. Using greys, creams and greens I have used various stitches with the addition of beads to represent moss, lichen and fungi.
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
direbecca.bsky.social
Button's Banana Slugs (Ariolimax buttoni) were abundant and hungry this weekend at #PtReyes! This species has an Imperiled conservation status. 💚

#TextureTuesday #Inverts #NaturePhotos #iNat 📷
Shiny brownish-green banana slug munching on a purple Douglas Iris. Two shiny banana slugs, one is munching on a Russula mushroom cap as the other slips by on the adjacent ground. Another banana slug about two feet off the ground, atop a Queen Anne's lace eating seeds. One more banana slug munching on a deep green sword fern.
November 25, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.

Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!

🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Jo Wolfe, PhD
jopabinia.bsky.social
No one has tagged this yet for the crab feed 🦀

bsky.app/profile/did:...
derek.bike derek van vliet @derek.bike · 2d
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM