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Dear Subscribers,

The new year is off to a snowy start in Lawrence, KS, thanks to this weekend's winter storm. Due to the severity of the weather, we decided to close the museum on Sunday, resulting in the cancellation of our National Bird Day event. But fear not, bird enthusiasts! We will reschedule our avian-themed scavenger hunt for February 14-16, coinciding with the Great Backyard Bird Count. This event is a global effort to help scientists better understand and protect birds by taking just 15 minutes out of your day to identify and count birds in your backyard. Stay tuned for more details via social media and next month's newsletter.

Important Closures:

🔹 The museum will be closed today, Tuesday, January 7, due to the KU campus closure as crews continue clearing roads, sidewalks, and parking lots across the area.

🔹 Additionally, the museum will be closed Thursday, January 9, in observance of the National Day of Mourning for President Carter, as announced by the University of Kansas.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely, 

Natalie Vondrak
Communications Coordinator 

Museum Selfie Day

Winter Welcome

Pterygoplichthys (KUI 43539), KU Ichthyology 
In collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the Ichthyology Division has been receiving voucher specimens to add to its collection and document the distributions of Kansas fish fauna. Recently, during a routine lake survey in Ogden, Riley County, they caught a Pterygoplichthys (armored catfish), also known as a "Sailfin Pleco," which is common in the aquarium trade. Native to South and Central America, these algae eaters have recently been found as far north as Texas, Florida, and Nevada. As far as we know, this is the first recorded specimen in Kansas. Likely an aquarium release, it’s doubtful that the fish would survive a Kansas winter, but it remains an interesting discovery.

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Prepapalooza 2024 — the friendly specimen preparation competition between the KU Mammalogy and Ornithology Divisions was a great success! Team Birds held onto their lead and emerged victorious, with 279 points to Mammalogy’s 267. Kudos to all the dedicated preparators — staff and students alike — who helped create so many exceptional study skins.

Vertebrate Paleontology graduate student Kevin Mulcahy was spotted in the Kansas Union last month, representing the Self Graduate Program and showcasing his research on Uintatheres, large mammals from the Uintan age. The Self Graduate Program provides financial support and professional development to promising graduate student leaders.

In December 2024, Vertebrate Paleontology graduate student Chenchen Shen successfully defended his dissertation on the evolution of early ray-finned fishes from the Black Shale. His research sheds light on a critical chapter in aquatic vertebrate evolution. Congrats, Chenchen!

Herpetology graduate student Javier Torres successfully defended his dissertation with honors last month. Javier's groundbreaking research focuses on how overwater dispersal and speciation with gene flow contribute to the remarkable diversity of Cuban anole lizards. Now, with his PhD in hand, Javier will head to the University of Nebraska as a postdoctoral researcher studying insect genomics. Congrats!

Nothing says camaraderie like matching T-shirts! Graduate students Anahi Quezada, Andrés Herrera Motta, and Jennifer Ramos Duval, along with Postdoctoral Researcher Claudia Nuñez Penichet and Senior Scientist Jorge Soberón, designed a unique T-shirt featuring a niche model of the animals they study: butterflies, moths, bees, bats, and snouters (term used for a fictional species created by Konrad Lorenz).