Melissa Cristina Márquez
@mcmsharksxx
Multi-hyphenate #LatinainSTEM 🇵🇷🇲🇽 (she/her) | wildlife educator & marine scientist 🦈 #sharks #scicomm | writer: @forbesscience
For those wondering where they can find me on socials now: Facebook and Instagram (look up Melissa Cristina Márquez) Instagram's Threads (@ melissacristinamarquez) BlueSky (@ melissacmarquez.bsky.social) And I have a Substack where I yap a bit more: melissacristinamarquez.substack.com
My values no longer align with what Twitter (X) represents. I’ll keep my profile & tweets here but will only share big news & articles going forward. I’m focusing on other platforms & hope you’ll follow me there for a more positive, engaging space 💙
I finally got the picture. After 99 attempts trying to get a photo of Durdle door & our Milky Way !! I got it!!! 😮yay!!! Was it worth it 🤔 I hope you like it!!! In fact,I hope you love it, let me know
Another cool #finfact about #sharks: some species are highly migratory. Great whites, tiger sharks, and other species travel thousands of kilometers for feeding, mating, or giving birth.
#Finfact: Some sharks can “walk.” I'm not kidding - epaulette sharks use their fins to "walk" along reefs and tide pools. Don't worry, you won't see them wandering the seafood aisle of your local grocery story any time soon.
#Finfact: When flipped upside down, many sharks enter "tonic immobility" — a temporary, and thought to be harmless frozen state. More research has to be done into this state.
#Finfact: Did you know... sharks continuously replace their teeth. Some species can go through 30,000 teeth in their lifetime! Woah!
#Finfact: #Sharks don’t have bones. Instead, their skeletons are made of cartilage (psst, that's the same flexible material in your nose and ears!).
#Finfact: #Sharks are threatened by humans, not the other way around. Millions are killed each year due to overfishing, finning, and bycatch, yet sharks kill fewer than 10 humans annually worldwide.
🦈 Earlier this week was #WorldSharkAwarenessDay. Sharks are often villainized, but are actually under threat from overfishing and other human activities. One way we can protect sharks: Connecting our marine protected areas. pewtrsts.org/40UcTAS 📸 Jeff Rotman/Getty Images
👏 Huge congratulations to @Go_CheshireWest for becoming the 35th UK council to pass a #Motion4theOcean! Shout out to Cllrs Waddelove & Eardley for their leadership – a great example of local Conservative action for our oceans 🌊 Kudos to @EG_Cunningham for her leadership 💙
Last night @Go_CheshireWest became the 35th Council to pass a ‘Motion for the Ocean’ and only the 2nd in the North West after Blackpool Council. We are the 6th ‘inland’ council to do so in England. Very proud to have championed this alongside @AdrianWaddelove #Motion4theOcean 🧵
Neural crest cells doing their pigment thing. 🤩 #DevBio
A rare spot-less giraffe has been born at a Tennessee zoo. It is believed to be the only known solid-colored reticulated giraffe in the world. ☺️
The Society for Marine Mammalogy’s Official List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies has been updated. Visit the SMM website for the full list: marinemammalscience.org/science-and-pu… Image: Uko Gorter 2025 #SMM #Marinemammal
Did you know only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled? ♻️ Myths about plastic are fueling the plastic pollution crisis. Uncover the real facts this #PlasticFreeJuly and learn how we can #BreakFreeFromPlastic: oceana.ly/3IkEt46
🔬 Researchers report the rediscovery of 𝐶𝑦𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑠 𝑚𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖, in northern Yucatán mangroves , Mexico. This enigmatic species was described in 1936, and since then, no further collection of specimens have been reported. 🔒 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jf…
Enjoy two blue sharks because…you deserve two blue sharks in your life.
This Crowned Aeolis (Facelina auriculata) photo is special for more than just its striking blue colors — it's also among the first iNaturalist observations of the species in Canada. 📷 hunterefs on iNaturalist 📍 Canada 🔗: inaturalist.org/observations/2… #ObservationOfTheDay
Problem: Only about 9% of all plastic waste has been recycled. One solution? Next month, world leaders can agree to the world’s first global plastic treaty—protecting both people and the planet. pewtrsts.org/40Ux01M
2024 saw a global bleaching event, but bleaching doesn't always mean corals die. Using drones, we found the 2024 bleaching event killed over 90% of shallow corals at Lizard Island. We have to act!! @Griffith_Uni @jcu @CSIRO @Macquarie_Uni @GeoNadirAu link.springer.com/article/10.100…
#Finfact: #Sharks play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems. As top predators, they help keep other populations in balance and the marine food web healthy.
Why Even Sharks Avoid Electric Rays forbes.com/sites/melissac… Despite the size and strength of sharks, electric rays may have one of the most effective defenses in the ocean—electric shocks.
#Finfact: There are over 500 species of sharks, ranging from the tiny dwarf lanternshark (Etmopterus perryi; measures about the size of a human hand) to the massive whale shark, which can grow over 12 meters long!