Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi) header
Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi) profile picture

Di-Poi Nicolas

@NicolasDiPoi

Evolutionary Developmental Biologist on craniofacial tissues in reptile models 🐍🦎🐢🐊, Research Director @BIOTECH_UH @HiLIFE_helsinki

 University of Helsinki
www2.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/vertebrate-evolution-development-and-regeneration
Joined January 2018
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Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)Photo by Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)
Excited to see our collaboration with @paleoTsimoes and @AnnieHsiou published in @Nature 🐍 Early snake evolution was more dynamic than expected, spanning diverse habitats and sensory strategies. Congrats to the whole team! nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Nature - A well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group.

nature.com
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Our collaborative paper on snake coiling is now out in the latest issue of Current Biology and featured on the cover! 🎉 Delighted to see our work highlighted this way. You can read it here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1ni9h…
Image from Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi)
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Unlike the embryos of other vertebrates, early snake embryos coil as they get longer, typically forming clockwise spirals. A new study offers an explanation for why embryonic snakes go through these contortions—and why they tend to curve in one direction. Learn more: scim.ag/4x3fPIW
Snake embryos often coil in one direction. Now, we may know why

ALT Snake embryos often coil in one direction. Now, we may know why

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Did you know? Baby snakes almost always coil clockwise inside their eggs. UBC researchers helped uncover this surprise twist as well as a surprisingly simple developmental explanation. 🐍 Read more ⤵️ news.ubc.ca/2026/08/scientis…
Snakes in an egg all coil in the same direction. Scientists think they’ve learned why. - UBC News

Snakes in an egg all coil in the same direction. Scientists think they’ve learned why. - UBC News

A new study suggests this twist arises from how the rapidly growing spine develops around the gut, offering fresh insight into one of nature’s most unusual body plans.

news.ubc.ca
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And with a nice coverage of our study in Science @ScienceMagazine ! 🐍 More on the developmental mechanics behind snake coiling here: doi.org/10.1126/science.zm3e…
Snake embryos often coil in one direction. Now, we may know why

Snake embryos often coil in one direction. Now, we may know why

Mismatch between growth of body and digestive system bends the body, study suggests

science.org
Di-Poi Nicolas (@NicolasDiPoi) profile pictureDi-Poi Nicolas@NicolasDiPoiAug 31
Ever wondered why snake embryos coil? 🐍 A beautifully simple question with a fascinating answer: a growth mismatch between body & gut shapes the coil See our study together with T. Miyashita and @frogdiaz , published in Current Biology cell.com/current-biology/ful…
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
Michael W. Deem (@Michael_W_Deem) profile picture
Michael W. Deem
@Michael_W_DeemAug 31
Mismatch between growth of body and digestive system bends the body, study suggests science.org/content/article/…
Snake embryos often coil in one direction. Now, we may know why

Snake embryos often coil in one direction. Now, we may know why

Mismatch between growth of body and digestive system bends the body, study suggests

science.org
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"Snakes are peculiar in a lot of ways, including in how they develop. Unlike the embryos of other vertebrates, early snake embryos coil as they get longer, typically forming clockwise spirals as seen" in this picture. Read here why! #Science #Biology #Animals ⏯️Snake embryos often coil in one direction. Now, we may know why science.org/content/article/… /
Image Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/snake-embryos-often-coil-one-direction-now-we-may-know-why Credit Raul Diaz/California State University Los Angeles

ALT Image Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/snake-embryos-often-coil-one-direction-now-we-may-know-why Credit Raul Diaz/California State University Los Angeles

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Ever wondered why snake embryos coil? 🐍 A beautifully simple question with a fascinating answer: a growth mismatch between body & gut shapes the coil See our study together with T. Miyashita and @frogdiaz , published in Current Biology cell.com/current-biology/ful…
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
Princeton University (@Princeton) profile picture
Princeton University
@PrincetonAug 3
This study was led by Princeton professor Tiago Simões and an international team of collaborators. They challenged old paradigms for the origin of snakes by combining new fossil discovery and a new analytical framework to detect the ancestral ecology of snakes.
nature (@Nature) profile picturenature
@NatureJul 29
Nature research paper: Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes go.nature.com/4wY2qSH
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Nature - A well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group.

nature.com
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
grabstract (@grabstractio) profile picture
grabstract
@grabstractioJul 29
#grabstract of the day Ancient Brazilian snake fossil reveals early snakes had surprisingly diverse brains and lifestyles, showing their evolution was more complex than scientists thought. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-1…
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Takei Lab (@LabTakei) profile picture
Takei Lab@LabTakeiJul 29
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Nature - A well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group.

nature.com
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
nature (@Nature) profile picture
nature
@NatureJul 29
Nature research paper: Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes go.nature.com/4wY2qSH
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Nature - A well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group.

nature.com
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
Nature Japan (@NatureJapan) profile picture
Nature Japan@NatureJapanJul 28
【注目のハイライト】進化：初期の穴掘り性ヘビ natureasia.com/ja-jp/researc… Tiago Simões、Annie Hsiouらの@Nature #OA #論文 Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes nature.com/articles/s41586-0… #オープンアクセス @Princeton @usponline
進化：初期の穴掘り性ヘビ

進化：初期の穴掘り性ヘビ

ブラジルで発見された新種のヘビは、幹系統から分岐したものとしては、これまでに知られている中で最も古いヘビである可能性があることを報告する論文が、今週のNature にオープンアクセスで掲載される。約8500万～7500万年前に生息していたこの種は、地上や水中で生活していたほかの既知の初期のヘビとは対照的に、地下での生活に適応していたとみられる。この発見により、ヘビの進化の歴史について再考が求められ

natureasia.com
Nature Portfolio (@NaturePortfolio) profile pictureNature Portfolio
@NaturePortfolioJul 24
A newly identified snake species found in Brazil may be the earliest-known snake to have diverged from the stem line, according to research in Nature. go.nature.com/45e9KOa
Tametara mirim life reconstruction \n\nLife reconstruction of the burrowing stem snake Tametara mirim against a background of sauropod dinosaurs and the enantiornithean bird Navaornis from the same locality in the Adamantina Formation, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. \n\nCredit: Gabriel Ugueto

ALT Tametara mirim life reconstruction \n\nLife reconstruction of the burrowing stem snake Tametara mirim against a background of sauropod dinosaurs and the enantiornithean bird Navaornis from the same locality in the Adamantina Formation, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. \n\nCredit: Gabriel Ugueto

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Nature Asia-Pacific (@NatureAsia) profile picture
Nature Asia-Pacific@NatureAsiaJul 28
Evolution: An early, burrowing snake natureasia.com/en/info/press… @Nature #OA #OpenAccess paper by Tiago Simões, Annie Hsiou al. Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes nature.com/articles/s41586-0… @Princeton @usponline
Evolution: An early, burrowing snake (Nature)

Evolution: An early, burrowing snake (Nature)

A newly identified snake species found in Brazil may be the earliest-known snake to have diverged from the stem line, according to research in Nature this week. The species, which dates to around 85–7

natureasia.com
Nature Portfolio (@NaturePortfolio) profile pictureNature Portfolio
@NaturePortfolioJul 24
A newly identified snake species found in Brazil may be the earliest-known snake to have diverged from the stem line, according to research in Nature. go.nature.com/45e9KOa
Tametara mirim life reconstruction \n\nLife reconstruction of the burrowing stem snake Tametara mirim against a background of sauropod dinosaurs and the enantiornithean bird Navaornis from the same locality in the Adamantina Formation, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. \n\nCredit: Gabriel Ugueto

ALT Tametara mirim life reconstruction \n\nLife reconstruction of the burrowing stem snake Tametara mirim against a background of sauropod dinosaurs and the enantiornithean bird Navaornis from the same locality in the Adamantina Formation, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. \n\nCredit: Gabriel Ugueto

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A newly identified snake species found in Brazil may be the earliest-known snake to have diverged from the stem line, according to research in Nature. go.nature.com/45e9KOa
Tametara mirim life reconstruction \n\nLife reconstruction of the burrowing stem snake Tametara mirim against a background of sauropod dinosaurs and the enantiornithean bird Navaornis from the same locality in the Adamantina Formation, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. \n\nCredit: Gabriel Ugueto

ALT Tametara mirim life reconstruction \n\nLife reconstruction of the burrowing stem snake Tametara mirim against a background of sauropod dinosaurs and the enantiornithean bird Navaornis from the same locality in the Adamantina Formation, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. \n\nCredit: Gabriel Ugueto

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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
Gabriel N. U. (@SerpenIllus) profile picture
Gabriel N. U.@SerpenIllusJul 24
Congrats to @paleoTsimoes and colleagues for this amazing publication. I am really happy that Tiago and his team entrusted me to reconstruct this amazing taxon. Here is a link to the paper in Nature: nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Nature - A well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group.

nature.com
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
Declan Rourke (@Declan_UAlberta) profile picture
Declan Rourke@Declan_UAlbertaJul 23
Awesome new paper by Simoes et al. on a new species of early snake Tametara mirim, indicating that early snakes like had a very diverse range of ecologies early in their evolution. nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Nature - A well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group.

nature.com
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
Gabriel N. U. (@SerpenIllus) profile picture
Gabriel N. U.@SerpenIllusJul 24
Let me introduce you to Tametara mirim, a basal cretaceous snake from South America that was likely fossorial. It is known from a beautifully preserved and articulated specimen that includes a skull! If you know anything about snake fossils you will know that is VERY rare.
Image from Gabriel N. U. (@SerpenIllus)
Image from Gabriel N. U. (@SerpenIllus)
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パンテオン (@pantheo27705718) profile picture
パンテオン
@pantheo27705718Jul 22
めて近い、地下生活に特化した感覚機能を持っていた →当時の初期ヘビは既に地下、地上、海へ進出し、多様な生き方を試していた ヘビの進化の初期段階で大きな生態学的転換が起こり、既知の祖先種が現生ヘビの祖先状態を表しているわけではないことを示す 論文OA nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes

Nature - A well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group.

nature.com
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Di-Poi Nicolas retweeted
Jamale Ijouiher (@JamaleIjouiher) profile picture
Jamale Ijouiher@JamaleIjouiherJul 23
New stem #snake, #Tametara, from the #Cretaceous of #Brazil. This species differs greatly from other early snakes, suggesting a great deal of ecological diversity in early-diverging snakes. So, the true ancestral condition of snakes remains an enigma. nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
Image from Jamale Ijouiher (@JamaleIjouiher)
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