Think butterfly genomics is a simple topic? Think again, but this time think alongside Zac MacDonald and Julian Dupuis. Not only are they answering some of the most interesting contemporary conservation questions, but they’re doing so using a very curious butterfly as their model organism. “One of the difficult things with studying these kinds of butterflies….is we don't really understand fitness or adaptive value as well as we do in cougars or in foxes or in dogs or in other vertebrates that we've studied a lot more.” Julian says. “We don't really have these characteristic signals of, what does inbreeding depression look like? We just don't have that kind of information in butterflies.”
Listen in to learn about cutting edge genomics from certified self-described “crazy butterfly people” and expand your idea of what is possible in conservation.
Zac and Julian’s paper “Genomic and ecological divergence support recognition of a new species of endangered Satyrium butterfly (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)” is in volume 1234 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1234.143893
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Zac Macdonald and Julian Dupuis - Transcript
New Species: Satyrium curiosolus
Episode image credit: MacDonald et. al (2025)
Follow Zac on instagram: @wild_about_the_wild_things
Another paper by Zac and Julian on the future of butterfly conservation: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17657
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Deep-sea isopods come in all shapes and sizes, and Henry Knauber is excited to see all of them. In this paper, he and his coauthors describe five new species and redescribe another as part of a large expedition to examine the biodiversity of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench region of the northwest Pacific Ocean. These new species are part of what he calls his “god complex,” a cluster of closely-related cryptic species he has spent much of his scientific career distinguishing and naming after Greek gods and mythical characters. Listen along as Henry describes a paper that is a culmination of years of work, and brings you deep into the sea to examine these amazing creatures in a new way.
Henry Knauber’s paper “Across trench and ridge: description of five new species of the Haploniscus belyaevi Birstein, 1963 species complex (Isopoda, Haploniscidae) from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench region” is in volume 101 issue 2 of Zoosystematics and Evolution.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.137663
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Henry Knauber - Transcript
New Species: Haploniscus apaticus, Haploniscus erebus, Haploniscus hades, Haploniscus kerberos, and Haploniscus nyx.
Episode image credit: Henry Knauber
Check out Henry’s German Science Communication Platform called "Abyssarium" on Instagram: @abyss.arium
Also take a look at @oceanspecies on instagram for more work like Henry’s
Read part of Henry’s master’s thesis on the delineation of the Haploniscus belyaevi species complex: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2022.2099477
A joyful deep-sea specimen encounter: coverage of the first footage of a Colossal Squid and an interview by Science Friday: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/colossal-squid-video/
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
“Serendipity is a real grabbing force of science,” says Léo Laborieux as he shares his experience describing his new species of scorpion. While at a remote research station in the Colombian rainforest, Léo found a handful of scorpions that exhibited a unique venom ‘flicking’ behavior. Armed only with his phone and a few basic supplies, Léo documented the behavior, diagnosed the scorpions as being a new species, and came to fascinating conclusions about venom biomechanics. In this episode he brings us deep into the world of scorpion venoms and shares his love of these creatures and their startling diversity.
Léo Laborieux’ paper “Biomechanics of venom delivery in South America’s first toxungen-spraying scorpion” is in the December 2024 edition of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae161
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Léo Laborieux - Transcript
New Species: Tityus achilles
Episode image credit: Léo Laborieux
Léo’s first new species from a mountain near his hometown: https://doi.org/10.57800/faunitaxys-10(47)
Follow Léo on Instagram @lhommedesboas
Or connect on Bluesky @6legsandup.blsky.socialRead his papers on Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leo_Laborieux?ev=hdr_xprf
Scrappy Science: https://www.scrappyscience.org
Global Alliance of Community Science Workshops: https://www.communityscienceworkshops.org
Other scorpion episodes from this podcast:
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Begonias are known around the world as a plant of beauty and diversity. What can they teach us about the world around us? Through his work on Begonias and other flowering plants found in Northeast India, Professor Dipankar Borah sees the world differently. It’s not just for his own benefit though.
“Much of my time is spent making students aware of their surroundings,” He says. “We trek to forests, cook food from the wilderness, and then find joy in the simple yet profound experiences. Through these moments of exploration and laughter, I hope to rekindle their sense of wonder and then help them build the lasting bond with nature.”
In this episode, let Dr. Borah invite you with joy and wonder into the world of Begonias.
Dipankar Borah’s paper “A new species Begonia ziroensis and a new record of Begonia siamensis from Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India” is in volume 63 issue 1 of the New Zealand Journal of Botany.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2023.2295439
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Dipankar Borah - Transcript
New Species: Begonia ziroensis
Episode image credit: Dipankar Borah
Read more on Dipankar’s Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dipankar-Borah
And Follow him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dipu.borah2/
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
For some people, a box of 100-year-old bee flies might seem daunting, but for Lisa Rollinson and Allan Cabrero, It was an exciting challenge. As part of a Smithsonian-based internship, Lisa worked with Allan to identify the flies, creating a new key for several genera and discovering a new species along the way.
Flies aren’t the most charismatic group, but Lisa sees them as an unexpected opportunity to introduce people to taxonomy. “I think science can be really good for getting people curious and getting them invested in things they don’t think about very often, like flies,” she says. “I think that people are often more scientific than they actually think.” Listen in for a great conversation about bee flies and making accessible taxonomic resources that will hopefully stand the test of time. Plus, learn the sweet naming decision that makes this new species the “Sister Bug.”
Lisa Rollinson and Allan Cabrero’s paper “Species discovery in Southern African bee flies (Diptera, Bombyliidae): A new species in the revised genus Enica (Macquart, 1834)” is in volume 66 Issue 1 of African Invertebrates.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/afrinvertebr.66.129611
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Lisa and Allan - Transcript
New Species: Enica adelphe
Episode image credit: Lisa Rollinson
Lucid Builder keys: https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v4/enica
Follow Lisa on Twitter/X: @LisaRollinson5
Follow Allan on Instagram: @allan_the_entomologist
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Shantanu Joshi is fascinated with creatures of all kinds, but especially damselflies, the small quick fliers of the order Odonata. In this episode he takes us deep into the forests of Northeast India, a place of immense beauty and interfering colonial history. Undersampling and poor specimen quality are a few reasons the diversity of this area is not well known, and Shantanu and his coauthors are determined to fill in the gaps. As with his project The Odonata of India, Shantanu shares in incredible detail the morphology, ecology, and even behaviors of these two new species, and discusses what their presence means for two unique and isolated habitats.
Shantanu’s paper “Description of Protosticta khasia sp. nov. and Yunnanosticta siangi sp. nov., with new records of P. samtsensis from Northeast India” is in volume 5448 of Zootaxa.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5448.3.2
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Shantanu Joshi - Transcript
Check out Shantanu’s amazing website, Odonata of India: https://www.indianodonata.org/
And follow him on Instagram: @odonataofindia
New Species: Protosticta khasia and Yunnanosticta siangi
Episode image credit: Shantanu Joshi
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
What if I told you that the oldest known biotic association of arthropods is a piece of Lebanese amber from the Cretaceous period? At the same time that flowering plants were diversifying, astigmatid mites were finding a very convenient way to get around: on the backs of termites. Can mites and termites be friends? How does one identify a tiny mite specimen without damaging its equally-important host? Learn the answers to these questions and more from Dr. Hemen Sendi on this episode of the New Species Podcast.
Hemen’s paper “The oldest continuous association between astigmatid mites and termites preserved in Cretaceous amber reveals the evolutionary significance of phoresy” is in volume 25 of BMC Ecology and Evolution.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-025-02351-5
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Hemen Sendi - Transcript
New Species: Plesioglyphus lebanotermi
Episode image credit: Hemen Sendi
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Sunflowers come in all shapes and sizes, and the group has gained a new member. Nicknamed the “woolly devil,” Ovicula biradiata is the product of the amazing bi-national collaboration between taxonomists, conservationists, and community scientists in Big Bend National Park. But it comes at a time when the future of National Parks is uncertain.
“I think this particular discovery has inspired a lot of people outside of the world of biodiversity science to recognize that we still have a lot of work to do in terms of just describing the biodiversity in environments as iconic as the US National Parks” says Isaac Lichter Marck, one of the taxonomists involved in the description. “We assume that because it's found within a US national park that it'll be within an environment that's preserved into the future. That's been the ideal of national parks. But I think in the current reality we have to be cautious about that assumption.”
Listen in to learn more about Isaac and his work, the tremendous effort that went into this discovery, and what the future might look like for this little plant and others.
Isaac Lichter Marck’s paper “Ovicula biradiata, a new genus of Compositae from Big Bend National Park in Trans-Pecos Texas” is in issue 252 of Phytokeys
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.252.137624
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Isaac Lichter Marck - Transcript
New Species: Ovicula biradiata
Episode image credit: Cathy Hoyt
Other articles about this new species:
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308248/wooly-devil-new-species-genus-big-bend
https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/news/new-plant-species-discovered-in-big-bend.htm
Articles about cuts to National Parks staff and funding:
www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx7kez4vx2o
www.npr.org/2025/02/28/nx-s1-5304434/what-doge-cuts-could-mean-for-national-park-visitors
www.npca.org/articles/6614-five-ways-president-trump-s-executive-orders-could-harm-national-parks
Follow Isaac on social media:
Bluesky: @ca-naturalist.bsky.social
Instagram: California_naturalist
Twitter: @ca-naturalist
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Someone who identifies as a nature lover might not be excited to see trees cut down or large machines rolling across the forest floor. Science doesn’t always align with everyone’s expectations, and often scientists have to explain their work to audiences that aren’t interested or who don’t agree. Ethan Tapper has many of these conversations. Ethan works to manage Vermont forests sustainably and help them thrive, which often includes practices that might seem destructive or contrary to a forest’s best interests. Science is about communicating, and Ethan has worked hard to use communication as a tool to make caring for forests a community issue.
What is the role of a scientist in explaining their work? How do we communicate unfamiliar scientific topics to people who already might have preconceived notions about them? These are some of the questions Ethan tackles in this episode.
Ethan’s book can be found here, and wherever books are sold:
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Ethan Tapper - Transcript
Follow Ethan on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and TikTok: @howtoloveaforest
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast), and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like free bonus episodes or would like to support the podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Amanda and I discuss and review Bats! (1999)
Our ratings:
Enjoyability: 🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇
Accuracy: 🦇🦇 🦇 🦇 🦇
This episode is the first in a new bonus series where I watch B-list horror movies with scientists and we rate them on accuracy and enjoyability.
All episodes are free, for future episodes you will just have to sign up through Patreon at Patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod. If you choose to support the podcast with a paid subscription, it is really appreciated! My 2025 goal is to cover the cost of hosting the website (about $80/year) which would be $7/month.
Amanda is a PhD candidate at Portland State University specializing in bat ecology and evolution. You can find her work here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amanda-Grunwald
Listen to her New Species Podcast episode: https://www.newspeciespodcast.net/all-episodes/a-new-bat-with-amanda-grunwald
On an expedition to Madagascar, Matjaž Gregorič and his research team came upon a damaged termite nest that had a few other invertebrate visitors. When they experimentally damaged the nest again, they found two unexpected things: spiders ballooning in to prey on the termites as they rebuilt, and hopeful ants standing by to steal termites from those spiders. It created what the authors called “a perilous Malagasy triad”, a three-way predator-prey-kleptoparasite interaction that tells a very interesting story about chemical signaling and arthropod behavior. As a bonus, they identified the spider involved as a brand new genus and species, named Vigdisia praesidens to honor Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Iceland’s first female president. Listen in as researcher Matjaž Gregorič gives us the full story, as well as his thoughts on why it’s important to pursue science for science’s sake.
Matjaž Gregorič’s paper “A perilous Malagasy triad: a spider (Vigdisia praesidens, gen. and sp. nov.) and an ant compete for termite food” is in the July 14th issue of New Zealand Journal of Zoology.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2024.2373185
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Matjaž Gregorič - Transcript
New Species: Vigdisia praesidens
More on Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the world’s first democratically-elected female president (Iceland, 1980-1996): https://www.councilwomenworldleaders.org/vigdiacutes-finnbogadoacutettir.html
An article about this paper: https://www.icelandreview.com/news/new-spider-species-named-after-icelandic-president/
Videos of the kleptoparasitic behavior: https://www.youtube.com/@ezlab7631/videos
Episode image credit: Matjaž Gregorič
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Rodrigo’s paper “Idiopyrgus Pilsbry, 1911 (Gastropoda, Tomichiidae): a relict genus radiating into subterranean environments” is in November 8th issue of Zoosystematics and Evolution
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.100.136428
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Rodrigo Salvador - Transcript
Follow Rodrigo on X/Bluesky: @Kraken_Scholar and @krakenscholar.bsky.social
Follow the Journal of Geek Studies on X/Bluesky:@JGeekStudies and @jgeekstudies.bsky.social
New Species: Idiopyrgus eowynae, Idiopyrgus meriadoci
Episode image credit: Rodrigo Salvador
Journal of Geek Studies: https://jgeekstudies.org/
Pensoft article, “The Snellowship of the Ring”: https://blog.pensoft.net/2024/11/11/the-shellowship-of-the-ring-two-new-snail-species-named-after-tolkien-characters/
Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
What happens when a hymenopterist finds a mysterious arachnid in a Danish hothouse? Sean Birk Bek Craig was exploring the floor of a hothouse, also known as a greenhouse, when he came upon an interesting creature. “I could see that it was an arachnid when I looked up close,” he said, “but immediately just looking at it with my eyes… I was really perplexed about what the devil that was!” Short-tailed whip-scorpions, or members of the order Schizomida, are tiny arachnids who aren’t typically in Denmark, but with a lot of research, Sean concluded it had probably been accidentally imported on one of the tropical plants, possibly from Thailand. With a few ups and downs, Sean described it as his very first new species, and gave it a specific epithet of “serendipitus” after the unexpected way it came into his life.
Sean’s paper “First records of the order Schizomida from tropical hothouses in Denmark: Stenochrus portoricensis and a new species of Bamazomus (Schizomida: Hubbardiidae)” is in issue 67 of Arachnology Letters.
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Sean Birk Bek Craig - Transcript
New Species: Bamazomus serendipitus
Episode image credit: Sean Birk Bek Craig
Find Sean on X/Twitter: @BekBirk
Read the paper describing Materia boggildi: https://bioone.org/journals/arachnology/volume-19/issue-6/arac.2023.19.6.888/A-new-Masteria-Araneae--Dipluridae-from-tropical-hothouses-in/10.13156/arac.2023.19.6.888.short
Read the paper that nearly made Sean’s new species a synonym:
https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/121754/
Read the paper describing a new Schizomid genus from Germany:
https://arages.de/10.5431/aramit4906
Read Abrams’ paper “Too Hot to Handle”: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790319301824
Enjoy the World Schizomida Catalog: https://wac.nmbe.ch/order/schizomida/5
Read Matty’s thesis on biologists: https://research.ku.dk/search/result/?pure=en/publications/for-the-love-of-the-living(049e101d-c89d-472f-ba7a-f7a62e8337a4).html
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
In this episode, Danniella Sherwood brings us two new pseudoscorpions from Ascension Island, one of the most remote islands in the world. Ascension’s ecological history is full of many twists and turns, and it is home to amazing biodiversity that is in desperate need of conservation. Danni and her team worked together to address this need, producing a paper titled ‘David and Goliath’ with one very small and one very large new species. They also provide new faunistic records, or records that show that Ascension and the nearby Boatswain Bird Island are home to stunning endemic pseudoscorpion diversity.
One of my favorite things about Danni’s story is the emphasis she places on teamwork. “It takes a village to produce good research,” She says. “it takes a village to work towards visions of conserving invertebrates in their habitats. You need to have people from all fields, all specialties, all viewpoints in order to make something that’s really impactful, really lasting and enduring to the fields of conservation and ecology and taxonomy.” Listen to this episode for a meaningful story of teamwork and community, and to learn the importance of taxonomy’s role in conserving island flora and fauna.
Danniella Sherwood’s paper “David and Goliath: on the pseudoscorpions of Ascension Island, including the world’s largest, Garypus titanius Beier, 1961, and a new, minute, Neocheiridium Beier, 1932 (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)” is in issue 42 of Natura Somogyienis.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.24394/NatSom.2024.42.131
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Danni Sherwood 2 - Transcript
Listen to Danni’s other New Species episode about St. Helenian wolf spiders: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0o8dL8yEpRiFtMO1gVNjkc?si=c068e5d3b6fb40f7
New Species: Garypus ellickae and Neocheiridium ashmoleorum
Episode image credit: Adam Sharp
Follow the Ascension Island Government Conservation Directorate here:
https://www.facebook.com/AscensionIslandConservation
https://twitter.com/aigconservation
Follow Danni’s research on all manner of arachnids here:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Danniella-Sherwood
Follow the Species Recovery Trust:
https://www.facebook.com/TheSpeciesRecoveryTrust/
https://www.twitter.com/speciesrecovery
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
This paper started because Chloé Löis Fourreau and Marcos Teixeira were both too sick to dive during a NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) bioblitz expedition in the Red Sea. Hoping to at least collect something, they swam to the shoreline and began snorkeling in the shallow water. When they began turning over rocks, what felt like a wasted day turned into an amazing intertidal discovery. In this episode, Chloé and Marcos are joined by their colleague Juan Sempere-Valverde to tell the exciting story of their new segmented polychaete worm, and to encourage everyone to pay attention to annelids and the great value they bring to science.
Just a quick disclaimer for this episode, for some reason my primary recording didn’t save so i’m using the backup. As a result the quality is not great, and for that I really apologize! A reminder that every episode has a transcript (below) so please use that to aid in any hard-to-hear parts.
Chloé Löis Fourreau, Marcos A.L. Teixeira, and Juan Sempere-Valverde’s paper “Two new records and description of a new Perinereis (Annelida, Nereididae) species for the Saudi Arabian Red Sea region” is in volume 1196 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1196.115260
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Chloé Löis Fourreau, Marcos Teixeira, and Juan Sempere-Valverde - Transcript
New Species: Perinereis kaustiana
Episode image credit: Juan Sempere-Valverde
New Species: Perinereis kaustiana
Episode image credit: Juan Sempere-Valverde
Follow Chloé on Twitter: ChaoticChloeia
Follow Juan on Instagram: @bem_lab and @zoologiaus
Read Marcos’ recent paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2022.2116124
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
Louis Nastasi has a deep love of wasps, and a particular fascination with Cynipid wasps, gall wasps that can specialize on just a few plants or even a single species. In this episode he tells us about their diversity and the tangled phylogenies he works on, and answers the question his paper poses; “Cryptic or underworked?” There’s so much we don’t know about gall wasps, and it has so many implications for conservation, agriculture, and more!
Louis Nastasi’s paper “Cryptic or underworked? Taxonomic revision of the Antistrophus rufus species complex (Cynipoidea, Aulacideini)” is in volume 97 of the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.121918
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Louis Nastasi - Transcript
New Species: Antistrophus laurenae
Episode image credit: Antoine Guiguet
Send Louis a Silphium plant gall! Email him at: LFN5093@psu.edu
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
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What can tiny, flightless beetles tell us about the history of mountain geography and climate? It turns out, quite a bit! In this episode, Dr. Adam Haberski introduces us to the wild world of Staphylinid beetles, some of the most diverse creatures on the planet. We learn about the joys (and pitfalls) of collecting in the Southern Appalachians, as well as their billion-year-old history and the amazing beetle lineages that they helped shape.
Adam Haberski’s paper “A review of Nearctic Lathrobium (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), with revision and descriptions of new flightless species from the mountains of the southeastern U.S.” is in volume 1198 of Zookeys.
It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1198.118355
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Adam Haberski - Transcript
New Species: Lathrobium balsamense, Lathrobium camplyacra, Lathrobium islae, Lathrobium lividum, Lathrobium smokiense, Lathrobium absconditum, Lathrobium hardeni, Lathrobium lapidum, Lathrobium solum, and Lathrobium thompsonorum
Episode image credit: Mike Caterino
Check out Adam’s amazing photography on instagram: @alaskamacro
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
In part 3 of Taxonomy Basics, Marc Milne of the University of Indianapolis tells us all about the process of identifying and publishing new species. He has tips and tricks for microscope work, finding online resources, and many other facets of the description process.
Marc is a spider taxonomist and ecologist who specializes in several different groups including Linyphiids and Nesticids. He is also a professor of Biology, and teaches classes that include ecology and genetics.
Taxonomy Basics is a three part series on basic components of species description including collecting, preserving, and describing new species. This series focuses on entomological specimens, but has concepts that work across disciplines. Listen in as Evan Waite, Ashleigh Whiffin, and Marc Milne share their guidelines and discuss important concepts in taxonomy, curation, and beyond.
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Marc Milne - Transcript
Episode image credit: Marshal Hedin
Follow Marc on twitter: @forthespiders
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
The World Spider Catalog: https://wsc.nmbe.ch/
Spiders of North America: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691175614/spiders-of-north-america
Salticidae of the World: https://www.jumping-spiders.com/
American Arachnological Society Website State-by-State Guide: https://www.americanarachnology.org/about-arachnids/arachnid-orders/
LinEpig: https://linepig.fieldmuseum.org/
All Bugs Go to Kevin (Facebook Group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/AllBugsGoToKevin
iNaturalist: www.iNaturalist.org
BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/
Some scientists to learn from online:
The Bug Chicks: https://www.thebugchicks.com/
Entomologia Asturias (Christian Pertegal): https://www.twitch.tv/entomologiaasturias
Entomology Abby: https://www.instagram.com/entomologyabby/?hl=en
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
In part 2 of Taxonomy Basics, Ashleigh Whiffin of National Museums Scotland brings us into the entomology collection to learn the fundamentals of curation and preservation, including which pins to use, the importance of collection data, and much more.
Ashleigh is responsible for the care and development of a collection of 2.5 million insect specimens. She is particularly interested in collections care and science communication, and is a coleopterist, specializing in Carrion beetles (Silphidae). In the UK, she works with the Biological Records Centre to co-organise a National Recording Scheme for Carrion Beetles, promoting the importance of the group and encouraging more people to record them. In 2020, she co-authored an atlas on Silphids and Histerids and has featured on national TV, sharing her passion for these beetles.
Ashleigh recently helped develop a new training resource hosted on the National Museums Scotland website:
This self-guided resource is an introduction to Caring for Entomology Collections, covering the basics through a combination of videos and text, as well as links for where to go for additional information.
Taxonomy Basics is a three part series on basic components of species description including collecting, preserving, and describing new species. This series focuses on entomological specimens, but has concepts that work across disciplines. Listen in as Evan Waite, Ashleigh Whiffin, and Marc Milne share their guidelines and discuss important concepts in taxonomy, curation, and beyond.
A transcript of this episode can be found here: Ashleigh Whiffin - Transcript
Episode image credit: Molly Wilders
Connect with Ashleigh on Instagram/Threads: @ash_whiffin
X: @AshWhiffin
BlueSky: @ashwhffin.bsky.social
More info here: https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections-research/collections-departments/natural-sciences/meet-the-team/ashleigh-whiffin/
Places to be involved in virtual curation and other citizen science projects:
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
In part 1 of Taxonomy Basics, Evan Waite from Arizona State University teaches us all about collecting entomological specimens. From which traps to use to tips on sharing your collection with others, Evan gives us all of the details with some great stories along the way.
Evan is a coleopterist and PhD Candidate at Arizona State University. His work focuses on ground beetles, but he’s broadly interested in beetle diversity and has a personal collection that includes over 2,000 specimens from all across the arthropod world. His collecting and taxonomic work has taken him across the country to many unique habitats, as well as a variety of entomological collections.
Taxonomy Basics is a three part series on basic components of species description including collecting, preserving, and describing new species. This series focuses on entomological specimens, but has concepts that work across disciplines. Listen in as Evan Waite, Ashleigh Wiffin, and Marc Milne share their guidelines and discuss important concepts in taxonomy, curation, and beyond.
Connect with Evan online: @Evantomology on all platforms
Read Evan’s paper about collecting bias, including a case study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10323768/
Watch Evan’s talk “A Journey from Bugs to Birds” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asZWkrmAXZ4&t=3s
Chris Grinter’s website with a guide to collecting permits:
https://www.theskepticalmoth.com/collecting-permits/
UC Davis guide: How to Collect Insects: https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/how-collect-insects
A transcript of this episode can be found here:
Episode image credit: Evan Waite
Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast)
Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)
If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod
