Hagfish Slime Cells Tailored to Deter Predation

My new paper addresses the evolution of hagfish slime thread and the thread cells. It shows the largest cell size allometry in animals known. The results suggest a significant impact from body size-related selection (via predator-prey interactions) for the evolution of slime threads. See interviews by The Scientists and SYFY Wire.

Canopy parkour in ant-mimicking stick insect hatchlings

new manuscript explaining the connection between post-hatch dispersal into tree canopies and the evolution of gliding in nymphs of Extatosoma tiaratum, a stick insect native to coastal Queensland. https://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/19/jeb226266 Post-hatch dispersal in Macleay’s spectre stick insect, Extatosoma tiaratum. (A) Left: natural habitat of E. tiaratum, illustrating the spatial complexity and vertically varying light environment. Photo... Continue Reading →

Evolution of flight morphology in stick insects

The origin of insect flight presumably underwent a series of intermediate morphologies, which, unfortunately, has not been shown in the fossil record. However, we can infer such transition by studying extant insects undergoing secondary flight reduction. In this new publication (link), we presented a framework for describing the evolutionary pathway between winged and wingless (volant)... Continue Reading →

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑