Dr. Viktor Baranov🧪🦟🐛🪲
@swarmofthoughts.bsky.social
Entomologist, Sevilla, Spain @ebdonana.bsky.social, Australian Fossils, climate change studies using Diptera fossils, insect decline and microplastic pollution - once @swarmofthoughts/ Investigador Ramon y Cajal en EBD-CSIC, Entomologo y Paleontologo
Here is a #fossil giant longhorn beetle larvae from Rovno amber (Ukraine, 35 MYA) - based on the initial photo, yours truly thought it was an onychophora 😀, so I was very excited. #CTscan did tempered my enthusiasm a bit though #fossilfriday 🦖⚒️
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 14, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Here is a #fossil giant longhorn beetle larvae from Rovno amber (Ukraine, 35 MYA) - based on the initial photo, yours truly thought it was an onychophora 😀, so I was very excited. #CTscan did tempered my enthusiasm a bit though #fossilfriday 🦖⚒️
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Some cool marine critters from Puerto de la Cruz #Tenerife, Pachygraspus adsceoensis crab, Similiparma lurida, atlantic belnny (Ophioblennius atlanticus) and vieja (European parrotfish) Sparisoma cretense, some photos by Valentyna Inshyna 🦀🦑🐠🐙
November 13, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Some cool marine critters from Puerto de la Cruz #Tenerife, Pachygraspus adsceoensis crab, Similiparma lurida, atlantic belnny (Ophioblennius atlanticus) and vieja (European parrotfish) Sparisoma cretense, some photos by Valentyna Inshyna 🦀🦑🐠🐙
In the times before the war, when I had better (or any) relations with PIN I got this photo of the PIN Palaeo-Arthro Lab in 1981, so there were only three man- Kovaliov, Rasnitsin and Zherikhin. They had seniority, but if you look at the pubs most of the work was done by Kalugina etc
November 11, 2025 at 5:52 AM
In the times before the war, when I had better (or any) relations with PIN I got this photo of the PIN Palaeo-Arthro Lab in 1981, so there were only three man- Kovaliov, Rasnitsin and Zherikhin. They had seniority, but if you look at the pubs most of the work was done by Kalugina etc
Fossil Mycetobias¨are quite similar to the extant one, remarkably, we did knew so little about the extant once, that we have first learned how many larval instars they have based on #fossils first. Its not as trivial as it sounds a larval stage of the window gnats is a useful forensic marker 🦖⚒️
November 9, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Fossil Mycetobias¨are quite similar to the extant one, remarkably, we did knew so little about the extant once, that we have first learned how many larval instars they have based on #fossils first. Its not as trivial as it sounds a larval stage of the window gnats is a useful forensic marker 🦖⚒️
An old scan of #fossil Mycetobia sp. pupa (Window gnat) from 38 MYA Baltic amber. This little gnats turned out to be really abundant and potent decomposers of organic matter in Baltic amber forest. That prompted us to write this paper I quite like pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
November 9, 2025 at 8:19 AM
An old scan of #fossil Mycetobia sp. pupa (Window gnat) from 38 MYA Baltic amber. This little gnats turned out to be really abundant and potent decomposers of organic matter in Baltic amber forest. That prompted us to write this paper I quite like pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
For the #fossilfriday here is one of my favorite #fossil species I ever described - a 38 MYA mantid fly from Baltic amber. Enjoy my CT reconstruction of the specimen! fr.pensoft.net/article/8013... 🦖⚒️
November 7, 2025 at 8:48 PM
For the #fossilfriday here is one of my favorite #fossil species I ever described - a 38 MYA mantid fly from Baltic amber. Enjoy my CT reconstruction of the specimen! fr.pensoft.net/article/8013... 🦖⚒️
#fossilfriday find next to trash containers - someone´s #fossil (&neolithic tools!) collections thrown away. I rescued it, & will look for a museum home, bt without location labels - will be hard. Mstl branchiopods & crynoids. Labels really old, using "Primary" & Secondary for Palaeo- & Mesozoic 🦖
November 7, 2025 at 7:31 PM
#fossilfriday find next to trash containers - someone´s #fossil (&neolithic tools!) collections thrown away. I rescued it, & will look for a museum home, bt without location labels - will be hard. Mstl branchiopods & crynoids. Labels really old, using "Primary" & Secondary for Palaeo- & Mesozoic 🦖
Well, not exactly #fossils for the #fossilfriday, but some cool stuff from doing work down in the @ebdonana.bsky.social research collection - amazing African otter shrew (Potamogale Velox) and giant black caiman skull. Potamogale is prob. Not to dissimilar from Jurassic Castrocauda
October 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Well, not exactly #fossils for the #fossilfriday, but some cool stuff from doing work down in the @ebdonana.bsky.social research collection - amazing African otter shrew (Potamogale Velox) and giant black caiman skull. Potamogale is prob. Not to dissimilar from Jurassic Castrocauda
Red rocks of McGrath´s flat contain countless #fossils of the 11 MYA wet Eucalypt forest, probably not unlike this Watagan Ranges forest, near Newcastle, AU. New paper by colleagues from AusMus in Sydney explain how this diversity of forest fossils was preserved tinyurl.com/5xzjrtnr 🦖
October 21, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Red rocks of McGrath´s flat contain countless #fossils of the 11 MYA wet Eucalypt forest, probably not unlike this Watagan Ranges forest, near Newcastle, AU. New paper by colleagues from AusMus in Sydney explain how this diversity of forest fossils was preserved tinyurl.com/5xzjrtnr 🦖
In 2020 we did a quick search for Pleistocene #fossils in the Pleistocene road-side sediment cutting on the road from Dubbo to Newcastle in New South Wales, and in 10 minutes we found quite a few marsupials, including probable short-faced kangaroos 🦖
October 21, 2025 at 8:25 PM
In 2020 we did a quick search for Pleistocene #fossils in the Pleistocene road-side sediment cutting on the road from Dubbo to Newcastle in New South Wales, and in 10 minutes we found quite a few marsupials, including probable short-faced kangaroos 🦖
Its cool when botanical gardens have dedicated "Macaronesian house" - giving visibility to unique flora of the region. Normally those are Spanish institutions, like Jardin Botanico Real de Cordoba, but here are real props to Geneva Botanical Garden for having one! @victor-noguerales.bsky.social
October 15, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Its cool when botanical gardens have dedicated "Macaronesian house" - giving visibility to unique flora of the region. Normally those are Spanish institutions, like Jardin Botanico Real de Cordoba, but here are real props to Geneva Botanical Garden for having one! @victor-noguerales.bsky.social
For this #fossilfriday I have Pliensbachian ammonites in the center of interpretation of Canyon "Gorges de Sierroz" in Aix les Bains 🦖⚒️
October 10, 2025 at 5:23 PM
For this #fossilfriday I have Pliensbachian ammonites in the center of interpretation of Canyon "Gorges de Sierroz" in Aix les Bains 🦖⚒️
Awesome, thanks so much! Paddy was my good friend and mentor, I miss him a lot. Here is Paddy during his last visit to Munich, staying in Bavarian collection of Zoology in May of 2019
October 8, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Awesome, thanks so much! Paddy was my good friend and mentor, I miss him a lot. Here is Paddy during his last visit to Munich, staying in Bavarian collection of Zoology in May of 2019
Valentyna Inshyna has supplied this amazing palaeoart with Rhaetosaurus brownei, Cavendrichties sp and newly described by us Telmatiomyia talbragarica fly, reconstructing late Jurasic of Australia #fossils 🦖🧪⚒️https://tinyurl.com/2v3kx4h7
October 8, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Valentyna Inshyna has supplied this amazing palaeoart with Rhaetosaurus brownei, Cavendrichties sp and newly described by us Telmatiomyia talbragarica fly, reconstructing late Jurasic of Australia #fossils 🦖🧪⚒️https://tinyurl.com/2v3kx4h7
8/9
Nuestro análisis filogenético sugiere un origen austral con una dispersión posterior hacia el norte.
Y deja una lección importante: el registro fósil está sesgado hacia el norte global.
Muchas piezas perdidas de la historia evolutiva aún yacen en el hemisferio sur.
Nuestro análisis filogenético sugiere un origen austral con una dispersión posterior hacia el norte.
Y deja una lección importante: el registro fósil está sesgado hacia el norte global.
Muchas piezas perdidas de la historia evolutiva aún yacen en el hemisferio sur.
October 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
8/9
Nuestro análisis filogenético sugiere un origen austral con una dispersión posterior hacia el norte.
Y deja una lección importante: el registro fósil está sesgado hacia el norte global.
Muchas piezas perdidas de la historia evolutiva aún yacen en el hemisferio sur.
Nuestro análisis filogenético sugiere un origen austral con una dispersión posterior hacia el norte.
Y deja una lección importante: el registro fósil está sesgado hacia el norte global.
Muchas piezas perdidas de la historia evolutiva aún yacen en el hemisferio sur.
6/9
Telmatomyia pertenece a la subfamilia Podonominae, que hoy vive en Sudamérica, Australia, Sudáfrica y Nueva Zelanda: un ejemplo clásico de vicariancia.
Cuando Gondwana se fragmentó, estas poblaciones quedaron aisladas y evolucionaron de forma independiente (Brundin, 1966).
Telmatomyia pertenece a la subfamilia Podonominae, que hoy vive en Sudamérica, Australia, Sudáfrica y Nueva Zelanda: un ejemplo clásico de vicariancia.
Cuando Gondwana se fragmentó, estas poblaciones quedaron aisladas y evolucionaron de forma independiente (Brundin, 1966).
October 8, 2025 at 2:44 PM
6/9
Telmatomyia pertenece a la subfamilia Podonominae, que hoy vive en Sudamérica, Australia, Sudáfrica y Nueva Zelanda: un ejemplo clásico de vicariancia.
Cuando Gondwana se fragmentó, estas poblaciones quedaron aisladas y evolucionaron de forma independiente (Brundin, 1966).
Telmatomyia pertenece a la subfamilia Podonominae, que hoy vive en Sudamérica, Australia, Sudáfrica y Nueva Zelanda: un ejemplo clásico de vicariancia.
Cuando Gondwana se fragmentó, estas poblaciones quedaron aisladas y evolucionaron de forma independiente (Brundin, 1966).
4/9
Las pupas (etapa intermedia como la crisálida de una mariposa) fueron descubiertas por mi colega y coautor Robert Beattie, del Museo Australiano.
Ofrecen una mirada única a la evolución temprana de los jejenes no picadores, un grupo ecológicamente clave.
Las pupas (etapa intermedia como la crisálida de una mariposa) fueron descubiertas por mi colega y coautor Robert Beattie, del Museo Australiano.
Ofrecen una mirada única a la evolución temprana de los jejenes no picadores, un grupo ecológicamente clave.
October 8, 2025 at 2:42 PM
4/9
Las pupas (etapa intermedia como la crisálida de una mariposa) fueron descubiertas por mi colega y coautor Robert Beattie, del Museo Australiano.
Ofrecen una mirada única a la evolución temprana de los jejenes no picadores, un grupo ecológicamente clave.
Las pupas (etapa intermedia como la crisálida de una mariposa) fueron descubiertas por mi colega y coautor Robert Beattie, del Museo Australiano.
Ofrecen una mirada única a la evolución temprana de los jejenes no picadores, un grupo ecológicamente clave.
3/9
Estudiamos seis fósiles —tanto pupas como adultos en emergencia— que mostraban una estructura en forma de disco terminal.
Este rasgo, típico de hábitats influenciados por las mareas, se creía exclusivo de especies marinas.
Pero Talbragar demuestra que también existía en ambientes de agua dulce.
Estudiamos seis fósiles —tanto pupas como adultos en emergencia— que mostraban una estructura en forma de disco terminal.
Este rasgo, típico de hábitats influenciados por las mareas, se creía exclusivo de especies marinas.
Pero Talbragar demuestra que también existía en ambientes de agua dulce.
October 8, 2025 at 2:40 PM
3/9
Estudiamos seis fósiles —tanto pupas como adultos en emergencia— que mostraban una estructura en forma de disco terminal.
Este rasgo, típico de hábitats influenciados por las mareas, se creía exclusivo de especies marinas.
Pero Talbragar demuestra que también existía en ambientes de agua dulce.
Estudiamos seis fósiles —tanto pupas como adultos en emergencia— que mostraban una estructura en forma de disco terminal.
Este rasgo, típico de hábitats influenciados por las mareas, se creía exclusivo de especies marinas.
Pero Talbragar demuestra que también existía en ambientes de agua dulce.
2/9
Telmatomyia significa “mosca de aguas quietas”.
Es el registro más antiguo de mosquitos no picadores del hemisferio sur, hallado en los famosos lechos de peces de Talbragar, una instantánea fósil de la vida en un lago que cubría parte de Nueva Gales del Sur hace unos 150 millones de años.
Telmatomyia significa “mosca de aguas quietas”.
Es el registro más antiguo de mosquitos no picadores del hemisferio sur, hallado en los famosos lechos de peces de Talbragar, una instantánea fósil de la vida en un lago que cubría parte de Nueva Gales del Sur hace unos 150 millones de años.
October 8, 2025 at 2:38 PM
2/9
Telmatomyia significa “mosca de aguas quietas”.
Es el registro más antiguo de mosquitos no picadores del hemisferio sur, hallado en los famosos lechos de peces de Talbragar, una instantánea fósil de la vida en un lago que cubría parte de Nueva Gales del Sur hace unos 150 millones de años.
Telmatomyia significa “mosca de aguas quietas”.
Es el registro más antiguo de mosquitos no picadores del hemisferio sur, hallado en los famosos lechos de peces de Talbragar, una instantánea fósil de la vida en un lago que cubría parte de Nueva Gales del Sur hace unos 150 millones de años.
8/9
Our phylogenetic analysis suggests a southern origin — with later northward dispersal.
It’s also a reminder: fossil records are biased toward the Global North.
Many “missing pieces” of evolutionary history are still buried in the Southern Hemisphere.
Our phylogenetic analysis suggests a southern origin — with later northward dispersal.
It’s also a reminder: fossil records are biased toward the Global North.
Many “missing pieces” of evolutionary history are still buried in the Southern Hemisphere.
October 8, 2025 at 7:43 AM
8/9
Our phylogenetic analysis suggests a southern origin — with later northward dispersal.
It’s also a reminder: fossil records are biased toward the Global North.
Many “missing pieces” of evolutionary history are still buried in the Southern Hemisphere.
Our phylogenetic analysis suggests a southern origin — with later northward dispersal.
It’s also a reminder: fossil records are biased toward the Global North.
Many “missing pieces” of evolutionary history are still buried in the Southern Hemisphere.
4/9
The pupae (like the “chrysalis” stage in butterflies) were discovered by my colleague and co-author Robert Beattie from the Australian Museum.
They offered a rare glimpse into the early evolution of non-biting midges — one of the most ecologically important fly groups.
The pupae (like the “chrysalis” stage in butterflies) were discovered by my colleague and co-author Robert Beattie from the Australian Museum.
They offered a rare glimpse into the early evolution of non-biting midges — one of the most ecologically important fly groups.
October 8, 2025 at 7:41 AM
4/9
The pupae (like the “chrysalis” stage in butterflies) were discovered by my colleague and co-author Robert Beattie from the Australian Museum.
They offered a rare glimpse into the early evolution of non-biting midges — one of the most ecologically important fly groups.
The pupae (like the “chrysalis” stage in butterflies) were discovered by my colleague and co-author Robert Beattie from the Australian Museum.
They offered a rare glimpse into the early evolution of non-biting midges — one of the most ecologically important fly groups.
3/9
We studied six fossil specimens — both pupae and emerging adults — all showing a terminal disc structure.
This feature, used by larvae in tide-influenced habitats, was once thought to occur only in marine species.
But the Talbragar fossils prove it also existed in freshwater environments!
We studied six fossil specimens — both pupae and emerging adults — all showing a terminal disc structure.
This feature, used by larvae in tide-influenced habitats, was once thought to occur only in marine species.
But the Talbragar fossils prove it also existed in freshwater environments!
October 8, 2025 at 7:39 AM
3/9
We studied six fossil specimens — both pupae and emerging adults — all showing a terminal disc structure.
This feature, used by larvae in tide-influenced habitats, was once thought to occur only in marine species.
But the Talbragar fossils prove it also existed in freshwater environments!
We studied six fossil specimens — both pupae and emerging adults — all showing a terminal disc structure.
This feature, used by larvae in tide-influenced habitats, was once thought to occur only in marine species.
But the Talbragar fossils prove it also existed in freshwater environments!
2/9
Telmatomyia means “fly from standing water.”
It’s the oldest record of non-biting midges from the Southern Hemisphere — from the famous Talbragar Fish Bed, a fossil snapshot of life in a lake that covered parts of New South Wales ~150 million years ago.
Telmatomyia means “fly from standing water.”
It’s the oldest record of non-biting midges from the Southern Hemisphere — from the famous Talbragar Fish Bed, a fossil snapshot of life in a lake that covered parts of New South Wales ~150 million years ago.
October 8, 2025 at 7:37 AM
2/9
Telmatomyia means “fly from standing water.”
It’s the oldest record of non-biting midges from the Southern Hemisphere — from the famous Talbragar Fish Bed, a fossil snapshot of life in a lake that covered parts of New South Wales ~150 million years ago.
Telmatomyia means “fly from standing water.”
It’s the oldest record of non-biting midges from the Southern Hemisphere — from the famous Talbragar Fish Bed, a fossil snapshot of life in a lake that covered parts of New South Wales ~150 million years ago.
At Lac du Bourget enjoying company of the crested Grebes before @ialipa2025.bsky.social #France #Lake #Limnology
October 5, 2025 at 6:05 PM
At Lac du Bourget enjoying company of the crested Grebes before @ialipa2025.bsky.social #France #Lake #Limnology