Paul Clerkin
@paulclerkin.bsky.social
Hi everyone! I study lesser known sharks in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Let’s talk sharks!
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
November 26, 2025 at 4:50 PM
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
I love when I get to deploy my deepwater cameras! Sorry for the low quality images (pictures of the live feed screen). I hope I can share some of the actual videos soon! These are the first images/videos ever taken in this area 🤩 (about 1000 m deep).
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I love when I get to deploy my deepwater cameras! Sorry for the low quality images (pictures of the live feed screen). I hope I can share some of the actual videos soon! These are the first images/videos ever taken in this area 🤩 (about 1000 m deep).
Prepping gear for deployment tomorrow. It is very exciting but we’re doing a lot of last minute problem solving. This trip has definitely adhered to Murphy’s Law.
November 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Prepping gear for deployment tomorrow. It is very exciting but we’re doing a lot of last minute problem solving. This trip has definitely adhered to Murphy’s Law.
For some reason I love setting up eDNA labs at sea. I need to do a good job since these samples will be a big part of my research for the next 18 months.
November 23, 2025 at 2:53 AM
For some reason I love setting up eDNA labs at sea. I need to do a good job since these samples will be a big part of my research for the next 18 months.
Goodbye Mozambique! Deepsea exploration here we come!
November 21, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Goodbye Mozambique! Deepsea exploration here we come!
I went on a short a short stroll and came across all these fruit bats in a park in Maputo. I was so fascinated by these as a kid. Does anyone else think fruit bats are super cool?
November 20, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I went on a short a short stroll and came across all these fruit bats in a park in Maputo. I was so fascinated by these as a kid. Does anyone else think fruit bats are super cool?
Ran into paintings of the man himself on my way to explore the deepsea of the Indian Ocean. #theexplorersclub #EAFNansen
November 20, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Ran into paintings of the man himself on my way to explore the deepsea of the Indian Ocean. #theexplorersclub #EAFNansen
First time in Mozambique (Maputo). I wish we had more time here.
November 20, 2025 at 8:15 AM
First time in Mozambique (Maputo). I wish we had more time here.
I was in NYC a few weeks ago getting medially certified to work at sea as co-team leader on the Research Vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. I popped into the Explorers Club headquarters to hangout until my flight home and guess whose picture I found? #FridtjofNansen #theexplorersclub
November 17, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I was in NYC a few weeks ago getting medially certified to work at sea as co-team leader on the Research Vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. I popped into the Explorers Club headquarters to hangout until my flight home and guess whose picture I found? #FridtjofNansen #theexplorersclub
After all these years of sticking with GoPro I think maybe I am switching to Insta360(?). Do any of you have experience with these? I'm kind of jumping in with both feet.
November 15, 2025 at 2:42 PM
After all these years of sticking with GoPro I think maybe I am switching to Insta360(?). Do any of you have experience with these? I'm kind of jumping in with both feet.
Let's face it, most of my friends on here are weird. I bet you know what this is (without reading the description). I knew immediately .
November 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Let's face it, most of my friends on here are weird. I bet you know what this is (without reading the description). I knew immediately .
I always want to travel light, but that is super hard when you need anchors...
November 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I always want to travel light, but that is super hard when you need anchors...
Check out this AMAZING video of a Goblin Shark filmed in the Tonga Trench at 2000 meters (6500 ft)!
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
A glimpse of the Goblin Shark - 𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪
Recently spotted during a lander deployment to 2000 meters in the Tonga Trench, this rare species of #deepsea #shark is often described as a "living fossil". The Goblin shark is one of the few…
www.youtube.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Check out this AMAZING video of a Goblin Shark filmed in the Tonga Trench at 2000 meters (6500 ft)!
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
This is what you get in the Explorers Club Annual Dinner swag bag. Pretty nice and it comes in an awesome backpack :)
August 5, 2025 at 9:01 AM
This is what you get in the Explorers Club Annual Dinner swag bag. Pretty nice and it comes in an awesome backpack :)
Bumped into Sylvia Earle. She is always so down to earth. Everyone loved the shirt @cottoncrustacean !
August 4, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Bumped into Sylvia Earle. She is always so down to earth. Everyone loved the shirt @cottoncrustacean !
I was at the Explorers Club Headquarters in NYC and I bumped into one of my favorite underwater robots :) Plus this piece of the first lunar rover.
August 4, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I was at the Explorers Club Headquarters in NYC and I bumped into one of my favorite underwater robots :) Plus this piece of the first lunar rover.
I was at the Explorers Club a few months ago and what did I see in the Research Collections? Roy Chapman Andrews' whip! Roy Chapman Andrews was an explorer who carried a whip and was the real life Indiana Jones. Steven Spielberg visited the club twice which led to him developing Indiana Jones.
August 3, 2025 at 1:42 PM
I was at the Explorers Club a few months ago and what did I see in the Research Collections? Roy Chapman Andrews' whip! Roy Chapman Andrews was an explorer who carried a whip and was the real life Indiana Jones. Steven Spielberg visited the club twice which led to him developing Indiana Jones.
I had a fantastic time at the Explorers Club annual dinner after my NGEN talk. I met so many wonderful, interesting, and kind people. I can't wait to go again next year.
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
August 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I had a fantastic time at the Explorers Club annual dinner after my NGEN talk. I met so many wonderful, interesting, and kind people. I can't wait to go again next year.
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
Excited to have been able to contribute to this publication on the discovery of a NEW SPECIES of manta ray! Officially named Mobula yarae. The specific epithet, yarae, is in reverence to “Yara”, mother of the waters, from ancient Tupi and Guaraní mythology."
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
An integrative taxonomy investigation unravels a cryptic species of Mobula Rafinesque, 1810 (Mobulidae, Myliobatiformes), from the Atlantic Ocean - Environmental Biology of Fishes
Manta and devil rays comprise a vulnerable animal group with a complex nomenclatural history and a somewhat unresolved taxonomy. The existence of a putative undescribed species of manta ray in the…
link.springer.com
July 30, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Excited to have been able to contribute to this publication on the discovery of a NEW SPECIES of manta ray! Officially named Mobula yarae. The specific epithet, yarae, is in reverence to “Yara”, mother of the waters, from ancient Tupi and Guaraní mythology."
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Just in case you wondered what it's like in FAO headquarters I snuck around and took some pictures just for you. Its a beautiful building.
July 26, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Just in case you wondered what it's like in FAO headquarters I snuck around and took some pictures just for you. Its a beautiful building.
I found this old picture from a Shark Week/Discovery pool party from back in the day. Look how youthful I was before the PhD!
July 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I found this old picture from a Shark Week/Discovery pool party from back in the day. Look how youthful I was before the PhD!
Hanging out on the rooftops in Rome. Not a bad way to pass the time.
July 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Hanging out on the rooftops in Rome. Not a bad way to pass the time.
So the FAO headquarters is pretty fancy 🤩
July 24, 2025 at 9:00 AM
So the FAO headquarters is pretty fancy 🤩
Hard to believe it has been over 10 years since I discovered this NEW SPECIES of ghost shark during #AlienShark on @SharkWeek. I named the species the SeaFarer’s Ghost Shark (Chimaera willwatchi) for my hard working friends onboard the fishing vessel Will Watch. 🤩🦈
July 22, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Hard to believe it has been over 10 years since I discovered this NEW SPECIES of ghost shark during #AlienShark on @SharkWeek. I named the species the SeaFarer’s Ghost Shark (Chimaera willwatchi) for my hard working friends onboard the fishing vessel Will Watch. 🤩🦈