Hannes
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federgeistchen.bsky.social
Hannes
@federgeistchen.bsky.social
210 followers 93 following 250 posts
Worm enthusiast 🪱 mollusc maniac 🐌 and crustacean fanatic 🦀
I just prefer my animals boneless…

23 | wildlife photographer | biology student

Non-animal-related account: @eyekosaeder.bsky.social
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federgeistchen.bsky.social
Happy new year! :D
I have no pictures of fireworks, but I have this one of a siliceous sponge skeleton from the university collection.

#MarineLife #Photography
Sponge skeleton against black background: The whole thing is tube shaped, only the upper third is visible, coming into the frame from the bottom right corner. At the end, the spicules form an organic web-like structure, fanning out towards edges. On the side, the spicules are arranges horizontally and vertically, forming rectangles. There are additional fan-like formations at regular intervals.
January 2, 2026 at 12:32 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
For the 17th day of #Crustmas, I have another water flea. This one was found in a tropical greenhouse. It's Macrothrix sp., but the exact species is probably not determinable without DNA analysis(?)

Look at the snoot! :D

#pondlife #microscopy
A brightfield image of Macrothrix sp. It's shape is roughly like that of a daphniid, but it has an elephant-trunk-like snoot and long spines at the posterior margin of the carapace. It is completely transparent, only the gut is slightly yellowish
December 17, 2025 at 5:47 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
A copepod for #Crustmas day 15 🦀
This one's a Calanoid copepod from Spain which I sadly do not know how to ID further ( Help much appreciated! :D )
The enlarged antenna segments are interesting as well. I have no idea what they are for and why they're only on one antenna.

#marinelife #copepod
A calanoid copepod under the microscope. It has very long antennae with one antennae having thickened and orange segments in the center. Apart from that, the copepod appears colourless
December 15, 2025 at 6:17 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
It's the fourteenth day of #Crustmas and I bring you another amphipod. I really like its slight blue and red colouration. :D
It is probably Apohyale perieri, but I'm not quite sure.

#MarineLife #Crustacean #Amphipod
Amphipod against a black background. The main colour is blue with red margins on each of the tergites. The eyes and antennae are reddish as well. The last two pairs of pereopods extend backwards and have white tips. Overall, the body is smooth and rounded.
December 14, 2025 at 7:07 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
#Crustmas Day 13 🦀
I‘ve posted this species recently (about a month ago), but this one has a different colouration and not such an enlarged claw. This is Pisidia longicornis, the Long-clawed Porcelain Crab.

#marinelife #crab
Pisidia longicornis against a black background. A brown individual with a marbled patterning on legs and back. It has a round body with three long legs visible on either side as well as a pair of claws. The right claw is slightly enlarged. It has very long antennae and big, round, red eyes.
December 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
#Crustmas Day 12
Green Shromp!

It’s the Chamaeleon Prawn (Hippolyte varians) and very variable in colouration as the name suggests. I don’t know what influences colour, but all I found at that region were green.

#MarineLife #Shrimp
Green shrimp against a black background. It has a long pointy rostrum and very large scaphocerites. The telson and uropods are also pretty long. Sadly I didn’t manage to take a lateral photo as it was quite jumpy
December 12, 2025 at 8:12 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
Wow, the video upload quality on here is not great at all. Here are a few photos, too. If anyone knows more about the interaction between the Daphniid and the algae, please let me know! I couldn't find much online.

#crustmas #parasitology
Closeup of the head of the Daphniid at 400x magnification (brightfield microscopy). It is completely covered with the little algae. The entire organism. It is an image stack, therefore the movement of the algae has formed these lines that were not actually there.
December 10, 2025 at 5:44 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
For the 10th day of #Crustmas 🦐, I found this Scapholebris (cf. mucronata) Daphniid that is infested with Chlorella(?) green algae.

I believe, they are parasitic, judging by the Daphniid‘s reduced mobility & the strange twitching motion of the antennae.

#microscopy #pondlife #parasites #crustacean
December 10, 2025 at 5:38 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
#Crustmas Day 9

This is one of the prettiest copepods I‘ve found. It‘s called Hersiliodes latericius and was found in coastal waters in Spain

#MarineLife #Copepods #Crustacean
A copepod against black background. It’s white/transparent with orange patterning and orange egg sacs.
December 9, 2025 at 4:53 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
Honourable mention to this isopod which was also found in the greenhouses. It is however a very common native species (Porcellio scaber) which got in and probably liked the humidity. (It was found in the coldest of the greenhouses)

#Crustmas #Isopod
A Rough Grey Isopod (Porcellio scaber) sitting on a porous volcanic rock. As it's name suggests it is uniformly grey in colour and has a rough texture.
December 8, 2025 at 7:03 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
For Day 8 of #Crustmas, I bring you Greenhouse isopods!
Back in June, the botanical gardens in Germany hosted a BioBlitz during which I got to dig around a bit in the greenhouses.

#1 Philosciidae indet.
#2 Nagurus cristatus
#3 Reductoniscus costulatus
#4 Venezillo parvus

#Isopods #MacroPhotography
A dark brown isopod sitting on a piece of bark. It has subtle markings on its back and rather long legs and antennae. They are also really fast. I found them in the Victoria lily house in the stony flower bed right next to the pool. A very ornate isopod sitting on a piece of mulch. Unfortunately the first half is out of focus. The pereon has a yellowish base colour with a broad grey center stripe that's sort of fractal-ly and grey margins. The pleon is fully grey. The pleotelson and uropods are bright yellow. A very tiny isopod sitting on some mulch. It is off white to beige in colour. Only the pereon is visible. Each tergite has two transversal rows of little teeth-like protrusions, which get bigger and more hooked further towards the posterior An ornate "pill bug" in a white collection dish. It is similar in colour and pattern to Nagurus cristatus, except that the yellowish parts on the tergites form distinct oval shapes. Editionally, the colouring continues through the pleon and pleotelson. It is also built more compactly and more rounded.
December 8, 2025 at 6:57 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
#Crustmas day 7 (belatedly) 🦀
I came back from a rehearsal weekend with my orchestra yesterday and I was too exhausted to post anything.

The pic I planned to send yesterday is this Xantho pilipes which has some very nice markings on its back, in my opinion

#marinelife #crab
A closeup of Xantho pilipes against black background. Its legs are fluffy (which has likely inspired the name "pilipes"). The back is white with a red marking in the middle that sort of looks like a space ship(??). The legs and claws are of an equal red with the tips being darker.
December 8, 2025 at 6:39 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
#Crustmas day 6! 🦐

I saw some posts with these ostracods (Strandesia sp.(?)) yesterday, so I wanted to share this one. Found in the greenhouses of the botanical gardens in Bonn. If anyone can help ID, that would be amazing! :D

#microscopy #ostracods #crustacean
A greenish pill-shaped ostracod with a big thorn-shaped ala. The rest of the animal can roughly be made out through the carapace. The margin of the carapace has small perforations as well as a few hairs.
December 6, 2025 at 12:23 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
Day 5 of #Crustmas
Presumably a female Cymodoce truncata. No spoilers, but some individuals of this species have some really beautiful patterning (I‘m saving those pics for later) :P

#MarineLife #Isopods #Crustaceans
Pale brown isopod against a black background. It has a relatively sturdy build, two pairs of rather short antennae the posterior end is pointed. Its uropods (2 per side) end at about the same level as the point and are spaced quite far apart. It also has some red algae on its butt
December 5, 2025 at 1:36 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
It's day 4 of #Crustmas. This crab is probably about the same age? I was very surprised to learn that this is what larval crabs look like. I think it's either Xantho sp. or Carcinus maenas.

P.S.: The feathery things at the top are the cirri of a barnacle and are not part of the larva.

#MarineLife
Photo of a zoea larva under a microscope. It has a very large compound eye and a long dorsal thorn that curves back on its carapace. The abdomen is long and thin, ending in curved spine(s) at the telson. Above the zoea is the exoskeleton of the cirri ("feeding legs") of a barnacle.
December 4, 2025 at 11:54 AM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
With Crustmas going on right now, it's easy to forget that it is #WormWednesday, too!
This is an unidentified Terebellid worm. It may be Amphitrides gracilis, but I'm far from certain.

#MarineLife #Polychaete #Worm
Terebellid worm against a black background. It has a lot of white tentacle-like appendages at the front that curl into little springs and curls. A bit behind there's a pair of tree-like branchae. The first few segments are thickened with prominent (but small) parapodia(?). Behind that the animal gradually gets thinner and smoother. It starts out a fleshy pink colour with brighter reds and oranges towards the middle of the worm and transparent at the back. It currently has a bit of sediment in its guts which gives the transparent part a brown appearance.
December 3, 2025 at 2:55 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
#Crustmas day 3! 🦐
Look at the claw on this amphipod!

I think it is Gammarella fucicola, but I‘m not quite sure. It’s the only one I found with modified gnathopods like this. Found in a rocky shore habitat in Galicia, Spain.

#MarineLife #Amphipod
Closeup of an amphipod against a black background. It’s pale brown/orange in colour. It has the typical amphipod shape except that its gnathopod 2 is modified into a big claw.
December 3, 2025 at 11:43 AM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
A rare non-animal-related post, but I also took photos of a bunch of flowers this year.

I saw them arranged in a grid like this for the first time today and thought they looked really pretty like this :)

#macrophotography #flowers
Closeups of 9 different flowers arranged in a 3x3 grid. In order from top left to bottom right: 1) Pilosella aurantica (Asteraceae) A vivid orange flower (technically flower head or capitulum comprised of lots of individual flowers) 2) Dianthus deltoides (Caryophyllaceae) A magenta flower with 5 petals that have serrated margins. Towards the center they get soeckled with white 3) Bellis perennis (Asteraceae) Typical daisy-like capitulum with white ray florets anf yellow disc florets 4) Dianthus carthusianorum (Caryophyllaceae) Magenta with 5 petals that are slightly more spindly than on D. deltoides. It also lacks the white spots 5) Draba verna (Brassicaceae) A group of 3 bright white flowers and some buds. It has 4 petals which each have a deep incision 6) Lysimachia arvensis (Primulaceae) Salmon orange blossom with 5 petals. It turns violet towards the center with 5 brightly yellow stamens 7) Dianthus sp. (Caryophyllaceae) White blossom with pink center. The 5 petals also have serrated outer margins and leave no gaps in between each other. In the center, the markings of the petals form a circle 8) Oxalis stricta (Oxalidaceae) A yellow blossom with 5 petals. The center is greenish. There are a lot of short stamens. 9) Geranium pratense (Geraniaceae) A violet towards purple flower with 5 broad petals. The colour softly fades to white in the center. The stamens are a very dark purple, almost black and quite prominent.
December 2, 2025 at 9:34 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
The chromatophores:
Closeup of the chromatophores (taken from the lateral view of the image above).
December 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
Day Two of #Crustmas! 🦐
Athanas nitescens comes in a variety of colours. I found this green-blue individual that‘s speckled with red chromatophores that form these very cool dendritic splotches of colour (closeup below)

#marinelife #crustacean #shrimp
Combined image of the lateral and dorsal view of A. nitescens against a black background. It’s shrimp-shaped and has two small (but prominent) claws with white tips. Along the back center line the 6 abdominal segments each carry one white spot. The uropods are a very deep blue, with white feathery „hair“ at the edges.
December 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
Emerge from your shells everyone, it's #crustmas time! 🦀 🦐
For Day 1, I have this beautiful little hermit called Clibanarius erythropus. Look at those fashionable red and blue striped feet! And those eyes! 🤩

#marinelife #hermitcrab
A closeup of C. erythropus against a black background looking out of its shell. It's brown with some light blue spots and has feet that are striped red and the same shade of blue. Four of them are hanging out of the shell as well as the left claw which is enlarged. It has bright red-orange antennae and the stem-like eyes are black with white spots.
December 1, 2025 at 3:53 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
I thought, I’d join in and post a nudibranch for the last day of #Nudivember. Here‘s Aeolidiella sp. I found in Spain in a rock pool
#MarineLife
Aeolidiella sp. against black background. It’s curled up a bit and has two rows of groups of 4 brownish cerata.
November 30, 2025 at 9:01 AM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
I finally had some time to go on a #macrophotography walk again, last weekend. Just look at those adorable antennae on this little fellow! 😍

It's a poduromorph springtail called Bilobella braunerae.
Bright orange springtail with a plump body. It has little bumps on each segment and some bristles. The little antennae have 3 segments and the tips are white
November 19, 2025 at 10:35 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
Medieval Illuminated Manuscript Style? Haha
Quite unhinged, but I bet your interpretation would be amazing!

Example: This invertebran't
Medieval manuscript illumination. Half snail, half cat? Cat in a shell? Hermit crat?? Who knows. And it has antennae too.
November 12, 2025 at 7:18 PM
federgeistchen.bsky.social
It is finally #WormWednesday again! 🪱
The perfect time to post my photo of this 40 cm long beast! :D

Scientific name: Phyllodoce lineata

↓ thread with more info ↓

#marinelife #polychaetes #invertebrates
Phyllodoce lineata against a black background. The head (top middle-left) has a bright yellow main colour, turning more muddy towards the tip. There are 4 short antennae located at the front as well as 4 pairs of long "tentacles" (tentacular cirri), 3 of which point backwards, and 1 forwards. In the front half, the back of the body, which is segmented as in all annelids, is also yellow with 3 brown spots per segment (one in the center, 2 on either side at the base of the parapodia). This gives the worm a stripy look. In the back half, the worm is entirely brown. The bottom side of the worm is a light turquoise colour and slightly iridescent. On each segment, the worm carries to leaf-shaped appendages, sometimes referred to as paddles.
November 12, 2025 at 5:27 PM