Dr Mark D. Scherz
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markscherz.bsky.social
Dr Mark D. Scherz
@markscherz.bsky.social
4K followers 1.3K following 670 posts
Curator of Herpetology & Associate Professor of Vertebrate Zoology at Natural History Museum of Denmark • ERC StG: GEMINI • Co-host of SquaMates Podcast and AnatomyInsights on Youtube • He/Him
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markscherz.bsky.social
Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · Aug 12
Thrilled to announce version 2.0 of my poster featuring some of Madagascar's endemic frog species, to scale! This version features 176 species—40 more than version 1.1 (now retired)! Check it out!
🐸🧪
www.redbubble.com/i/poster/Som...
The poster features 176 species of frog from Madagascar, to scale. The biggest species are over 100 mm, the smallest are under 10 mm. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and colours. So many variations on the theme of frog!
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
nhcm.pensoft.net
Glass is an important aspect of specimen storage in most major natural history collections 🫙

By observing specimens housed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, this study outlines the impact of glass deterioration on their preservation:

doi.org/10.3897/nhcm.3.173156
January 23, 2026 at 11:36 AM
markscherz.bsky.social
New publication from my lab, led by @njorisfleck.bsky.social! 🧪 We explore the diversity and origins of a genus of tiny frogs 🐸 on an isolated mountain in north Madagascar. A cool case study of both in-situ diversification and repeated colonisation!
vertebrate-zoology.arphahub.com/article/1664...
We explored the bioacoustic differentiation of these frogs, and found clear differences among basically all species, especially those co-occurring at the same elevation. This figure shows cut-outs of a the little whistling calls each frog species makes, and a plot of call duration against dominant frequency for all individual calls recorded, coloured by species. There is an interesting pattern of both size diversity and elevational distribution among the Stumpffia of Montagne d'Ambre in the north of Madagascar. This plate shows dorsal, ventral, and lateral photos of all species, as well as their body size ranges, and then also a plot of elevational distributions of each species, showing clear stratification. All of the frogs are pretty round and shows some indication of miniaturisation. Most are resplendent in a variety of brown shades above and below, but some, like Stumpffia madagascariensis, have stark colour contrasts or lines, and one, S. megsoni, has orange on the belly. A photo into the forest at moderately high elevation on Montagne d'Ambre. There is a rather open understory, with tree ferns and low bamboo(?), and quite thin tree trunks. It is a sea of greens and browns. The tiny Stumpffia madagascariensis upon a bright green leaf in the leaflitter. This species is one of the smallest frogs in Madagascar, and indeed the world. This individual has a thin light stripe along the back, a pale brown dorsum, and stark black border along the flank. You can just make out the teensy tiny toesies, and it is, frankly, adorable.
January 21, 2026 at 10:42 AM
markscherz.bsky.social
At long last I finally managed to catch the northern lights! From home, no less! My first unsuccessful attempts scuppered by cloud were some 15 years ago, and I have had few chances to see them since.
A pink glow over a green glow in a light-polluted night sky over a residential area, with a playground and a tree in the middle foreground. The composition is shite and the aurora itself is pathetically pale, but it’s there!
January 19, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
ebelosaurus.bsky.social
Our new paper is out! By reconstructing 320 million years of reptile body armour evolution, we settled a century-old debate. Along the way, we found that monitor lizards broke Dollo’s Law in an unparalleled comeback. Check out our article in The Conversation for more: doi.org/10.64628/AA....
January 13, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
sailorrooscout.bsky.social
Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking across a microscope slide. 🫧🐻🧪
January 13, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
mossworm.bsky.social
baby's first page layout (of course I'm citing sources, the children must learn)
mock-up of two pages in the style of a children's alphabet book. A is for Acanthostrongylophora, which is a sponge. the illustration is maroon and orange
January 10, 2026 at 9:30 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
This figure is so beautiful and intuitive!
ferransayol.bsky.social Ferran Sayol @ferransayol.bsky.social · 15d
New paper out! 🐦📊

We realease AVONICHE, a global dataset with detailed information on the proportional use of 32 foraging niches, combining dietary categories with the behaviours and substrates used to access resources.

Openly access the paper and data in GEB: doi.org/10.1111/geb....
January 9, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
invertebrates.bsky.social
We are raising funds to help support international students attend our next conference. If you are able to donate, any amount, is greatly appreciated. Details can be found here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hziez...
January 8, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
nicholaswu.bsky.social
My lab is seeking a #postdoc for a 3-year project on Pilbara leaf-nosed #bat 🦇 conservation, addressing climate change vulnerability using physiological, ecological, & modelling approaches.

Apply now: murdoch.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/MurdochCaree...
January 6, 2026 at 5:26 AM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
stephenbheard.bsky.social
Here's my favourite example - I was looking for information about a researcher named Vors, at U of Sydney many years ago. I love how the LLM got stuck in the alphabet - exactly what you'd expect from next-token prediction!
A Google AI overview offering "information" (none of it true) about a researcher named Vors at University of Sydney. The LLM offers the name of the President of the university, Andrew T.T.D.B.D.K.F.K.L.M.N.O.P... and continues like that for eight full lines of letters going repeatedly through the alphabet!
December 29, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
goldengateblond.bsky.social
perfect metaphors don’t exis—
jjvincent.bsky.social James Vincent @jjvincent.bsky.social · 27d
another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls
December 27, 2025 at 6:35 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
@sarahmackattack.bsky.social I find the stats of iNat observations very useful indeed when trying to figure out how to find a specific creature
December 26, 2025 at 10:35 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
Please RT to share the word! 🧪
markscherz.bsky.social Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · Dec 1
🚨PhD position available!🚨🧪
I am seeking a talented PhD student to join my ERC StG project GEMINI, to explore the exciting world of vertebrate genomics and comparative genomics, seeking to understand the genomics of miniaturisation! 🦇🦎🦜🐸🐟🦈 🤏🧬
Deadline: 4 Jan 2026!
employment.ku.dk/phd?show=153...
December 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
Anyone out there have a copy of Don Broadley's 1983 book 'FitzSimons' Snakes of Southern Africa'? I need photos or scans of a few pages! 🧪🐍
December 13, 2025 at 9:25 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
So warm again in Denmark right now that the newts are back out and hunting. Last snacks before winter I guess. 🦎🧪
My hand next to a difficult to discern smooth newt on the wet pavement, with a tiny green caterpillar in its mouth.
December 10, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
tedmorgan.bsky.social
The new Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE) Program page is posted. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have questions. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
Enabling Discovery Through Genomics (EDGE)
www.nsf.gov
December 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
deepakveerappan.bsky.social
New species 🚨, not one, not two, 13 new bush frogs from Northeast India!!!
One of the exciting revisions I've been involved in for a few years now is out today. It is led by @bitupan-herp.bsky.social, a PhD. student who will soon be a doctor.
November 20, 2025 at 9:13 AM
markscherz.bsky.social
Who’s up for a game of Temnospondyl or Ghost?
An ikea welcome mat that looks either like a ghost with its hands up, or a temnospondyl (or Calyptocephalella) from above. If you had a screen reader read either of those two words, please tell me how it went.
December 6, 2025 at 9:26 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
Best first line to a peer review I have ever received:
"I found this ms. surprisingly pleasant and interesting to review despite its monstrous length." 🤣🧪
December 2, 2025 at 7:22 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
🚨PhD position available!🚨🧪
I am seeking a talented PhD student to join my ERC StG project GEMINI, to explore the exciting world of vertebrate genomics and comparative genomics, seeking to understand the genomics of miniaturisation! 🦇🦎🦜🐸🐟🦈 🤏🧬
Deadline: 4 Jan 2026!
employment.ku.dk/phd?show=153...
December 1, 2025 at 12:58 PM
markscherz.bsky.social
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen:

Salif Keita
Backstreet Boys
Celtic Woman
Pentatonix
Guitar Masters (Andy McKee, Preston Reed and Jon Gomm)

Turns out my music taste is all over the place. And I almost never go to concerts; I had a very hard time coming up with five!
dsyzdek.bsky.social David Syzdek @dsyzdek.bsky.social · Nov 28
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen:

Weird Al (x16)
Berlin
Seether
Grateful Dead
Cake (x5)
November 28, 2025 at 7:41 AM
markscherz.bsky.social
PSA: Anyone living close to the coast in the northeast Atlantic should keep their eyes out for beached sea turtles as we head into the coldest months of the year. Countries across northwest Europe have quietly been documenting greatly elevated stranding rates for the last couple of years. 🧪🐢
November 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
pensoft.net
Read the full research paper published in 𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑍𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦, a Senckenberg journal hosted on the ARPHA Platform:

doi.org/10.3897/vz.7...
Museomics and integrative taxonomy reveal three new species of glandular viviparous tree toads (Nectophrynoides) in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains (Anura: Bufonidae)
Abstract For the last century, herpetologists have referred to any Nectophrynoides Noble, 1926 toad characterized by a large, robust body, with large, distinct parotoid glands, as Nectophryno...
doi.org
November 17, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Dr Mark D. Scherz
pensoft.net
Three newly discovered toad species skip the tadpole phase entirely and give birth to live toadlets! 🐸

Learn more about these rare amphibians on our blog: blog.pensoft.net/2025/11/17/t...
Three new toad species skip the tadpole phase and give birth to live toadlets
Researchers have identified three new species of tree-dwelling toads from Africa, all of which skip the tadpole phase and give birth to live toadlets.
blog.pensoft.net
November 17, 2025 at 8:12 AM
markscherz.bsky.social
Does anyone know where NCBI stands with the backlog of sequence submissions? I guess so many days of unprocessed submissions are not exactly going to resolve quickly, but I really need some GenBank numbers! 🧪
November 17, 2025 at 9:11 AM