We had a great fossil hunting trip as @emilyrayfield.bsky.social ‘s lab group the other day at Watchet I did not manage to chisel into James Rawson’s head, lots of tough rock there

UN recorded 10,000 Israeli violations of ceasefire with Lebanon in nearly one year since the deal was signed.

Thread on today's paper, which is 3/4 from my dissertation on the evolution of fishes and using morphological data for phylogenetic analyses. Come with me, on a journey on phylogenetics and fishes. anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A real pleasure to be part of this family and hang out with so many amazing friends and scientists at #SVP2025 A wonderful conference with lots of good times to look back on

🚨New paper alert!🚨🤩 🧪⚒️Welcome the first filter-feeding pterosaur from Brazil: Bakiribu waridza, from the Araripe Basin!! 🥳 The new species is AWESOME and was discoverd inside a regurgitalite 😱🤍 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nice way to start the day: www.italianjournalofgeosciences.it/297/article-...

Alright, now that I'm not on the road - full thread on our new azhdarchoid phylogeny paper and what it means for pterosaurs big (like this one) and small! 1/23

JUST PUBLISHED!!!! A major azhdarchoid phylogeny paper coauthored with @skyemcdavid.com - the fruit of years of work - is now out in @journalsystpal.bsky.social! New clades, reconstruction of size evolution, and more. Full thread to come soon! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Now online - Kinematic analyses of Lake Malawi cichlids reveal that algae specialists use head expansions that happen synchronously along the head, hypothesized to increase feeding efficiency in contrast to the wave-like pattern of piscivores.🐟 @uafunmorph.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s420...

Our controversial paper is finally out in @cp-iscience.bsky.social ! As part of my PhD dissertation at @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social in 2021, the last chapter was dedicated to a specific pathological pattern in hadrosaurid tails!

We often think of palaeontology and religion as contradictory or opposites, especially when it comes to arguments about the age of the Earth, the origins of life & mankind, and drivers of evolution, so it is really special to see how these Lebanese fossils bridge the divide

In case you missed it! A 2nd fossil from the Upper Cretaceous of Lebanon has been gifted to the Vatican. This time directly to the Pope! www.instagram.com/reel/DQT66bV...

Recent paper from our lab on the puncture performance of hemipene spines in snakes! Some are like cat claws, others barely puncture. A single species can have many different spine morphologies and thousands of spines! 🧪 🐍 royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....

New paper (with @konowlab.bsky.social)! Muscle force varies with length, but how does this affect muscle function in life? Combining live animal and muscle prep data, we found rat jaw muscles routinely operate at long, forceful (potentially unstable) lengths. rdcu.be/eNIQk

📣 Funded PhD combining anatomy, surgery and engineering! 💀 This project aims to characterise the biomechanical behaviour of jaw implants following mandibulectomy. 📍@livuni-ilcams.bsky.social Liverpool, UK 🥼@ukshaq.bsky.social @clairebrockett.bsky.social and me!

Delighted to see this new paper out on the Cretaceous turtle Rhinochelys from the Lebanese Lagerstätten in Nammoura (approx 100 mya). This is the oldest direct evidence of sea turtle soft tissues, and shows that sea turtles lost their scales 4 independent times doi.org/10.1016/j.is...

🦎✨ Check out this new manuscript by Bothe & Fröbisch comparing axolotl and tiger salamander limb regeneration! Axolotls may be the gold standard in the lab, but tiger salamanders may prove a better model for bite-induced regeneration.

New paper on crocodylian locomotor evolution led by Masaya Iijima, w/Richard Blob & me! More erect hindlimb postures help extant gators support their weight (esp. at ankle), & how these mechanics constrained giant Deinosuchus to a slow walk at best! The paper-- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Gave my first lecture today, a short one on early synapsids. I was a bit anxious going into it, but thankfully all went well and it was positively received. We even got to watch this clip from Walking with Monsters, and then discuss the evolution of the synapsid spine youtu.be/BK9r146Ikvw?...

Alhalabi, W.A., Pinheiro, F.L., Jaoude, I.B. et al. Recovering lost time in Syria: a gigantic latest Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur from the Palmyrides mountain chain. Sci Nat 112, 78 (2025). doi.org/10.1007/s001...

Interested in fossils? Brains? Reptiles? Want to study how reptile (particularly squamate) brains and senses changed over time? Want to be part of an international team studying the evolution of cognition? Then apply for our Univ of Edinburgh PhD project! e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...

Bacteria 🦠 🧫 play a crucial role in how animals become fossils! Read about how decay experiments demonstrate that bacteria from the gut dominate the thanatomicrobiome (the internal microbiome of decay) and probably control fossilisation in our new paper! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Hechenleitner, E.M., Martinelli, A.G., Rocher, S. et al. A long-necked early dinosaur from a newly discovered Upper Triassic basin in the Andes. Nature (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

New paper out! It was an honor to collaborate with the legend Leah Krubitzer on this review to show that paleontologists and neurobiologists working together can only improve our understanding of brain evolution 🧠 www.nature.com/articles/s44... Full access to the paper: rdcu.be/eK167

Functional morphology & biomechanics of an ontogenetic series of the Triassic cynodont Brasilodon quadrangularis onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @cjsalcidopaleo.bsky.social @datadryad.bsky.social @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social

New paper by Martínez et al. describing a new basal theropod #dinosaur 🦖 from the Late #Triassic of Argentina 🇦🇷 alongside an analysis of faunal assemblages that helps clarify how early dinosaurs diversified & expanded their ecological roles ⬇️ #Paleontology #Science www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Incredibly proud and also very emotional to see this new paper published in @systbiol.bsky.social. The study was lead by Pierre Cockx, who sadly passed away in July. academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

Do you like cichlids? Fossils? Fossil cichlids? Would you like to study them as part of a graduate degree at the University of Michigan, joining an NSF-funded project? Get in touch.

High up in the mountains of Lebanon this #FossilFriday looking for exceptionally well preserved fossil fishes. I’ve managed to come across this little guy, first time someone’s seen him in 100 million years

My book review of the Secret History of Sharks by John Long is out now on palaeocast 🦈🦈🦈https://www.palaeocast.com/a-palaeontologists-book-review-of-a-secret-history-of-sharks/ It's a brilliant read, I highly recommened it. Check out my review to see why (and also to see a video of a whale shark!)

1/16 🚨🚨 New paper!! I am thrilled to share our study that uses fossils, genomes, and a bit of geology to investigate how many times cavefishes evolved, and how they can help us figure out the ages of caves themselves! Link: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Check out our new paper in @journalofanatomy.bsky.social! 🐇💀 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New paper where we applied FEA on marine reptiles teeth, with Joshua White & Matthew McCurry @australianmuseum.bsky.social. @universitedeliege.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

As of this morning, SVP Memoir 23 - Vertebrate Evolution in the Permian Rift Basins of Tanzania and Zambia - has been published!!! What's inside? Let's dig in:

You’ll all have seen the many announcements and PR pieces from #ColossalBiosciences. There are reasons to be concerned about the general message promoted by CB, one being that it is seen >by some< (US politicians in particular) as meaning that we can devalue conservation. A 🧵 1/n

New Comparative Anatomy Textbook! Completely free to read and open access! doi.org/10.59319/YHF...

New palaeo-PhD opportunity! Will you be the one to figure out the anatomy and function of fossil jawless fish? Come join the team! Application Deadline August 22nd, funding for UK student only (sorry) www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Really sad that we’ve lost Ziad Rahbani. One of the biggest names in Arab music, almost unmatched in the influence he had. I imagine many of my mutuals have no idea who he was, you should totally give his work a listen

I am proud and grateful to present a dream project today in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41... Meet #Mirasaura grauvogeli, a #wonderreptilewith skin appendages that rival feathers and hairs, challenging our view of reptile #evolution🪶🦎

🚨Our new study: Tiny teeth, big story. During the last few 100,000s of years of the Cretaceous, before the asteroid hit, a great diversity of theropods was living near what is now Barcelona. Dinosaurs were strong, up until their tragic end! Our paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.cr...

Almost a year ago today, our paper describing the exceptionally well preserved Upper Cretaceous fossils of Lebanon was published. Today we found out it was one of the most read papers in the Journal of the Geological Society in June 2025. Great motivation to do more science!

Where do the dinosaurs come from? It's a good question! 🦖 Their origins are shrouded in mystery, but one group that might reveal where they come from are the silesaurs - and a new fossil suggests they could be bigger than expected. Dig into their early history👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Antonietto LS, Hamid I, Holgado B, Rocha AL, Ferreira MA, Saraiva AÁF, Lacerda LDd and Silva RCd (2025) Reconstructing paleotrophic relationships on the Brazilian Romualdo Formation (Lower Cretaceous) through mercury analysis in fossils. Front. Earth Sci. 13:1551085. doi.org/10.3389/fear...

New paper out today with @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social @gondwannabe.bsky.social Kimi Chapelle and Paul Upchurch. In it we describe the partial femur of a large silesaur from Zambia 🧪🦕 royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Lindgren, J., Lomax, D.R., Szász, RZ. et al. Adaptations for stealth in the wing-like flippers of a large ichthyosaur. Nature (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Our latest "Morphological constraints in hymenopteran forewings limit flight efficiency optimization" led by Iman Fadel, with help from Pablo Milla Carmona, Yuming Liu and @emilyrayfield.bsky.social

CALL FOR PALAEOARTISTS! The Palestine Museum of Natural History 🇵🇸 is in a dire need of a PALAEOARTIST. A voluntary artist is needed to create a mural diorama featuring Cretaceous Sea. Help to protect & popularise the natural heritage of Palestine! Get in touch for more info.

Did you listen to me and @fossilrob.bsky.social's new podcast yet? It's called The Fossil Files, and each episode we discuss a recent palaeo paper. Sometimes, we're funny. Sometimes, we are boring. You'll have to listen to find out which. fossils.libsyn.com

A new paper of mine just came out in the Journal of Anatomy! Learn more about Conoryctes and why the insides of its bones are important on my website. Or, check out the open-access paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Digging into the rise of mammals gregfunston.com/2025/07/14/d...

New paper out today in @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social for #FossilFriday AKA here's-Bryan's-one-paleo-paper-this-year-to-remind-people-I-still-do-paleo-sometimes: a revision of the #Permian #dissorophid #temnospondyl Aspidosaurus chiton based on a new specimen: doi.org/10.1093/zool... (1/n)