Dr Mark D. Scherz
banner
markscherz.bsky.social
Dr Mark D. Scherz
@markscherz.bsky.social
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
Yes indeed! A few km away from Ranomafana now, and it’s just started to rain
February 12, 2026 at 3:29 PM
We are on the road now headed south, making our way towards Ranomafana. We expect the drive to take around 14 hours on rough roads, but we have good company and fantastic weather, despite the cyclone that passed just yesterday. 🇲🇬
February 12, 2026 at 3:36 AM
I have a new favourite piece of graffiti. Look at this lovely piece of work in the Ankatso neighbourhood of Antananarivo!
February 10, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Setting off for seven weeks of Madagascar fieldwork through 20-30 cm of snow is a somewhat surreal experience. Excited to undertake this work as part of my ERC project GEMINI, aiming to sample several miniaturised species to produce some high-quality genomes!
February 7, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Meanwhile in Denmark
February 6, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Copenhagen is in the midst of a blizzard right now, but in three days I will be landing in Antananarivo, where the daytime temperature is 28°C. Hard to conceptualise from where I’m standing. But I’m excited to return to Madagascar on what promises to be a thrilling expedition!
February 5, 2026 at 10:46 PM
The struggle is real!
February 3, 2026 at 8:20 PM
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...
January 21, 2026 at 10:42 AM
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.
January 19, 2026 at 10:57 PM
@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
So warm again in Denmark right now that the newts are back out and hunting. Last snacks before winter I guess. 🦎🧪
December 10, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Who’s up for a game of Temnospondyl or Ghost?
December 6, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Today we described three new toad species that give birth to fully formed toadlets, from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania! 🇹🇿🧪🐸

vertebrate-zoology.arphahub.com/article/1670...
November 6, 2025 at 8:38 PM
After ELEVEN YEARS of work, today I finally submitted my 205-page monograph on the diamond frogs of Madagascar, genus Rhombophryne, in which we are describing several new species. Feels so good to finally have it submitted. I can't wait to share the new species with you all! 🧪🐸🟤💎
October 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Oh, what a beautiful morning!
October 2, 2025 at 7:30 AM
So sorry to hear of Dame Jane Goodall's passing. What a life to celebrate, though! One of my most prised possessions is my copy of the Silmarillion, which she signed for me in 2014 when she came to deliver a talk in Munich. She said that she, too, admired the works of Tolkien. 🧝‍♀️💎💎💎
October 1, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Spent a little time in the last couple of day working with micro-CT scans of frogs again. This is the holotype of Rhombophryne coronata. I’m hoping to submit a manuscript including a plate of this specimen’s skeleton tomorrow! 🧪🐸🩻
September 30, 2025 at 9:42 PM
CAR NETS
September 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Newly minted Full Professor Anders P. Tøttrup is giving his inaugural lecture as Professor of #CitizenScience at the @nhmdk.bsky.social now. 🧪🦅🦩🦢
September 25, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Four generic frogs? No! These are members of four different FAMILIES from Europe, Borneo, Madagascar, and East Africa, convergently evolved on the generic brown frog morphotype! 🧪🐸
September 23, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Check out the remarkable variation in the Critically Endangered Anodonthyla theoi. It is restricted to a tiny area of littoral forest in SE Madagascar, and its habitat is extremely threatened by deforestation and fire. When the rains come, males emerge from tree holes and leaf axils to call. 🐸🧪
September 21, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Just another day at the office! Today, we needed to get a specimen out of the freezer to be prepped as a skeleton, so we pulled out this nice big Paleosuchus trigonatus. 🐊🧪
September 19, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Look at the fantastic variety of shape in these wonderful frogs I photographed in Gunung Mulu National Park on Borneo last year. Amazing how much frogs can do with so little. 🐸🧪
September 19, 2025 at 7:45 AM
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! 🧪🐸🦎🐍🧬
September 19, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Just a small taste of some of the work we have going on behind the scenes right now. It feels like everything is painfully slow at the moment, but there are some very nice things on the way!
These are skeletons of type specimens of Platypelis tetra, a little microhylid from NE Madagascar 🇲🇬 🧪🐸
September 16, 2025 at 3:26 PM