Group of the Month: The Phylum Kinorhyncha

The phylum Kinorhyncha – often referred to as mud dragons – includes exclusively marine meiofaunal species. Meiofauna or meiobenthos comprises animals that are characterized by size (> 45 μm and < 1mm) in order to discriminate them from micro- and macrofauna. Accordingly, Kinorhyncha are usually < 1 mm in […]

Genomic Diversity of endangered bowhead whales

The bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) in the East Greenland Sea, the Svalbard region and the Barents Sea (referred to as the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents Sea (EGSB) stock) has been intensively studied for many years by members of the FEZ group. The stock is classified as Endangered in the International Union of […]

Animal of the month: Phylum Nematomorpha

By Liepa Adomaityte Many of us would agree that planet Earth is filled with incredible beauty, and the flora and fauna we observe are breathtaking. However, in many ways, mother nature can also be macabre, horrid, and contain beings that we may only imagine in our nightmares. One […]

Mapping distribution of cirratulid using Norwegian collections

We were fortunate to obtain finding from ArtsDatabanken for new project. Yesterday the contracts were signed and hence our project can start soon. We are an international team of researchers: Torsten Struck and Rita Austin from Norway, Arne Nygren from Sweden, and Maria Capa from Spain. Maybe not […]

Animal of the month: Intertidal and littoral rove beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

Insects are not particularly diverse in the marine and coastal habitats. This contrasts strikingly with their dominance in most terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, certain insect groups have been quite successful in coastal environment, and one good example is the beetle family Staphylinidae. Diversity of the littoral and intertidal staphylinids […]

Using skims of the genome to reveal if there are two genera in Allodia fungus gnats or not

Usually I work with marine invertebrates from a group called Lophotrochozoa, which comprises among others mollusks, segmented worms and flatworms. However, the paper featured in this blog is the first of several papers to come on insects. While the others will come from Marianne’s PhD project on Aegialites […]

Animal of the month: Cystophora cristata

By Pia Merete Eriksen and Rita M. Austin I think most of us conceptualize a seal as a comical or cute animal, darting through open waters – I don’t think many of us envisage blood-red balloons and bulging sacs, specialized for a ritual of dominance and mating. Enter, […]

Crustacean Silk from under the Sea

Another paper involving a FEZ group member, this time about silk from a marine crustacean group! What can we learn from the history of the silk of the Tanaids, and how can it help us make better materials in the future?

Group of the month: Phylum Bryozoa

Here at our blog, we will keep writing posts about our current projects, but we’ll also start a new blog series; group of the month. To kick start the new year and the new series, I will present the first group: Bryozoa. As you might have understood by […]

International Seasons Greetings

Christmas is just around the corner, so it’s time to open the last door of our advent calendar. We hope you enjoyed this year’s wrap up. 2021 was a demanding year, but quite successful for our group, so we still have a lot to celebrate! We wish all […]