Group of the Month: Monogenea

Monogeneans are a group of parasitic flatworms (Platyheminthes). The group is species-rich and systematists assign them to a class within the flatworms. Together with flukes (class Trematoda) and tapeworms (class Cestoda) they form the superclass Neodermata. The name-giving feature Neodermata is that the original epidermis is replaced by a […]

Group of the month: Feather duster worms (Annelida, Sabellidae)

This month it is time for another group of polychaetes, the family Sabellidae. Sabellids are present from intertidal to abyssal marine waters all around the world (Rouse et al. 2022). They inhabit both soft substrates such as sand or mud and hard substrates such as rocks or coral […]

Group of the month: Nemertea

This month’s group of animals on the spotlight are nemerteans, also known as ribbon worms, vermiform creatures belonging to the phylum Nemertea. They include more than 1300 species, typically long and slender with soft contractile bodies. Most nemerteans are marine, predominantly benthic or bottom dwellers, but some species […]

Group of the month: Parergodrilidae (Annelida)

This month’s ”Group of the month” is a bit of shameless self-promotion. I will present an animal group today, where we conduct quite a lot of research on. However, it is nonetheless really interesting and worth to learn more about it. The family Parergodrilidae belongs to the annelids […]

Door 23: Bugs in a teacup!

Door 23! Advent is almost over and a new year is on the horizon – and with a new year comes new ideas and opportunities in life and research alike. For my article, I’ve chosen to present “The bug in a teacup—monitoring arthropod–plant associations with environmental DNA from […]

Door 20: Graham Budd – one of the greatest paleontologists of our time

As previously said, during this year FEZ advent calendar I have decided to briefly present you three works: a research paper, a researcher interview, and a book. For this occasion, my last contribution to this year FEZ advent calendar series, I would like to point out a publication […]

Door 18: Ancestors in Evolutionary Biology: Linear Thinking about Branching Trees

As commented on a previous post of this 2022 Frontiers in Evolutionary Zoology advent calendar I have decided to briefly present you three works: a research paper, a researcher interview, and a book. Today, it is the turn of posting one of my favorite scientific books of the year. At least in life […]

Door 15: Improving marine biodiversity assessments by sampling larvae

Another paper I really enjoyed reading this year was “Sampling multiple life stages significantly increases estimates of marine biodiversity”, published last April by Svetlana Maslakova and her colleagues. They argue that most surveys of marine life underestimate the total number of species because they rely almost entirely on […]

Door 12: Measuring Functional Diversity

Currently, the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) is going on in Montreal, Canada. Again a COP soon after an earlier COP, namely the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) has been held in November in Sharm-El-Sheick, Egypt. For many of us, including myself, the twin crises of climate change and […]

Group of the month: Spaghetti worms (Annelida, Terebellidae)

Text and pictures by Maël Grosse Among all the worm-like animals in the sea, polychaetes, or bristle worms, are probably the most diverse and striking group. This month is the opportunity to look at one of the most beautiful group of polychaetes (Fig. 1), the family Terebellidae Johnston, […]