Jo Wolfe, PhD
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jopabinia.bsky.social
Jo Wolfe, PhD
@jopabinia.bsky.social
16K followers 2.9K following 15K posts
Why things evolve into crabs. Evolutionary biologist (species alive today AND fossils, and how to study them together). Canadian at UCSB and Harvard (she/her)

My science: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CKqoVjEAAAAJ&hl=en
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jopabinia.bsky.social
New this year: a fossil crustacean preserved in this manner that displays the sternum (underbelly) complete with food groove, and possible labrum in part I! These animals may have been up to 10 mm long and may resemble modern fairy shrimp #Crustmas 🧪

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Crustacean sternal elements from the Bright Angel biota. Paragnath-bearing triangles are indicated by 1 s, and the successive posterior triangles by 2 s. (A) Posterior end of paragnath-bearing triangle and anterior section of successive triangle. (B) Complete triangle with laterally splayed paragnaths (black arrows). (C) Detail of scaly ornament of median cuticular strip in (B). (D) Detail of anterior setose surface in (B). (E) Complete paragnath-bearing triangle, with articulated anterior section of successive triangle. (F) Detail of boxed area in (E) showing scale-bearing cuticular strip and marginal setal fringes. (G) Articulated paragnath-bearing and partial posterior triangles defining median food groove. (H) Detail of boxed area in (G) showing sphaeromorphic acritarch adpressed onto the food groove cuticle. (I) Subtriangular cuticular lobe, representing possible setulose labrum. (J) Complete paragnath-bearing triangle and articulated, semi-complete posterior triangle. (K) Detail of boxed area in (J) showing spheroidal acritarch adpressed onto the food groove cuticle. Slide numbers and England Finder coordinates listed in data S1. Scale bars, 50 μm except in (C) and (H) (5 μm) and (D), (F), and (K) (25 μm).
December 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
The vibes are BAD. It's DARK at 4pm.

Only thing left is an actual hermit crab on my @pikaole.bsky.social hermit crab phone case #Crustmas
Phone case with adorable happy, sleeping, hiding, and scared hermit crab cartoons. An actual hermit crab is on top of them, and it is smaller than them
December 3, 2025 at 9:03 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
For the third day of #Crustmas my colleagues gave to me: 3 papers with peracarid phylogenies 🧪🦑
(Sorry for messing up the song a little)

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Morphological diversity of the studied orders within Peracarida. (A) Epimeria inermis (Amphipoda); (B) Ceratoserolis meridionalis (Isopoda); (C) Cyclaspis gigas (Cumacea); (D) Leptocheliidae (Tanaidacea); (E) Stygiomysis clarkei (Stygiomysida); (F) Tulumella unidens (Thermosbaenacea); (G) Mictocaris halope (Mictacea); (H) Mysis relicta (Mysida); (I) Potiicoara brasiliensis (Spelaeogriphacea); (J) Gnathophausia zoea (Lophogastrida); (K) Ingolfiella longipes (Ingolfiellida). Image credits: (A, B) Kevin Kocot, (C) Victoria VanderBrandt, (D) Kamila Głuchowska, (E, F, G, I, K) Jørgen Olesen, (H, J) Kenneth Meland
December 3, 2025 at 12:00 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Anyway it doesn't look like a tick ffs. Here are some figures from Jonas Keiler's paper, explaining the way the abdomen is folded. That's the same exact thing as carcinization, except in carcinization it goes all the way under the body

brill.com/view/journal...
Lateral view of Aegla cholchol, external integumental structures (volume rendering). Abbreviations: bst, branchiostegite; cp, carapace; p1-p5, pereiopods; pl, pleon Ventral view of A. cholchol. Blue indicates the plastron (kind of the "chest"), green the folded pleon (abdomen). Abbreviations: p1-p5, pereiopods; pl, pleon; plas, plastron; st3, 3rd thoracic sternite; asterisk, 6th pleonal segment; mxp, maxilliped Schematic drawing of A. cholchol showing position of heart (red), posterior aorta (violet) and gut (beige). Green oval indicates position of posterior cecum. Pleon in each drawing is artificially unbent (i.e. this shows a straightened version of the abdomen). Abbreviations: ce, posterior cecum; cp, carapace; g, gut; h, heart; lpa, left pleonal artery; ov, ovaries; p, posterior aorta; pl1-pl6, pleonal segments; pla2-pla6, posterior lateral arteries; rpa, right pleonal artery; t, telson; up, uropod Overview of the internal anatomy of Aegla cholchol (volume and surface renderings). A. Dorsolateral view from anterior. B. Dorsolateral view from posterior. Various muscles and the hepatopancreas, which fills most of the cephalothorax, are not shown. Abbreviations: a2a, antennal artery; ag, antennal gland; ala, anterior lateral artery; am, anterior gastric muscle; ama, anterior gastric muscle artery; ao, anterior aorta; br, brain; ce, cecum; cg, cephalothoracic ganglion; da, descending artery; dpm, dorsal pleonal muscles; eda, epidermal artery; fa, fringe artery; g, gut; h, heart; ila, inferior lateral arteries; lpaov, ovaries; p1a-p5a, leg arteries; pa, posterior aorta; pm, posterior gastric muscle; ra, rostral artery; stc, stomach; vtm, ventral thoracic muscles; xm, external mandible adductor muscle
December 2, 2025 at 5:59 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Here's my (terrible) attempt at photographing the same! #Crustmas
A mottled colored goby lays across the front of a hole in the sediment. Inside the hole, a white/translucent pistol shrimp is emerging
December 1, 2025 at 4:49 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Oh I have one for you...

Yes, it's a symmetrical hermit crab IN CORN!! #Crustmas 🌽

www.schweizerbart.de/papers/njgpa...
Parapylocheles scorpio ( a lcocK , 1894), MNHN-Pg.2733, MUSORSTOM II, Philippines, with abdominal tergite and chelae functioning as opercula within a corn ear
December 1, 2025 at 3:49 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Haven't posted yet for #Nudivember so I better!

The only nudibranch I have ever found in New England. Not sure, but it might be Facelina bostoniensis 🦑
Nudibranch in a tidepool mainly showing its body is covered with cerrata (tube like structures). Body and rhinopores are white, cerata are pink Same nudibranch, different angle. It's climbed up and the cerata are spread out and tipped with white
November 30, 2025 at 2:31 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Forgot to mention, they do taste like beets. A little less sweet, but totally worth trying! I did leave one in the soil to see if it can overwinter 🌱

Bonus photo of both halves in the preparation process:
Chopped beets (no wait, its chard root!) and white chard roots on a cutting surface. The red ones have the concentric circles typical of beets Multicolor chard leaves in a pot
November 29, 2025 at 2:28 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Did you know Swiss chard and beets are the same species? 🌱

I harvested up their roots and roasted them with potato, onion, and butternut squash (seasoned with my garden's dried thyme and rosemary). Then sautéed the leaves with lemon and garlic.

Chard on chard, baby!
My hand pulling up a red chard plant from the dirt. It has a root looking exactly like a beet. This plant had the largest root, because it wasn't next to another (it used to be, but that was the plant damaged in the fire if you read my previous skeets) About 14 chard plants laying on the patio stone, with my hand for scale. Most are only about an inch or less of root but some are larger. The red/purple leaved ones have round roots like beets. The green leaved ones have elongated roots Left: peeled chard roots soaking in water. Much smaller than before. Red ones are literally beets. White ones don't look like anything special. Right: in basket, the harvested chard leaves. Red, green, yellow colors On a plate: top are wilted chard leaves with a streak of red stained juice encircling part of the plate rim. Below, pile of roasted veg including the chard/beets, multicolor potatoes, red onion, and butternut squash. Visibly seasoned with my herbs
November 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
iykyk
November 27, 2025 at 1:13 AM
jopabinia.bsky.social
A movie that takes place where you're from
Turning Red poster featuring giant red panda in a classroom
November 23, 2025 at 8:40 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
This is what already became of mint, rosemary, and thyme 🌱
14 ice cube tray of mint. Later I smashed these in a ziploc to add small pieces to smoothies 2 round glass jars on their side with dried herbs. Rosemary fills only half the view. Thyme fills the entire bottom and is in fact shoved in all the way to the top.
November 22, 2025 at 7:43 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Given up as the jalapeño hasn't been able to be safely outside in 2 weeks. End of its era 🌱🌶

Chose divide and conquer strategy to preserve what's left: chopped in freezer, 3 whole for poppers, and some pickled.

1 lettuce harvest left. Cilantro, chives, kale, chard, still going hopefully into Dec!
Ziploc bag half full with chopped jalapenos. On top are lying 3 of the larger ones of this batch, about 2-3 inches each Square jar of jalapeno pickles. Crispish new ones float at the top, and about 1 peppers worth of old pickle sit on the bottom. Sediment is garlic because all I have is the paste. There's also a bay leaf and some mustard seeds not visible. It's not unsafe pickling!
November 22, 2025 at 7:40 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Update, it's up and yes they still use wildlife photos, and credited a real person Yitzchak (Ben Mocha)

doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Low res version of the cover of the current issue of Proceeding B, An Arabian babbler (Argya squamiceps) — a cooperatively breeding songbird — perches as a sentinel at sunrise in the Arava Desert. Photo credit: Yitzchak Ben Mocha.
November 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Proceedings B, so different journal, used to use single wildlife photos only. I tried to check if that's still true, but their whole website is down 🫠

Anyway this was my cover in 2019. I'd be livid if I had submitted this and slop was chosen instead
Proceedings of the Royal Society B cover. Volume 286 | issue 1901 | 24 April 2019. Most of the page dominated by my adorable photo of a hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) focused on its eyes. Evidence it is real: You can see a big grain of sand stuck to a leg, and that the legs are not touching the ground (which is how I got it to stay still - the shell is stuck into the sand out of frame)
November 18, 2025 at 1:34 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Crab tax (as usual made by @franzanth.bsky.social)
Jurassic park logo but it's Jurassic crab. The crab shown instead of T rex is Eoprosopon, a Jurassic crab fossil
November 17, 2025 at 7:19 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
OMG I did not realize I had a photo of this and wish it had been my FIRST snailpost! 🐌🦑

See the big wacky black thing at the top? It's Scutus antipodes, a keyhole limpet!! A weirdo more closely related to abalone than true limpets (quoted) or slugs.

(Chitons and tubeworms photobombing)
Orange tidepool rock covered with life. The largest is a big black sluglike creature, several inches long, and it looks kind of like black Aplysia but if you cut off the top and the whitish internal shell was on display. Its anterior tentacles are also visible just within the water. All over the rest of the rock are at least 5 chitons, a number of barnacles, an unidentified black object (I don't think another Scutus antipodes), and what I'm pretty sure are serpulid worm tubes. Yeah, the worms that have eyes
November 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Never not be snailposting 🐌

Amphissa versicolor, Montana de Oro state park, CA
Bright pink snail with elongated/quite spired shell. Pale foot slightly visible. On light colored rocks in a tidepool
November 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
FINALLY figured out how to post a super old photo of NZ abalone, Māori name pāua, Latin name (likely) Haliotis iris. Yes, abalone are snails too!

I probably took the photo for the porcelain crab, Petrolisthes elongatus, with abalone and the other snail as photobombers 🐌🦀
A muddy intertidal rock with 3 invertebrates sat on it in a row. Top is an unidentified snail with "normal" whorly shell. Middle is the abalone with a tiny bit of its foot protruding. Bottom is the porcelain crab, which isn't a true crab and even here you can see that it only has 3 pairs of visible walking legs. There's also a weird small white thing in the corner that might be a crab moult
November 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Sorry I keep quoting with moar snailposts but I couldn't forget the OWL LIMPET, Lottia gigantea! 🐌
Limpets are modified snails with a more flattened conical shell, in the case of L. gigantea it is elongated to appear bilaterally symmetrical (not so on the inside). My finger indicates the limpet is about 4cm long
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Okay I am getting creative. Snails are everywhere 🐌

2350m up in the Alps, under da sea, and in between. Heliciniae indet, Doriprismatica atromarginata, Aplysia californica
Heliciniae crawling on a plant in a rock fissure, Gemmipass, Switzerland. The snail is maybe 1-2cm, light colored shell with slight striations in the direction of growth. Mantle is yellowish brown. Eyestalks are out! Doriprismatica atromarginata in Tulamben, Bali. It's a white nudibranch with ruffled mantle edges that are edged in black Aplysia, a sea hare, cruising a tidepool filled with coralline algae. It's mostly dark pink/purple, the color it will ink if you make it upset
November 9, 2025 at 12:43 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
We're snailposting! 🐌

Same species as @mdahirel.bsky.social, Cepaea nemoralis, but it's introduced in North America
Land snail on grass coming towards camera with eyestalks extended. Shell is light brown and dark brown stripes with the stripes concentric/following the whorl, plus the eponymous brown lip
November 9, 2025 at 12:27 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Haha it occurs to me I didn't even share a smack. But I have more, so here's one!

Pacific sea nettles, Chrysaora fuscescens #WorldJellyfishDay
About 7 jellyfish, i.e. a SMACK, against a blue background. They are dark colored with long tentacles trailing. Most seem to face towards the bottom of the image as though that is where they are going
November 3, 2025 at 1:31 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
It's #WorldJellyfishDay ?!

How about the crown jelly, Cephea cephea, from @montereybayaquarium.org?
Weird looking jellyfish, I'm not sure how to describe. The bell is purple/pink with a collar type structure around it. Then there are small white and yellow projections below that. The tentacles are fat and look like an upside down anemone
November 3, 2025 at 1:15 PM
jopabinia.bsky.social
Slowly the harvesting continues. Still have 10-12 peppers to ripen through the method of moving the plant indoors/outdoors daily 🌱

Chives, cilantro, thyme, mint, and all my greens are enduring outdoors for now...
8 jalapeños on the counter with my hand for scale. They are each about 2 inches long or so Rosemary springs on a plate for drying 4 jars of pesto. Colors vary from bright green (all genovese) to kind of brown (all Thai basil)
November 1, 2025 at 5:45 PM