The description of P. efatra also involved some #museomics and comparative osteology, to resolve the identity of the highly similar P. tetra. @alicepetzold.bsky.social managed to get DNA sequence from the holotype and a paratype, so we could place them in a mitochondrial tree—far from P. efatra! 🐸🧪

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...

A new post about the three #newspecies of toad we have just described from Tanzania, feat @christianthrane.bsky.social, Simon Loader, @alicepetzold.bsky.social, John Lyakurwa, and Michele Menegon! 🧪🐸🇹🇿
www.markscherz.com/archives/6208

Three new species of tree toads from Tanzania have been discovered. 🐸

These amphibians don’t lay frogspawn or have a tadpole phase like most other toads, but instead give birth to live young!

Find out how museum specimens helped scientists to discover these species. 👇
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Having a diffuse research group means that I rarely get to spend any time with my group in 3D. It was a great delight therefore to be joined by @collinbos.bsky.social @alicepetzold.bsky.social @njorisfleck.bsky.social and @clarakeusgen.bsky.social together in Bonn for the #SEH2025! 🧪🐸🦎🐍🧬

I’m setting up a Discord server for young herpetologists, derived from an idea at #SEH2025. The goal is to create a space for quick help, collaboration, and networking. If you’d like to give input or get involved, let me know!

#herpetology

#SEH2025 what a week!
Plenty of great talks, lovely people and chats…
Also presented a poster on our Grass Snake project in Berlin.

Loving the Herp-Omics symposium at #SEH2025! Proud to see several members of my lab presenting here—my postdoc @alicepetzold.bsky.social presented and is one of the chairs! Up now, @clarakeusgen.bsky.social is presenting on the Bachelor’s thesis that she did with us.

Firstly, @alicepetzold.bsky.social and I organized our first symposium: Herp-omics: a #genomic perspective on earth’s herpetofaunal #diversity, with 27 participants and it was great fun. The variety of projects showed just how exciting this field of research is. #systematics #conservation #ecology

Join us in shaping the future! 🦋

Support the museum as a volunteer! Current opportunities:
✅ Help disclose our collections
✅ Support the discovery of new species
✅ Review nature observations

👉 Apply by 4 May: bit.ly/jobs-mfnberlin

📸 Pablo Castagnola

Blown away by this paper on body size variation among 11,264 (!!!) measured plethodontid salamanders over an elevational gradient. Super surprised to see that it is not temperature that has the main explanatory role, but mostly humidity and precipitation 🧪🦎
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Have a look at this coverage of the new paper led by Daniel Shaykevich, featuring Andrius Pasukonis, both currently at
@klivvvienna.bsky.social 😊 Link to paper in the comments 🐸
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

✨We are hiring!✨🧪🏛️🧬
The @nhmdk.bsky.social at the University of Copenhagen is seeking a permanent, full-time Molecular Biology Lab Manager to help us establish and run our National Facility for #Museomics in the heart of one of Europe's most beautiful cities!
Please reskeet!

💕Happy Valentine's Day!❤️
We got you a gift: Anilany karsticola, a #newspecies of miniaturised frog from Madagascar! 🧪
Published #OA today in Salamandra
Read more and get the paper here: www.markscherz.com/archives/6117
Phenomenal 🐸 illustrations by postdoc & first author, @alicepetzold.bsky.social

💕AniLOVEly Valentine's Day💕 Check out our new article adding another miniaturised species to Madagascar's anuran fauna 🐸 The article is #OA and can be downloaded here: www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/ne...