Krista Koeller
@kristalerista.bsky.social
Researching why legless lizards and snakes don't have feet. (She/her) 😷
convergent evolution, paleontology, ADHD, disability rights, grants, whatever my hyperfixation is this week.
kkoeller3115.wixsite.com/kristakoeller
https://twitter.com/KristaLerista
convergent evolution, paleontology, ADHD, disability rights, grants, whatever my hyperfixation is this week.
kkoeller3115.wixsite.com/kristakoeller
https://twitter.com/KristaLerista
Reposted by Krista Koeller
I heard there were some secret jaws
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
Finally have time to upload things to Sketchfab.
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
December 9, 2025 at 4:58 AM
I heard there were some secret jaws
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
That snowflakes had in their open maws
But you don’t really care for eel bones do ya?
Finally have time to upload things to Sketchfab.
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
December 9, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Finally have time to upload things to Sketchfab.
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
Here's the dead eel I found at an aquarium store!
Thanks to the generosity of the store owner, everyone can see the scary extra jaws these guys have!
sketchfab.com/3d-models/sn...
Snakes aren't the only reptiles that can't blink.
Some lizards also have a clear scale over their eyes (called a spectacle)
and many geckos have nothing covering their eye at all (shocker, the geico gecko inaccurate).
📷Brendan Schembri, Andy Goldby
Some lizards also have a clear scale over their eyes (called a spectacle)
and many geckos have nothing covering their eye at all (shocker, the geico gecko inaccurate).
📷Brendan Schembri, Andy Goldby
December 8, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Snakes aren't the only reptiles that can't blink.
Some lizards also have a clear scale over their eyes (called a spectacle)
and many geckos have nothing covering their eye at all (shocker, the geico gecko inaccurate).
📷Brendan Schembri, Andy Goldby
Some lizards also have a clear scale over their eyes (called a spectacle)
and many geckos have nothing covering their eye at all (shocker, the geico gecko inaccurate).
📷Brendan Schembri, Andy Goldby
We’re about two weeks away from when you’re likely going to be traveling for the holidays.
Now is a great time to get this year’s Covid booster and order an n95 mask to wear on the plane.
If you get sick, test for Covid and if it’s positive, stay home!
Now is a great time to get this year’s Covid booster and order an n95 mask to wear on the plane.
If you get sick, test for Covid and if it’s positive, stay home!
I know I reposted this earlier, but everyone really should read this. It's in plain English, unlike a lot of COVID-related stuff. And it spells out what this virus is doing to the human immune system.
johnsnowproject.org/primers/sars...
johnsnowproject.org/primers/sars...
SARS-CoV-2 Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Immune System
A landmark new study shows COVID-19 isn’t ‘just a cold’: One infection left people with long-lasting immune damage, and those with heart disease lost up to 70% of key immune cells. Reinfections may wo...
johnsnowproject.org
December 8, 2025 at 1:07 PM
We’re about two weeks away from when you’re likely going to be traveling for the holidays.
Now is a great time to get this year’s Covid booster and order an n95 mask to wear on the plane.
If you get sick, test for Covid and if it’s positive, stay home!
Now is a great time to get this year’s Covid booster and order an n95 mask to wear on the plane.
If you get sick, test for Covid and if it’s positive, stay home!
Reposted by Krista Koeller
One of my neighbors has been putting up these fish facts posters. All kinds of different fish, marine, freshwater, deep, shallow, all kinds. This is a good one. “Stg this real fish” took me out. Good work, neighbor.
December 7, 2025 at 3:39 PM
One of my neighbors has been putting up these fish facts posters. All kinds of different fish, marine, freshwater, deep, shallow, all kinds. This is a good one. “Stg this real fish” took me out. Good work, neighbor.
Do penguins get butterflies in their stomachs when they see their partners?
December 7, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Do penguins get butterflies in their stomachs when they see their partners?
Reposted by Krista Koeller
A little known thing about #lizards that I've not seen written about in detail concerns NOSTRIL VALVES. These are deployed when lizards submerge their heads, either in swimming or drinking. Here's Flame with valve not deployed, and deployed. Cont...
December 7, 2025 at 2:40 PM
A little known thing about #lizards that I've not seen written about in detail concerns NOSTRIL VALVES. These are deployed when lizards submerge their heads, either in swimming or drinking. Here's Flame with valve not deployed, and deployed. Cont...
Reposted by Krista Koeller
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
December 6, 2025 at 1:46 PM
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Reposted by Krista Koeller
Very excited to share that our latest paper is out in Science! We show that the type specimen of Nanotyrannus—an isolated skull—is fully grown, showing that it is not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex but a distinct species (1/12)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Very excited to share that our latest paper is out in Science! We show that the type specimen of Nanotyrannus—an isolated skull—is fully grown, showing that it is not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex but a distinct species (1/12)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The windchill here is -4 degrees and I’m waiting for the bus. As I blink through the ice shards blowing into my eyeballs at 30 mph, I think about how glad I am they took the bus shelter down.
At least the unhoused will have cause to reflect on how little they contributed to the economy.
At least the unhoused will have cause to reflect on how little they contributed to the economy.
December 4, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The windchill here is -4 degrees and I’m waiting for the bus. As I blink through the ice shards blowing into my eyeballs at 30 mph, I think about how glad I am they took the bus shelter down.
At least the unhoused will have cause to reflect on how little they contributed to the economy.
At least the unhoused will have cause to reflect on how little they contributed to the economy.
Reposted by Krista Koeller
What are the most pressing questions
about the status of #insects? Our survey is available here in multiple languages: bit.ly/insectquestions! #insect #entomology #biodiversity
about the status of #insects? Our survey is available here in multiple languages: bit.ly/insectquestions! #insect #entomology #biodiversity
December 4, 2025 at 11:29 AM
What are the most pressing questions
about the status of #insects? Our survey is available here in multiple languages: bit.ly/insectquestions! #insect #entomology #biodiversity
about the status of #insects? Our survey is available here in multiple languages: bit.ly/insectquestions! #insect #entomology #biodiversity
Reposted by Krista Koeller
Pay careful attention to the SHAPES of the scales on this saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus).
See how they're regular on the neck & back, but irregular polygons on the face/head? Why do you think that is?
As of 2012, we have an answer! A special process guides scale formation on the head.
See how they're regular on the neck & back, but irregular polygons on the face/head? Why do you think that is?
As of 2012, we have an answer! A special process guides scale formation on the head.
December 3, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Pay careful attention to the SHAPES of the scales on this saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus).
See how they're regular on the neck & back, but irregular polygons on the face/head? Why do you think that is?
As of 2012, we have an answer! A special process guides scale formation on the head.
See how they're regular on the neck & back, but irregular polygons on the face/head? Why do you think that is?
As of 2012, we have an answer! A special process guides scale formation on the head.
Reposted by Krista Koeller
Exciting new #Zebrafish research from the #WeinsteinLab, led by Jong Park!
“Specialized gas-exchange endothelium of the zebrafish gill” —
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Amazing to see red blood cells moving through the gills! Don’t forget to check out the supplemental movies ;-)
“Specialized gas-exchange endothelium of the zebrafish gill” —
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Amazing to see red blood cells moving through the gills! Don’t forget to check out the supplemental movies ;-)
December 2, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Exciting new #Zebrafish research from the #WeinsteinLab, led by Jong Park!
“Specialized gas-exchange endothelium of the zebrafish gill” —
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Amazing to see red blood cells moving through the gills! Don’t forget to check out the supplemental movies ;-)
“Specialized gas-exchange endothelium of the zebrafish gill” —
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Amazing to see red blood cells moving through the gills! Don’t forget to check out the supplemental movies ;-)
Reposted by Krista Koeller
Yolo often stands with his little back toes crossed, which I find ridiculously cute!
You can see vultures don't have bulky feet and talons built for grasping/carrying like other raptors. Their more chicken-like feet are meant for bracing on food to pull at it with their powerful beaks, instead.
You can see vultures don't have bulky feet and talons built for grasping/carrying like other raptors. Their more chicken-like feet are meant for bracing on food to pull at it with their powerful beaks, instead.
December 2, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Yolo often stands with his little back toes crossed, which I find ridiculously cute!
You can see vultures don't have bulky feet and talons built for grasping/carrying like other raptors. Their more chicken-like feet are meant for bracing on food to pull at it with their powerful beaks, instead.
You can see vultures don't have bulky feet and talons built for grasping/carrying like other raptors. Their more chicken-like feet are meant for bracing on food to pull at it with their powerful beaks, instead.
Reposted by Krista Koeller
Meet the carrier crab, an animal that brings its defence wherever it goes. Its back legs are specially adapted to hold anything it can wedge between itself and danger: a bit of dead coral, seaweed, a broken shell. Sometimes, though, that shield is alive – like this jellyfish! 🛡️🪼👇
🎥: Jacob Guy
🎥: Jacob Guy
December 2, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Man, I love the Carboniferous!
Worked on the Carboniferous chapter of the UT Press Texas Paleontology book today, and while I don't know whether this will make it into the finished manuscript (and it certainly needs some fact checking) I'm quite proud of this riff
December 3, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Man, I love the Carboniferous!
Reposted by Krista Koeller
This year, the NSF funded 35% fewer grants in geoscience, with 25% less money. Meanwhile, the Office of the Director spent almost three times as much money as in a regular year.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
December 2, 2025 at 2:34 PM
This year, the NSF funded 35% fewer grants in geoscience, with 25% less money. Meanwhile, the Office of the Director spent almost three times as much money as in a regular year.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
In order to get diagnosed with ADHD, you need to have the symptoms AND it needs to impair your life.
What is meant by impairment is almost entirely a subjective assessment of how much you annoy/disappoint your teachers.
If your grades are fine and you’re quiet, doesn’t matter if it could improve
What is meant by impairment is almost entirely a subjective assessment of how much you annoy/disappoint your teachers.
If your grades are fine and you’re quiet, doesn’t matter if it could improve
It's basically impossible to get an IEP if you have a disabled kid who is currently getting good grades, so you have to wait until the grades start falling to get necessary accommodation. 🙃
Once again, no one making these claims seems to understand the enormous hurdles in the way of getting a kid the help they need - in this case - I dare anyone suggesting this to go through an IEP process.
December 2, 2025 at 11:55 PM
In order to get diagnosed with ADHD, you need to have the symptoms AND it needs to impair your life.
What is meant by impairment is almost entirely a subjective assessment of how much you annoy/disappoint your teachers.
If your grades are fine and you’re quiet, doesn’t matter if it could improve
What is meant by impairment is almost entirely a subjective assessment of how much you annoy/disappoint your teachers.
If your grades are fine and you’re quiet, doesn’t matter if it could improve
Reposted by Krista Koeller
When fish are the SAME SIZE as me… it makes my uncomfy😂
December 2, 2025 at 11:37 PM
When fish are the SAME SIZE as me… it makes my uncomfy😂
Omg I love it so much!
New species of tinamou, the slaty-masked tinamou (Tinamus resonans): mapress.com/zt/article/v... 🪶🧪 (📷Luis A. Morais)
December 2, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Omg I love it so much!
My favorite thing about science is leaning about something I didn’t know about and, at the same time, learning there is a small group of people who care enough about it to have controversies.
December 2, 2025 at 8:22 PM
My favorite thing about science is leaning about something I didn’t know about and, at the same time, learning there is a small group of people who care enough about it to have controversies.
Reposted by Krista Koeller
PTEROSAURIA, from the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncta... I dedicated to these flying reptiles of the mesozoic 🪁 This art is now also available for Prints and other items at Redbubble/people/mariolanzas 🪁 #pterosauria #quetzalcoatlus #paleoart #pteranodon #sizechart
December 1, 2025 at 6:24 PM
PTEROSAURIA, from the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncta... I dedicated to these flying reptiles of the mesozoic 🪁 This art is now also available for Prints and other items at Redbubble/people/mariolanzas 🪁 #pterosauria #quetzalcoatlus #paleoart #pteranodon #sizechart
Reposted by Krista Koeller
This is a squat lobster, one of the most confusing names because they are not lobsters. They are also not crabs. Welcome to Anomura, the false crabs (also includes: hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs, mole crabs) #Crustmas
or the aegla. I would live in south america and just hang out with aegla, silly little water roaches guilty of nothing
December 2, 2025 at 5:36 PM
This is a squat lobster, one of the most confusing names because they are not lobsters. They are also not crabs. Welcome to Anomura, the false crabs (also includes: hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs, mole crabs) #Crustmas