Caleb M. Gordon
@caleb-m-gordon.bsky.social
Vertebrate paleobiologist interested in using AI to understand the history of life on Earth. PhD @ Yale, Postdoc @ FLMNH. CalebMGordon.com
Napoli, J. G. (2026). Resolving the “ontogeny problem” in vertebrate paleontology. Paleobiology, 1–30. doi:10.1017/pab.2026.10105 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Resolving the “ontogeny problem” in vertebrate paleontology | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Resolving the “ontogeny problem” in vertebrate paleontology
cambridge.org
Zietlow, A.R., Everhart, M.J. & Polcyn, M.J., 2026. - Redescription of the holotypes of Tylosaurus proriger and Tylosaurus nepaeolicus (Squamata: Mosasauridae) - Deinsea 24: 1 - 21. zenodo.org/records/2041...
Redescription of the holotypes of Tylosaurus proriger and Tylosaurus nepaeolicus (Squamata: Mosasauridae)
zenodo.org
From @theathletic.com: The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time since 1973 and for just the third time in team history. They stunned the San Antonio Spurs, again, with another comeback win in Game 5 of the finals. www.nytimes.com/athletic/735...
Many thanks to @phys.org.web.brid.gy and the Yale Peabody Museum for featuring our research! peabody.yale.edu/news/fossil-...; phys.org/news/2026-06...
Fossil discovery shows the interaction between giant marine reptiles | Yale Peabody Museum
peabody.yale.edu
Caleb M. Gordon@caleb-m-gordon.bsky.social · 3mo ago𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐬? Well, we’ve always assumed they did (and for good reason), but there’s been surprisingly little direct evidence to support this assumption. In a new paper, we describe an unassuming little Jurassic fossil that directly confirms it: doi.org/10.3374/014....
Today is election day in California, Iowa, New Mexico, Montana, South Dakota, and New Jersey! Want to keep up with the coverage? Follow these politics reporters and elections experts for the very latest
NEW: A lot of bad has happened to American science over the last year but nothing comes even close to what’s about to happen if we don’t speak out in opposition to the OMB rule changes and I hope @aaas-socsci.bsky.social @apsphysics.bsky.social and others will launch public campaigns about this. 🧪🔭⚛️
It's the End of American Science As We Know It
We have 45 days to express our opposition to catastrophic changes.
news.chanda.science
Our paper on turtle origins is finally out in Current Biology, with two major implications for our understanding of reptile evolution 🐢 #Paleontology #Turtles #Evolution www.cell.com/current-biol...
The Turtle Death Layer coughed up a fossil with teeth marks, revealing a conflict between turtle and gar! 🐢 Paleontologist Jason Bourque recently described a new, extinct species of musk turtle that lived in Florida during the late Miocene. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/anci...
Hey, we're a bit SLOW on wishing you a happy #WorldTurtleDay 🐢! Stupendemys was the LARGEST TURTLE OF ALL TIME! Researchers estimated the weight of the turtle to be 2,500 lbs. or the weight of as much as a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla 🚘 = 🐢!
Want to learn or teach about 290-million-year-old vomit? Check out our educational resource! We break down how scientists study regurgitalites to find out what prehistoric creatures ate. Plus our free worksheet helps kids to think big about fossilized vomit. https://bit.ly/3RYVo0B
Can fossilized vomit tell you what prehistoric animals ate?
Learn how paleontologists study fossilized vomit to explore what prehistoric predators ate.
sciencefriday.com
🚨 There’s a new T. rex in town! A newly described species of giant mosasaur—growing up to 43 ft long—has been named Tylosaurus rex, or “king of the tylosaurs.” One of the largest mosasaurs known to date, this T. rex might be every bit as fearsome as the original “tyrant king.” Read more.👇
Giant Mosasaur Species from Texas Named T. rex | AMNH
New research describes Tylosaurus rex from more than a dozen previously known fossils.
bit.ly
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,000-year-old mummy with a papyrus fragment of the “Iliad” sealed in a clay packet outside its wrappings. It is the first time a literary work has been found playing a functional, spiritual role in the mummification process.
Archaeologists Find Egyptian Mummy Buried With the ‘Iliad’
For the deceased of Roman-era Egypt, Greek literature may have offered a cheat code to a more comfortable afterlife.
nyti.ms
Good news for all Jurassic ichthyosaur lovers! fr.pensoft.net/articles.php... In this paper we did 3 things: 1) assess a specimen of UK Stenopterygius, 2) Find new metrics to differentiate the Stenop species 3) ammend some taxonomy (no more Magnipterygius). Congrats to Timothee on his first paper!
A well-preserved specimen of Stenopterygius quadriscissus (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria) from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of Yorkshire, UK and new insights into species delineation in the genus
Despite abundant and productive Toarcian ichthyosaur-bearing localities in continental Europe, in the UK, Toarcian ichthyosaurs may often be fragmentary and/or too poorly preserved for positive identi...
fr.pensoft.net
Last week, @science.org revealed 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, a giant predatory octopus from the Cretaceous 🐙 This discovery reminds us how even a single lump of rock can totally change our perspective on the history of the world. Read more about the new sea monster here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Earliest octopuses were giant top predators in Cretaceous oceans
Top predators drive changes in ecosystem structure. For the last ~370 million years, large-sized vertebrates have dominated the apex of the marine food chain, while invertebrates have served as smalle...
science.org
Trump Fires Board Members of Group That Oversees U.S. Science Funding. Gift link: nyti.ms/4u7I3kr
nyti.ms
Trump fired all 24 members of the National Science Board, the body that oversees the National Science Foundation. The letters read, “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I’m writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately.”
Trump fires NSF's oversight board
Dismissal of the National Science Board is widely seen as latest move to erase NSF’s independence
science.org
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐬? Well, we’ve always assumed they did (and for good reason), but there’s been surprisingly little direct evidence to support this assumption. In a new paper, we describe an unassuming little Jurassic fossil that directly confirms it: doi.org/10.3374/014....
a whale is swimming in the ocean and has white spots on its back
ALT: a whale is swimming in the ocean and has white spots on its back
media.tenor.com
So glad to have been interviewed for this story! I stand by it ⚰️🔨 See the article below and the original paper by Ned Snelling and colleagues for more info on the increasingly dubious connection between high oxygen and griffenfly size 😎
Science Magazine@science.org · 4mo ago“This study places what may be the final nail in the coffin for the prevailing view that more oxygen made ancient insects bigger.” Learn more: https://scim.ag/4vcqqS8
🦖 Free Webinar: 200 Years of Vertebrate Paleontology in South Asia Join Dr. Advait Jukar for a fascinating look at the history and future of vertebrate paleontology in South Asia. 📅 March 11 | 12-1 PM ET 🔗 Register: anatomy.org/ANATOMY/Meet...
Very excited to share that our latest paper is out in Science! We show that the type specimen of Nanotyrannus—an isolated skull—is fully grown, showing that it is not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex but a distinct species (1/12) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Score more evidence for Nanotyrannus being a legit species of small tyrannosaur and not a juvenile T. rex: Mature histology in, of all bones, the hyoid. Of the holotype Cleveland skull! Truly innovative work by @griffinlabpaleo.bsky.social & team. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A diminutive tyrannosaur lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex
Whether Nanotyrannus lancensis represents a distinct taxon or an immature Tyrannosaurus rex is a decades-long controversy. The N. lancesis holotype is an isolated skull and ceratobranchials, but limb ...
science.org
Some crawled out of the ocean and then several million years later, crawled right back in. www.iflscience.com/when-did-som...
When Did Some Ancient Extinct Species Return To The Sea? Machine Learning Helps Find The Answer
Some crawled out of the ocean and then several million years later, crawled right back in.
iflscience.com
Many thanks to Dr. Silvia Pineda-Munoz at @climateages.bsky.social for covering our research! Check out her great article on our Spinosaurus results here: climateages.com/how-aquatic-... Or dive into the original paper below! doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
How Aquatic Was Spinosaurus, Really? - Climate Ages
Image made with CANVA with Artwork by PaleoGeekSquared Image made with CANVA with Artwork by PaleoGeekSquared From museum drawers to machine learning, scientists reveal a...
climateages.com
The surprising crab-trap–pulling behavior is described in this article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... We recently published a paper on how animal tool use is conceptualized, offering a framework to make sense of its different forms 👇📃 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #evosky #philsci
Tool Use Beyond Humans | Philosophy of Science | Cambridge Core
Tool Use Beyond Humans - Volume 92 Issue 4
cambridge.org
Greg Priest@gregpriest.bsky.social · 8mo agoApparent case of learned tool use by wolves. https://youtu.be/SiuQF68tdWI?si=k7DWNrI0y5jASt-o #EvoBio #HPBio
Dinosaurs were nearly wiped out 66 million years ago, long before the start of the Quaternary ice age. However, #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge shows that the few surviving dinosaurs (birds) would go on to become highly successful. Let's meet the ice age dinosaurs featured in the series! 🪶🧪
