New episode of #TerribleLizards is out with @richardfallon.bsky.social talking about Crichton, Conan Doyle, and #dinosaurs in literature. terriblelizards.libsyn.com/tls12e02-1

This seems unfair, the others all go downhill.

Called it.

Well England, for the second week running that was absolutely shocking.

I get a quote here on the new Spinosaurus paper in @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2516...

Why read one short paper on Spinosaurus when you can read an entire book?

A "hell heron" eh? Wonder where they got that name from?

In the UK at least, my set of four kids books on dinosaurs (of which I am very proud, I genuinely think these are excellent) is currently half price on Amazon!

"And there'll be one in ten years." Does he want to bet on it? I'll even give him odds. Provided of course it's not the bait-and-switch of 'we modified 5 genes and we call it a dire wolf and what is taxonomy anyway, so here's your resurrected species'.

I've decided to revise and update one of my most important and popular blogposts "How do I become a paleontologist?". I still get asked this every few weeks so having a new version of this post to share is so useful to put people on track. archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2026/02/17/h...

I've come to the conclusion that this huge burst of AI is basically the Innovations Catalogue: an apparently brilliant invention to solve a problem that actually isn't very good and wasn't a problem that needed solving in the first place.

Pancake on the streets of London. Pancake on the streets of Birmingham.

If Scotland could play England every week they'd be world champions.

This might be the greatest grocer's apostrophe of all time.

I’m shocked 🙄

My friend and colleague @moleratsarego.bsky.social has retired, and I wrote this short piece about his amazing career. (Also, molerats are amazing). www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/news/it...

For the International Day of Women in Science, just a shout out to all my women friends, collaborators, artists and colleagues who contribute to make my work better and my time in science more enjoyable. May all your corrections be minor and your invoices paid on time.

Well ITV, that advert was far more intrusive that I thought it would be during the set-up for a scrum. Well done on finding a new way to worsen your coverage of international rugby.

Founders of modern paleontology, and their contributions to systemic racism, classism and sexism (🧵) Henry Osborn (1857–1935), responsible for naming of Tyrannosaurus & Velociraptor; president of ANHM. Co-founder of the American Eugenics Society. Contributing to books later praised by Hitler.

Finally, North America gets some spinosaurs! OK, OK: North America finally gets _Spinosaur Tales_, by @davehone.bsky.social and me, from today. It's been out in the UK since Nov. and reviews have been v. positive. All your usual book vendors will stock it. Info: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/spinosaur...

Spinosaur Tales with @markwitton.bsky.social is out now in North America. It's been getting top reviews already from readers, so if you like your giant, weird, controversial, carnivorous #dinosaurs and spectacular palaeoart, then check it out!

I just thought everyone should see this

I've done another collaboration with Dino and Dog and this time Nikola has sculpted Skiphosoura, the interesting transitional pterosaurs that I helped name in 2024. It's another lovely (and free!) model, so if you want to 3D print a copy for yourself you can. www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-pr...

This is your regularly scheduled reminder that I am sharing 5-10 job ads a day on my LinkedIn, broadly across marine biology, conservation policy, and science communication. Want to see them? Connect with me over there. 🧪🦑🌍 #SciComm www.linkedin.com/in/david-shi...

I've known Richard since the 1990s and he was a mentor, advisor and friend to many of us. He did a massive amount to build collabs, help in excavations and pass on advice and enthusiasm. He was a warm and welcoming person who promoted inclusion, collaboration and the role of amateurs in science.

Last year I published a chapter with @richardfallon.bsky.social comparing Conan Doyle's Lost World with Crichton's Jurassic Park and the parallels between the two. Yesterday we were awarded 'Doylean Honors' from the Arthur Conan Doyle Society for our scholarship. acdsociety.com/Honors/Honor...

The Envelopes Please ... for the Fifth Annual Doylean Honors! We announced our 2026 Doylean Honorees earlier today in a ceremony at Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. Details here -- acdsociety.com -- and congratulations to all the winners!

Introducing #terriblelizards #dinosaur bites: shorter extracts from Our archives this episode is all about #spinosaurs @davehone.bsky.social youtu.be/z-kwV-Mnj-c

Avian cranial evolution is influenced by shape interactions between hard and soft tissue traits #ProcB #OpenAccess #Evolution @knapprew.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

pound for pound this might be the funniest thing ever written

My Review on Spinosaur Tales (10/10)! This new dinosaur book by @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social is the best one about Spinosaurus and its relatives to date for sure! I highly recommend it to any dinosaur enthusiast, or spinosaur enthusiast.

in hindsight, this one was a little too birder-specific to make it into the New Yorker

another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls

This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.

Yeah, another biologist here. This is not what I think or any biologist that I know thinks. Very much a trans-supporting community of scientists.

a transitional pterosaur differing from Propterodactylus open.spotify.com/episode/0TUj... best regards to @davehone.bsky.social and the Lauer Foundation palaeo-electronica.org/content/pdfs...

Dear TV commissioners / producers / directors. There are actually presenters out there other than Paddy McGuinness. Many of them are actually talented and likeable too.

And finally got it! Both @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social had previously published great divulgative work on tyrannosaurs, and this joint effort on a far less well sampled clade delivers as expected: informative yet witty, and with detailed diagrams and superb artwork. A must.

circus marketing

Hark! @davehone.bsky.social and I have been interviewed about spinosaurs for the Instant Genius podcast, created by BBC Science Focus. If you need a listen for your commute home, we may not be your worst option. #dinosaurs #fossils #paleontology #scicomm open.spotify.com/episode/7hWf...

Here's a nice 30 mins on #Spinosaurus that I recorded with @markwitton.bsky.social for the BBC Instant Genius Podcast. open.spotify.com/episode/7hWf... (Note it has a ton of ads at the start, talking begins after 3 minutes)

📣Job vacancy!📣 Research Fellow in Global Conservation at Leeds, working with Dave Williams (and me, a bit) to assess the impact of conservation initiatives on biodiversity, carbon, and people: jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx... #ConservationScience 🌍

Unsolicited email about Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior. "I always liked your books and this one is no exception. In all honesty, they've influenced my way of thinking a lot. I mean it when I say your books made me a better scientist and I highly recommend them to students that are new in the field."

I'm terrible at self-marketing but I will say that if you want to buy prints, today is a pretty good day to do it. Also if there's something you want a print of that I haven't uploaded yet, let me know (I'm very behind on updating!) #SciArt #BirdArt #bskynightmarket www.inprnt.com/gallery/tiny...

It's the time of year when people are putting out lists of best books of the year. So why not tell an author you've loved their book this year? Because not being on those lists makes many authors sad. You can make them happy!

Finally getting some theological clarity on the ethics of reclining in one’s plane seat

Strong review of Spinosaur Tales from The Inquisitive Biologist: "Spinosaur Tales is a thoughtful and accessible book about these enigmatic dinosaurs... presenting a nuanced overview of what we know, what we can reasonably infer, and what is spin." inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/11/26/b...

Started watching The Boys From Brazil to discover one of the all-time great casting mismatches: Laurence Olivier - one of the all time greats. Gregory Peck & James Mason from the golden age of Hollywood And.... Steve Guttenberg - Mahoney from Police Academy.

So we're slightly late to the party given that the big news dropped a month ago, but here's a full hour of the #TerribleLizards #Podcast where @iszi.com and I talk about #Nanotyrannus and what it all means for T. rex and tyrannosaur research going forwards. terriblelizards.libsyn.com/nanotyrannus