Join us this Thursday, May 21st at 7pm, for our 2026 Samuel F. Emmons Lecture featuring Dr. Cary Woodruff! Cary will be discussing his work on “Spicomellus: extreme armor in the world’s oldest ankylosaur" Join in-person or on Zoom

I am SO proud of Earth Science graduates. I cannot wait to see how they change the world! @scsualumni.bsky.social

Please share! We are hiring an Assistant/Associate Professor of Land Surveying and Geospatial Science at @stcloudstate.bsky.social minnstate.wd115.myworkdayjobs.com/Minnesota_St...

NASA just released a breathtaking view of Antarctica

Research lead author and @stcloudstate.bsky.social alum Alex Maile ’20, ’23 has collaborated with co-author Matthew Davis, a professor of biology at #SCSU, to trace the evolutionary history of anglerfishes’ lures. #OurSCSU news.ku.edu/news/article...

Good day for research at St. Cloud State University! Today is the Student Research Colloquium. Here are highlights from the Fossil Lab and Earth Science program:

Science is good. We should fund it.

More exciting press for @scsualumni.bsky.social Alex Maile @anoplogaster.bsky.social and @stcloudstate.bsky.social professor Matt Davis’ work on deep-sea fishes! #teamfish

‼️NEW ANGLERFISH PAPER! 🐟🎣 So excited to share the final part of my Master’s research! We explore the bizarre tacklebox of anglerfish lures and show how these fishes evolved different ways to attract prey and maybe even mates in the deep sea. 🧪🦑🌊🦇🦀 Open access paper link: doi.org/10.1643/i202...

“Fintastic” finds from the Davis Fishes Lab at @stcloudstate.bsky.social and led by @scsualumni.bsky.social Alex Maile, currently a PhD candidate at the University of Kansas @kueebgso.bsky.social

Congrats to @stcloudstate.bsky.social Hydrology graduate Ella Burfeind on her new position as a Water Resource Specialist! @scsualumni.bsky.social

How did smaller warming events affect marine life after the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum? A new microfossil record from the early Eocene Equatorial Atlantic shows tropical phytoplankton remained resilient during post-PETM hyperthermals. Learn more: geosociety.co/ecosystems Image: Figure 2

Congratulations to @stcloudstate.bsky.social alumna Jess Lourey ’96, ’98, ’06, who has released a new book, "The Verdant Cage." #OurSCSU #SCSUGrad #BHuskiesPROUD www.sctimes.com/story/news/2...

Hey! We did a thing!

For #FossilFriday have a look at the holotype of †𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙞 sp. nov., from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. Read the full study by Reichenbacher 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2025): buff.ly/3iDP5Vl #PaleoSky #FossilFish

Plans for the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival 2026 are now online, and it's going to be an outstanding event. I'm one of many speakers (I'm also doing a book signing and other stuff too). This year's event is June 13-14, go to.... fossilfestival.com

Anything that promotes more rocks in your landscaping is fine by me!

St. Cloud State Today did a nice write-up about my student Eryn's research of flood preparedness in Upper Midwest state parks and recreation areas. @stcloudstate.bsky.social

New paper out in JSP! Cooper & Maxwell present a redescription of 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖 Agassiz, 1843 from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Archipelago (Tithonian, Germany) and the taxonomic diversity of 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨 Agassiz, 1832 (Actinopterygii: Pachycormidae). Read here: buff.ly/uGXjDLA #PaleoSky

‼️🚨 Job Alert ‼️ 🚨 Two Post Doc Opportunities: PDRA in Macroecology / Paleobiology my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru... PDRA in Extinction & Conservation / Paleobiology my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru... Any questions, please get in touch! Closing date May 1st.

A zombie cardinal in my yard this evening. His right eye looked completely normal. Poor fella just has some unfortunate molting issues I hope.

Landscape Features xkcd.com/3221/

Ichnology appreciation continues in my children. This time it’s my daughter’s turn to examine deer tracks in fresh snow.

Very proud of my student Eryn Bloom, who presented her research at the Posters at St. Paul (P@SP) event in the Capitol Rotunda. She won a Distinguished Poster Award for presenting her work on Flood Risk Preparedness in campgrounds of the Upper Midwest. @stcloudstate.bsky.social

Nothing like Scapanorhynchus! Goblin sharks were coastal sharks in the Cretaceous in the Western Interior US and survive as deep water sharks today. @jeremybroberts.bsky.social @utahpaleo-ufop.bsky.social @paleontologizing.bsky.social @sharkscience.bsky.social Save Lebanon & Palestinians.

"Fossils are another major theme in Pokémon"

An evening stroll for our neighborhood dinosaur flock.

Scientists Discover Unusual Long-Legged Ancient Crocodile From 200 Million Years Ago - A new Triassic crocodylomorph from Gloucester sheds light on early crocodile evolution and pre-extinction ecosystems. scitechdaily.com/scientists-d... #Palaeontology #evolution #science #SciChat

Makovicky, P.J., Mitchell, J.S., Meso, J.G. et al. Argentine fossil rewrites evolutionary history of a baffling dinosaur clade. Nature (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Velociraptors are funny because people are like "They weren't actually that scary because in real life, they were about the size of a goose" and my friend, have you ever been AROUND a goose? That just makes it worse!

Hans Sues was a phenomenal paleontologist, and a kind person. It is nice to have known someone like him in the field. For those of you who didn't know him, enjoy listening to him talk dinosaur facts. He was a good one and will be genuinely missed.

Creatures from the deepest sea

The Paleontological Society statement on recent events.

Thank you to @csdfacility.bsky.social for their support and assistance today as we processed four lake sediment cores for Drew O.’s senior research! Excited to see what we can learn about sedimentation in Ann Lake!

Spent the day at the CSD lab at the University of Minnesota processing lake cores from near Sand Dunes State Forest. Was a great opportunity to learn some new techniques!

My 5-year-old is a budding ichnologist. He was very proud of finding and examining this fresh squirrel trackway on the way to the bus stop this morning.

It’s an honor to be featured among so many great female paleoichthyologists! www.researchgate.net/publication/...

This was actually a great listen about the now viral Coalie and his less-nefarious origins.

This is a #mom appreciation thread: I have fond memories of watching the #Olympics with my mom, who was the biggest fan I knew. She was an amazing role model, dedicating much of her life to service and volunteering. She celebrated diversity and cultures, and I love that she gave that to me....

My Field Geology class’s field season is over, so here they are mapping out major geologic events and their respective field sites on a 100-foot geologic time scale. Putting things into context!

Tree space and a new ray-finned fish out today! We delve into how methods to visualize the forest of phylogenetic tree space can be used to address the rogue taxon problem. Shout out to my co-authors and advisors Michelle Stocker and Michael Gottfried. ssbbulletin.org/index.php/bs...

Support @stcloudstate.bsky.social, support your community. We’ve created the #Husky Community Engagement Fund to strengthen #SCSU’s connection with St. Cloud and the surrounding region. Learn more about #OurSCSU effort and make your impact today at scsu.mn/hcefund

A great day of talks on the second day of the MN Association of Floodplain Managers conference. Excited to bring some new ideas to the classroom. @stcloudstate.bsky.social

A great first day at the Minnesota Association of Floodplain Managers conference. Some of our @stcloudstate.bsky.social students were able to visit important sites along the Mississippi River as part of the conference field trip. #mnafpm

My latest for @nytimes.com! For 40 years, paleontologists have grappled over whether a small tyrannosaur — named Nanotyrannus — was its own animal, or simply a teenage T.rex. The debate has been ... contentious. Which is why it's so fun to finally be able to say this: Folks? Nanotyrannus is real.

SVP President @stuartsumida.bsky.social speaks to Open Access Government about the importance of vertebrate paleontology and science in the United States. www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-importan...

A phenomenal paleontologist and a pleasure to talk to at SVP conferences. Mark will be missed.

Excavated from the Pisces Point locality of Scollard Formation in Alberta, Canada, ~67 million years old, Acronichthys maccognoi, newly reported in @science.org, was recovered from ancient water body that flipped seasonally between fast-flowing channels and quiet, still pools.

It’s time for my biennial reminder that I love where I live and that I can access this any time I want, and that I need to vist more often. #fieldgeology #quarrypark