The fossil files is at #SVP2025 to bring you all the hot gossip. First episode “Nanotyrannus and vertebrate origins” is out today with @jgn-paleo.bsky.social, @stevebrusatte.bsky.social and Yara Haridy

The fossil files are at #SVP2025 and will be bringing you all the exciting developments and hot gossip. Episodes out this week

Review of the Fossil Files podcast @thefossilfiles.bsky.social just in from a palaeo podcast skeptic: "I really thought palaeo podcasts weren't for me, but I guess I was listening to the wrong ones". Listen on libsyn or wherever you get your podcasts: fossils.libsyn.com

How did pachycephalosaurs get their head-butting dome? In the new episode out today, we take a look at Zavacephale, a lovely new dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia

Not only can a nasty fungus take over an ant or spider's brain causing behaviour changes before it explodes as spores out of the animal's head 🐜 🍄, but it seems this nightmarish behaviour can be captured in the fossil record. New episode: "Cretaceous Zombie Ants" new episode out today!

🚨 Time for a #FossilFriday round up: our selection of some recent research highlights. THREAD

🚨New episode out today!

#Fossil Files podcast fans!! Today sees the release of Fossil Fails II: The tiny dinosaur with the massive flaw... Get our take on that whole Oculudentavis thing - available now on libsyn and wherever you get your podcasts! @thefossilfiles.bsky.social fossils.libsyn.com/fossil-fails...

How do you select a name for a new dinosaur? Sneak peek on #FossilFriday of the next @thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out on Tuesday with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/5Cbz9...

This episode was genuinely hilarious to make... listen in on all your favourite podcast platforms! @thefossilfiles.bsky.social

Could there have been dinosaurs on the moon? 🦕🌝 No really. 🚨 New episode out today on notorious "Fossil Fails" in which Susie and Rob explore some odd examples of palaeontology gone wrong. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JI4...

In this week's episode of @thefossilfiles.bsky.social, I complete loose control I think you can even pinpoint the exact moment that @tweetisaurus.bsky.social makes me laugh so hard that I burp. Tune in for 🦕🌔🐝 www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JI4...

Could there have been dinosaurs on the moon? 🦕🌝 No really. 🚨 New episode out today on notorious "Fossil Fails" in which Susie and Rob explore some odd examples of palaeontology gone wrong. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JI4...

Our newest episode is one not to miss! Susie spills the beans on the latest research on Spicomellus, a beautiful armored ankylosaur If you ever wondered what goes in to studying dinosaurs it’s the perfect way to answer your questions! Find us on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube etc. links in the bio

Well Fossil Files fans, this week you have a special bonus episode our new dinosaur #Spicomellus the spikey ankylosaur. In this episode, I tell Rob all about the back story: how we found it, excavated it and studied it. And I throw some shade on fossil smugglers. fossils.libsyn.com/the-spicomel...

Have a listen to our Editor-in-Chief Prof. Susie Maidment's podcast- This episode she talking about how her team found, excavated and studied the amazingly weird and spikey #Spicomellus specimen! 🦴 #Fossils #FossilFiles @tweetisaurus.bsky.social #Dinosaur #Nature #NaturalHistory #NHM #JSP

Do you know someone who has contributed to strengthening the evolutionary biology community by promoting inclusion and diversity? Nominate them for the IDEA award! More info: www.systbio.org/idea-award.h... You may self-nominate!!!

Creative use of autocorrelation in analyzing trace fossils in the Ediacaran-Cambrian explosion: "..lack of temporal correlation in the studied Ediacaran trajectories and its presence in...Cambrian trajectories, indicating time-tuned behaviours.." arxiv.org/pdf/2509.02940 🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio

New paper showing that ichthyosaurs ate vampyromorph coleoids. Did they like it ? No idea 🤷‍♂️ @universitedeliege.bsky.social @naturmusee.bsky.social @just-fre.bsky.social @peerj.bsky.social peerj.com/articles/19786

Get the inside scoop on dinosaur weirdo Spicomellus from @tweetisaurus.bsky.social: behind the scenes, how the pandemic nearly killed it, where to put all those spikes, & dodgy fossil dealers @thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out today www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Xb...

🚨New Episode out today! Susie and Rob talk all things Spicomellus, everyone’s new favourite dinosaur No better way to get all the info than straight from the researcher who studied the fossil! Out now on Spotify, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. open.spotify.com/episode/6t9V...

What's better than an hour of Dave talking about dinosaurs? How about three and a half hours? Should keep a few of you busy at least. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qm1... And have I ever looked this dramatic before?

I'm hoping to take 1 MSc & 1 PhD student next year in the areas of Phylogenetic, Computational, and/or Evolutionary Paleobiology. Please reach out if you are interested in joining the @oupaleobiology.bsky.social, especially if interested in working on fossil echinoderms. Link for more info below. 🧪

Find out more in new @thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out today: "Mirasaura, Triassic Punk" Available now on Youtube, Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhJX...

Question: What the hell is this? (thread)

🚨 New episode! Stunning fossil, cool techniques and interesting findings, what more could you want? Susie and Rob discuss Mirasaura grauvogeli. A 247mil year old reptile that had stunning feather-like crest on its back! Available now on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

I absolutely love this story by @jamesashway.bsky.social on he background about how we found Spicomellus

🎉 More new research from our podcast hosts. This time Rob and a team of other fossil fish researchers has published an extensive family tree for Heterosctracans, a group the of armoured fish that formed part of the discussion on early vertebrates in our latest episode

A phylogeny for Heterostraci (stem-gnathostomes) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... @datadryad @wileyearthspace @fossilrob.bsky.social @evopalaeo.bsky.social

It also highlights the incredible significance of Moroccan palaeontology. A very sad part of this story is that Spicomellus fossils - very likely parts of exactly the same skeleton that we describe - are for sale having been illegally poached & smuggled. I hope these find their way back to Morocco.

If you like the new specimen of #Spicomellus, check out this film of us excavating the specimen, by Ben Webber at the @nhm-london.bsky.social youtu.be/TEeCFl0MJ0A?...

If you don't have access to Nature, but would like to read our paper on the new specimen of #Spicomellus, you can read it online at this link with no subscription: rdcu.be/eCJK3

Meet Spiny Norman, the earliest known and definitely the most outrageously spiky ankylosaur ever discovered, as presented by @tweetisaurus.bsky.social & @richardjbutler.bsky.social in @nature.com. Q: how did it mate? A: carefully. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

When @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social came up with the name 'Spicomellus', meaning 'spikey collar' back in 2021 based on a single partial rib, we never could have guessed how accurate he was!

Maidment, S.C.R., Ouarhache, D., Ech-charay, K. et al. Extreme armour in the world’s oldest ankylosaur. Nature (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Out today in Nature is the most exciting dinosaur paper I've ever been involved in - led by @tweetisaurus.bsky.social we describe a partial skeleton of the UTTERLY BIZARRE Spicomellus from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco, the oldest known ankylosaur. (1/x) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🚨 Bonus mini-episode released today! Where do Squid come from? Susie and Rob discuss squid origins and the use of digital techniques a new paper from Imegami et al Available on Spotify, YouTube and all the usual places. Links in our bio

Morning! For #fossilfriday why not give our latest episode a listen! Susie and Rob have a chat about a new paper that explores the origins of vertebrate teeth via some very cool techniques Or check out our back catalogue that ranges from the first fossil hunters to where pterosaurs come from

A 🦋 #NaturalHistory 🦋 and 🟨 #Lego 🟨 superfan dream job?? #MuseumJobs jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

The origin of vertebrates gets a shake up as one of the first fossils of vertebrate skeleton turns out to be an invertebrate. Latest episode of @thefossilfiles.bsky.social out now, where ever you get your podcasts

🚨 New episode out today! Where do teeth and bones come from and why do we get tooth ache? Susie and Rob discuss vertebrate origins with an exciting new paper from Haridy et al Available now on Spotify/Amazon/Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts from! open.spotify.com/episode/4x3n...

I was interviewed for this article. It's pleasing that a Moroccan fossil dealer confirms what I said the law was and clarifies that it isn't 'a grey area'. It's got nothing to do with UNESCO, btw John. www.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...

Hello all! @thepalass.bsky.social has numerous vacancies on council including internet officer (a role I have served for the last 6 years): palass.org/association/... This role no longer requires any technical expertise beyond using web-based systems, and we can provide full training in those. ⚒️🧪

For #fossilfriday here’s a preview of our next episode! Susie and Rob discuss the origins of teeth, bones, and why we get tooth ache, all from a a great new paper from Haridy et al. Out on the 19th of August, on Spotify, Apple, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In case any of our listeners are looking for a (very cool) PhD

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...

Breaking news!

Looking for something to watch over lunch? Check out Rob’s fossil unboxing series on our YouTube, where he, and some guests!, unwrap new finds and sneak a peak in to the back rooms of a museum youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Really pleased to see this paper out! Our exciting Middle Jurassic Moroccan site now has a steg, ank, cerapodan ornithischian and turiasaurian sauropod, some of which are the oldest of their clades. And there's more cool stuff to come, folks!