Our hagfish-in-training/Crown Group Tetsutodines post-doc Tetsuto Miyashita gave a well-received EvMorph talk tonight which focused on two themes: (1) reconciling the morphological and molecular evidence of Cyclostomes and (2) investigating whether there is an ammocoete-like vertebrate ancestor. He livened his talk up with engaging histories of lampreys in state emblems, horror stories of lampreys (go read Surfeit of Lampreys), and many photos/videos of hagfish slime. A high point of his seminar showed a dolphin with a hagfish stuck in its blowhole, clearly suggesting that tetrapods are the inferior group. Tetsuto’s talk culminated in the longest session of applause yet!
Above – getting ready
Tetsuto becomes an nkx3.2 mutant
Tetsuto admires his stretchy skin, much like that of a hagfish’s body