John P. Friel, Ph.D.
@friel
Director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History • He/Him • 🐟Zoologist 🦈
There is something fishy about my Google Scholar word cloud. scholargoggler.com
I might have an extra set of these stickers I can donate to the cause.
This a fin spine from either the dorsal or anal fin of a bony fish. In the image below it would correspond to the distal most skeletal element of the fins labeled 76 & 77.
See fossil shark teeth, post fossil shark teeth for #SharkWeek. Behold this pile of Goblin Shark (Scapanorhynchus texanus) teeth from the Eutaw Formation of Alabama. I collect these each summer to be giveaways at museum outreach events.
Of course I had to start searching for more Malm Whale images and found this one. Now I want to start a rumor that this whale was also the inspiration for the Kool-Aid Man "Wall Burst" ad campaign. Oh yeah!
Summer romance is alive and well. Behold this pair of horny toads I spotted on my morning walk with my dogs.🌿 www.inaturalist.org/observations...
You: Please act normal, you need these people to like you. Me: OK! People: Hi. Me: Remoras, marine fish known for attaching themselves to larger marine animals, have been recently documented plunging into the cloacal orifice of manta rays, a behavior scientists officially named "cloacal diving".
The resemblance is uncanny! What a perfect name for this awesome fish. 🐟🧪
Cool new study on converge in pharyngeal jaw morphology in molluscivorous catfishes and cichlids. 🐟🧪 R. F. Bentley, R. A. Collins, M. J. Genner, 2026. Evolutionary innovation of functional fused molariform pharyngeal jaws in suckermouth catfishes, Evol. J. Linn. Soc. doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Behold this stunning Eastern Copperhead. This morning I relocated this individual for a neighbor and was reminded just how magnificent these maligned creatures are, and was thankful that a kind soul reached out to me rather than killed it on the spot out of fear. 🌿
Crispim JL, P Argüello, GSC Silva, C Oliveira, KR Luckenbill & MH Sabaj, 2026. After eight decades: a new species of Pterobunocephalus (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) from the upper Putumayo, Napo and Pastaza rivers, Ecuador. Neotropical Ichthyology 24:e250162.🐟🧪 doi.org/10.1590/1982...
This bird was stunning! Here is my shot of the same male Indigo Bunting right before it was released after being tagged by Alabama Audubon.
Wait, a new GAR Challenger from the Old World has entered this year's GARch Madness competition. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belonop...
Cool AL fossil find! Drumheller, S. K., Robin O’keefe, F., Mayhall, M. L., Stalker, E., & Brochu, C. A. (2026). A bite to the throat: A probable Xiphactinus attack on a Polycotylus from the Cretaceous Mooreville Chalk of Alabama, U.S.A. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi.org/10.1080/0272...
Say hello to my newest Alligator #Gar friend that I met this past weekend at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
Gotta Catch 'Em All! Behold these #Pokémon themed cards created by #ALMNH staff and students for an upcoming public event. Each card features common fossil shark teeth found in the Black Belt region of Alabama. #FossilFriday
Laissez les bons temps rouler! A coworker just gifted me this bead necklace featuring the infamous sketch of Crichton Leprechaun for use on both Mardi Gras and St. Patricks Day in Alabama. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crichto...
When the lead photo is AI-generated, I have to wonder if the story is as well.
Centrophorus harrissoni, for me, because it does not live up to its common name.
Ever wonder what a luchador might wear for #GarWeek? Now you know. www.ebay.com/itm/35540069...
Fellow fish nerds, I'm sharing a link to a free PDF of "The Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia". This new book provides a summary of the taxonomy, distribution, and biology of all freshwater fishes between the Bosphorus, Azerbaijan, Yemen, and Iran. 🐟 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Oh that's the posterior clavicle element (clvb in the figure below). I had to check Grande & Bemis 1998 for confirmation.😀
Might as well enjoy this infographic as the paleo world waits for Nature to update its website...