#LIBResearch

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

13 hours ago

Fossil specimen of Cratoelcana zessini Martins-Neto, 1991, female, showing complete body and wings with partly preserved wing spots, and detailed views of metathoracic tibia and tarsus with labeled metatibial spur

Crickets once lived in ancient lagoons. Fossils from Brazil’s Crato Formation reveal a surprising diversity of extinct “lagoon crickets”, including newly described species that reshape how we understand their evolution over 100 million years ago. #LIBresearch

© Schal et al., CC BY 4.0

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 day ago

Aerial view of a green mountainous landscape with the Komati River winding through it and labeled areas including Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains and Elukwatini

Earth’s earliest history is written in tiny glass beads. Impact spherules from South Africa carry geochemical fingerprints of meteorite impacts over 3 billion years ago, offering clues to processes shaping the young Earth and Solar System. #LIBresearch

© NASA Earth Observatory (public domain)

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

6 days ago

Nine grid maps of Germany showing species richness distribution for mammals, breeding birds, amphibians and reptiles, fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, fungi, and vascular plants with color gradients from brown (low richness) to green (high richness) at approximately 11 by 11 km resolution.

What shapes biodiversity across landscapes: climate, land use, or something else? New work from Germany shows that species richness on land & in freshwater systems responds to different drivers & that these patterns are more complex than often assumed. #LIBresearch

© Ellerbrok et al., CC BY 4.0
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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 week ago

Map of India with several states shaded orange indicating documented presence of Trimeresurus gramineus and an inset close-up photo of the snake's head showing green scales and vertical pupil eye

How does a little-studied snake respond to human-altered landscapes? New insights on the bamboo pitviper (Trimeresurus gramineus) reveal its ecology, behaviour & strong site fidelity, alongside growing pressure from habitat disturbance and wildlife trade. #LIBresearch

© Parmar et al., CC BY 4.0
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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 week ago

Scanning electron microscope images of Termitodesmus ceylonicus showing lateral view with numbered segments, detailed tergite surface texture, close-up of collum, head, anterior legs with labeled parts, and posterior segments including anal shield and groove

Life inside a termite nest: a new study revises a little-known group of millipedes that spend their entire lives with social insects: revealing how extreme lifestyles shape evolution. #LIBresearch

© Wesener et al., CC BY 40

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PD Dr. Dennis Rödder

@droedder.bsky.social

1 week ago

Supervised with Prof. Thomas Ziegler, Sydney Nelson just defended her MSc! She asked what defines the border between two crested newts using occurrence data, SDMs, PCA‑env, and habitat analysis: Habitat is the gatekeeper – key for Danube basin climate‑change planning. Congrats, Sydney!
#LIBresearch

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 week ago

Mating pair of Ischnura heterosticta damselflies on a plant stem with the male in blue and the immature female mimicking male coloration

How does climate shape disease risk in wildlife? A new study shows that seasonal changes influence immune responses and infection risk in damselflies, linking environmental variability to host–parasite interactions. #LIBresearch

© Paul et al., CC BY 4.0

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 week ago

Close-up of the head of a female Sphiximorpha oharai in dorsolateral view showing compound eyes and antennae

How much diversity is hidden in well-known insect groups? New work on hoverflies revises the genus Asemosyrphus and describes a new Sphiximorpha species - highlighting how much remains to be uncovered even in studied taxa. #LIBresearch

© Mengual et al., CC BY 4.0

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Dorsal view of a Ubristes mirabilissimus hoverfly with transparent wings and a dark, hairy body

How much insect diversity is still hidden? A new study describes insects that mimic stingless bees - revealing previously overlooked diversity and how resemblance helps them avoid predators. #LIBresearch

© Reemer et al., CC BY 4.0

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PD Dr. Dennis Rödder

@droedder.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

The Hungarian Meadow Viper, one of Europe’s rarest snakes. Thanks to the EU Life+ project and Bálint Halpern, 25 years of work has seen thousands of vipers bred and released into restored habitats!

Learn more about this conservation masterclass: rakosivipera.hu
#LIBresearch @leibnizlib.bsky.social

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Close-up of a Patella rustica limpet shell with ridged texture on a rocky surface covered with barnacles

A new ERGA–Biodiversity Genomics Europe reference genome for the limpet Patella rustica provides a key resource to study how coastal species respond to global warming. #LIBresearch

© Faria R et al., CC BY 4.0

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Many “single species” actually turn out to be complexes of multiple, distinct species once studied in detail.
A great example of how taxonomy continues to reveal hidden biodiversity. #LIBresearch

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Englisch: Map showing the Azores archipelago between North America, Europe, and Africa with a detailed satellite view of São Miguel Island highlighting the eastern area as the 136.5 km² extent of occurrence for the Azores Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina) alongside a photo of the bird perched on a branch

A new reference genome for the Azores bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina) provides a powerful tool to study and conserve one of Europe’s rarest birds. High-quality genomic data help track genetic diversity and support targeted conservation efforts. #LIBresearch

© Lopes et al., CC BY 4.
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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Close-up of insects trapped inside a cracked piece of amber

A newly discovered “monkey hopper” from mid-Cretaceous amber adds to our picture of ancient insect diversity. Fossils like these help trace the deep evolutionary history of grasshopper-like insects. #LIBresearch

Symbol picture: © Adobe Stock, Minakryn Ruslan

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Turning individual experience into shared community standards is key for large-scale genomics.
Great to see this collaborative effort highlighted! #LIBresearch

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Science and museums have histories shaped by broader societal forces.
Important #LIBresearch highlighting how political dynamics influenced the development of Museum Koenig — and why reflecting on this matters today.

PD Dr. Dennis Rödder

@droedder.bsky.social

1 month ago

Congratulations! Jointly supervised by me @leibnizlib.bsky.social and Prof. Dr. Thomas Ziegler, Nils Ostrowski successfully defended his BSc thesis #LIBResearch! Analyzing the impact of thousands of parameter combinations, he was able to improve model parametrization in SDMs significantly.

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 month ago

Circular snail plot showing assembly statistics with 1,000 size-ordered bins representing 0.1% each of a 493 million base pair assembly, dark grey bars indicating sequence length distribution, concentric rings for scaffold count, scaffold length, longest scaffold, N50 and N90 lengths, a pie chart for BUSCO completeness, and a composition legend for GC, AT, and N content percentages.

High-quality genomes help us study evolutionary uniqueness, population history and conservation needs: A new ERGA–BGE reference genome for the Pyrenean “milky worm” sheds light on the evolution & conservation of little-known soil biodiversity. #LIBresearch

© Novo et al., CC BY 4.

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 month ago

Closely related species living side by side — but using completely different ways to determine sex.
A fascinating example of how evolutionary mechanisms can help maintain species boundaries even when hybridisation occurs. #LIBresearch

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 month ago

Snail with a patterned shell crawling on a rough, textured surface

How do snails scrape algae off rocks — without destroying their own teeth? A new review explores the radula, the specialized feeding organ of mollusks, whose teeth are finely adapted to different diets and habitats. #LIBresearch

© Adobe Stock, Macronatura. es

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 month ago

Diagram showing main drivers of insect biodiversity change with interconnected arrows between five labeled photos: invasive alien species with a sphecid wasp on a plant, land use change with agricultural machinery, natural resource extraction with a sandy landscape, climate change with clouds in the sky, and pollution with industrial smokestacks.

Why are insects declining — and what can we do about it? A new review synthesises current evidence: habitat loss, land-use change, climate change and pollutants are key drivers reshaping insect communities worldwide. #LIBresearch

© Scherber et al., CC BY 4.0 @cscherber.bsky.social

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LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 month ago

A new contribution revisits the work of J.F.G. Umlauff and the historical infrastructures that shaped how natural history collections and information circulated. #LIBresearch

→ doi.org/10.3897/rio....

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PD Dr. Dennis Rödder

@droedder.bsky.social

1 month ago

Third day of the CBD expert meeting on the draft global guidance for sustainable wildlife management! Discussing revisions and streamlining the guideline, supported by #LIBResearch @leibnizlib.bsky.social

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 month ago

Great to see this work describing new species and revisiting known diversity — a reminder how much there is still to discover about insect–ant interactions. #LIBresearch

Fun Fact: Some beetles living with ants avoid detection by copying their hosts’ chemical signals.

PD Dr. Dennis Rödder

@droedder.bsky.social

1 month ago

A strong start to the CBD expert meeting on the draft global guidance for sustainable wildlife management! Day 1 featured rich, constructive discussions and valuable inputs from diverse perspectives, supported by #LIBResearch @leibnizlib.bsky.social Looking forward to continuing the review tomorrow.

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

1 month ago

Spannend zu sehen, wie LIB-Forschung auch außerhalb der Fachcommunity aufgegriffen wird — danke an RiffReporter für das Feature!
Ein gutes Beispiel dafür, wie Infrastruktur unbeabsichtigt Tierbewegungen beeinflussen kann. #LIBResearch

LIB

@leibnizlib.bsky.social

2 months ago

Fossil insects in amber can be preserved with lifelike detail.
Great to see these new elcanid species highlighted — offering rare insight into the deep evolutionary history of grasshoppers and their relatives. #LIBresearch

PD Dr. Dennis Rödder

@droedder.bsky.social

2 months ago

From Tiny Spines to Sticky Toes: What Cyrtodactylus Geckos Can Tell Us about the Evolution of Stickiness in Lizards Like anoles, geckos are famous for their adhesive toepads, enabling astonishing climbing abilities. Since adhesive toepads evolved independently in geckos and anoles, these two rather distantly rel…

@leibnizlib.bsky.social #LIBresearch From Tiny Spines to Sticky Toes: What Cyrtodactylus Geckos Can Tell Us about the Evolution of Stickiness in Lizards

Read more:

www.anoleannals.org/2026/02/03/f...