Get your name on a fossil discovery! When fossils are uncovered, they must be protected in plaster field jackets so they can be safely transported to the lab. Sponsorships help provide the resources needed to excavate, jacket, and study these discoveries. givebutter.com/2026-fossil-...

"What Is It?" Wednesday! Katie is holding a fossil excavated from one of our active dinosaur dig sites in 2024. Any guesses what it is? We'll reveal the answer later today!

Happy International Women's Day 💐 Did you know, for every 7 men in palaeontology, there are ~3 women. Women make up 25-35% of global vertebrate palaeontological publishing output. And are most likely to study mammals, while men, reptiles.

MNHC is offering two exciting camps for Middle School Students this summer! Our Naturalist in Training, July 6-10 and STEEM, August 3-7! Learn more and register at: www.montananaturalist.org/summer-camps/ #missoulacamps #middleschoolcamps #natureeducation

In paleontology, context is everything. Where a fossil is found, and what rock layer it comes from, can be just as important as the fossil itself.

One of the most important parts of paleontology isn't finding fossils; it's documenting them. Field notes, measurements, and site maps record exactly where fossils were found and preserve the scientific context that helps tell their story.

This International Women's Day, we celebrate the past and present accomplishments of women. We're extremely proud to know, work, and collaborate with some of the most brilliant women in science that continue to research, discover, mentor, conserve, and educate to the advancement of tomorrow.

Fossil Friday fact: not every fossil gets a plaster jacket! Smaller fossils are often wrapped in foil packs; aluminum foil, tape, and a label to keep everything together and protected until it reaches the lab. Simple, but effective!

Some fossils preserve microscopic structures called melanosomes. By studying their shape and arrangement, scientists can sometimes infer the colors of ancient animals.

Every fossil discovery starts with someone paying attention to the little details in the rock.

Your classroom this summer: a dinosaur dig in Montana! Our field paleontology course is a hands-on, college credit field course. Only 4 spots remain! Details are live on our site: elevationscience.org/college-stud...

Fossil preparation is where a lot of real discovery happens, removing rock bit by bit until the fossil reveals itself.

Elevation Science is turning 9! Nine years of fieldwork, research, mentorship, and discovery. Thank you to everyone who's dug, donated, learned, and supported along the way. If you'd like to celebrate with us, we'd love your support! elevationscience.org/donate

This seems like a great moment to talk about the importance of science communication! Science communication matters because it connects scientific research with people, giving folks information they need to make informed decisions about everything from health to hazards.

New behavioral #paleontology paper out today about tyrannosaur predation! The authors (Wyenberg-Henzler & Scannella) contend that the find is "consistent with a bite inflicted during an attempt to control the struggling Edmontosaurus or deliver a killing blow followed by carcass consumption". Nice!

The desert is dusty, the fossils are too. Happy Valentine's Day, from Elevation Science to you. 💕

Celebrating Intl Day of Women & Girls in Science with a nod to our STEEM (science, technology, engineering, environment & math) Summer Campers! www.montananaturalist.org/summer-camps/

Happy International Women and Girls in Science Day! Proud to work alongside so many brilliant women, past and present, and excited for the future scientists who will shape what comes next.

This is why we do this. Real science, shared with real people.

Maybe a bit late for web timing, but ehy, NEW PAPER ON #fossilfriday!!! I am proud to present you Haolong dongi gen. nov. sp. nov., a new hadrosauroid from the Early Cretaceous of China! The specimen, almost complete, is a juvenile iguanodontian from the Yixian Formation of the Barremian (125 Mya).

"Move over Pachycephalosaurus, there's a new headbutting dinosaur from late Cretaceous western North America!" #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Mexico

The new iguanodont with novel skin coverings. In addition to the large scute-like scales on the tail, the body is covered with what the author's describe as "spikes". The largest ones are about 4 cm long but almost a cm thick, resembling short quills. The smaller ones are hair or eyelash-like.

Hands-on science experiences are some of the most memorable, especially for families. We’re excited for Dinosaur Discovery Days and the chance to help people connect with fossils, Earth history, and real paleontology.

One of the best things about fieldwork is how it slows you down; you learn to notice small details that most people walk right past.

Sometimes, the unglamorous parts of science are the ones that teach us the most... Like how to dig a drainage trench to keep the rainwater away!

What is prospecting? In paleontology, prospecting means carefully scanning and exploring the landscape for fossils exposed at the surface. Several of our active dig sites were first discovered this way by participants, proof that just being observant can lead to real scientific discoveries!

Awesome new blog post about our latest research paper! 🦕

Paleo Bites Episode 4: Types of Fossilization (Part Two) In this episode of Paleo Bites, we explore some of the more rare preservation pathways; soft-tissue fossils, amber, freezing, and natural asphalt.

Evolution of the avian jaw joint and middle ear: bioone.org/journals/zoo... 🪶🧪 (📷Watanabe et al.)

Our window for scholarship applications closes February 5th! Apply today and join us for fun and nature this summer! Learn more: www.montananaturalist.org/summer-camps/ #MNHCcamps #summercamps #scholarships

🚨Our new study is out! We've put AI to good use, to classify and identify dinosaur footprints! Dinosaur footprints are more common than bones. But to figure out which dinosaur made a track, we need to do the Cinderella thing, and match a footprint to a foot. And that's hard.

Big news! 🎉 The David B. Jones Foundation has fully funded our field internship program for the next five years, the largest foundation grant in Elevation Science history! This support ensures long-term, hands-on field training for future paleontologists. We're incredibly grateful!

We're so thrilled that this paper is out! 🦴🦕 Thanks a million (or 150...) to Dr. Woodruff for collaborating with us on this. Here's to many more!

Introducing a new Permian reptile: Scyllacerta creanae With a tympanic fossa on the quadrate and no lower temporal bar, Scyllacerta challenges long-standing ideas about when-and-how hearing evolved in reptiles 🦎👂 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/pala...

We are so excited and honored to be part of such an amazing volume of papers! 🦕⛏️

All fossils are not created equally! 🦴 In this episode of Paleo Bites, we look at the most common ways fossils form, from mineral-filled bone to chemical replacement and compression fossils. Each process preserves different kinds of information about past life. #paleontology #fossils #earthscience

Some of the most important moments in science happen when you stop trying to force an answer and just observe.

It's #MuseumSelfieDay, so enjoy these that I took on my last visit to the AMNH! I will forever be grateful to museums, these monuments to learning that are a big part of keeping science and history alive. Consider going to your local museum today and telling the dinosaurs I said hi!

Dental replacement patterns and morphological diversity in Lower Jurassic sauropods from the Cañadón Asfalto Basin, Patagonia, Argentina: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Rowe, A.J., Cerroni, M.A. & Rayfield, E.J. Southern hemisphere ceratosaurs evolved feeding mechanics paralleling those of Northern hemisphere tyrannosaurids. Sci Rep 16, 2804 (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

This. Is so. Cute! 🦕❤️

Last summer, members of the MT Geo Society joined us in the field for a day of real, hands-on paleontology. One of them, Jess, captured the experience in this fun, educational vlog. Definitely worth a watch and checking out her other videos! youtu.be/1B02gy81ejk?...

What’s the science concept that didn’t click for you until you saw it in real life?

What I did this fall www.nps.gov/dino/learn/n...

One of the best parts of fieldwork is watching interns go from unsure to confident, learning skills you just can’t get anywhere else. 🦴⛏️

Before we were Elevation Science, and even before we were the Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute, this is what our fieldwork looked like back in 2016!

New research on T. rex growth! 🦖 By analyzing growth rings in leg bones from 17 tyrannosaurs, scientists found that T. rex was a late bloomer, taking ~35–40 years to fully mature. The study also highlights major variation in growth, raising new questions about tyrannosaur diversity.

Fossils aren't just bones! It's easy to think of giant sauropod leg bones or a terrifying theropod claw, but what about other kinds of fossils? They can come in the form of sea shells, coprolites, or even footprints! Thanks for joining us for episode 2 of Paleo Bites! 🦴