I have started a YouTube series "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters (not necessarily in that order!). The first episode has just come out, all about the life of the Victorian "sea serpent monomaniac" Captain George Drevar. www.youtube.com/channel/UCVa...

I was asked if o e of my papers(!) could be filmed for this. I hope it made the final cut. m.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Ew...

Coming very soon a new video podcast for YouTube called "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters, with quite a lot of history (but no AI!) by yours truly. So if you want high quality scholarly info on aquatic monsters stories, accounts and what generates them watch this space.

A group of us here at St Andrews have just published a comment on the statistics of the recent Nanaimoteuthis paper in Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... TLDR version lots of unknowns, not really a statistical estimate, unproven at current time. But not impossible.

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

Statistical commentary on the recent giant Nanaimoteuthis paper submitted to Science....

This could be a problem for scholars of the anomalous.

WIRED@wired.com · 3mo ago

“Never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant,” reads OpenAI's coding agent instructions. www.wired.com/story/openai...

Working on a comment on the Nanaimoteuthis paper in Science...

Dare I ask this? What is the consensus? Is it "Bigfoot" or "bigfoot"? Before anyone says I know the plural is not "Bigfeet!! Although it would be cool if it was.

I touched a book with a hand written comment by Galileo today. Awesome.

A new Nessie doc, with (unusually) interviews with scientists who actually have published papers in cryptozoology! www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezT...

IFLScience Investigates The Loch Ness Monster: The Science, Story, And Power Of Belief

YouTube video by IFLScience

youtube.com

Just received "Dear Dr. Monstrum, I’m reaching out to invite you to consider joining the editorial board of Academia Animal and Veterinary Science, an upcoming Open Access peer-reviewed journal from Academia.edu Journals. " Actually I rather like being called "Dr Monstrum"

Academia.edu - Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers

Academia.edu is the platform to share, find, and explore 50 Million research papers. Join us to accelerate your research needs & academic interests.

academia.edu

Latest article: This may make me unpopular in the scientific skeptical movement but it should not do... skepticalinquirer.org/2025/10/weir...

Weird Things Some Scientific Skeptics Say about Science | Skeptical Inquirer

Despite their commitment to critical thinking and evidence-based approaches to solving problems, some otherwise very clear-thinking skeptics occasionally pr ...

skepticalinquirer.org

I am opposed to AI products and services because of the extra power they require... IN A CLIMATE CRISIS. I am opposed to AI results - texts and illustrations - because they've been created unethically, via theft and non-consensual use of the work of others. Share if you agree.

A well rounded article from the Daily Mail(!) on our recent research on Nessie www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/... If you want the original article it can be found here. authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...

Those who spot the Loch Ness Monster are telling the truth, study says

Nessie spotters are telling the truth and really do see humps in the loch, a jaw-dropping new study has revealed.

dailymail.co.uk

New paper by Adrian Shine and myself. A cultural exploration of aquatic monsters with an unexpected twist about eyewitness testimony. Hoops, loops and eyewitness reliability: a history of biologically impossible aquatic monsters. authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...

What to know about the history of sea serpents with loops? Coming very soon.

From ChatGPt "Cryptozoology, as practiced by Charles Paxton, is not pseudoscience." Nice to know.

How do witnesses report biologically impossible sea monsters....coming soon.

I'm a big fan of the "sea monster upsets people in rowing boat" art motif. Here is an example I just discovered.

Just discovered there was a Peterhead fishing vessel in 1888 called "Princess of Thule" which has a really Edgar Rice Burroughs ring to it. "Princess of Ultima Thule" would be even cooler though.

The Monsters of the Deep exhibition at Aberdeen Art Gallery www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/whats-a... originated by @tetzoo.bsky.social is great and well worth a trip if you are a monster fan.

I am giving a talk 12.30 pm tomorrow at Aberdeen art gallery www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/plan-yo... as part of the Monsters of the Deep designed by @tetzoo.bsky.social . Come along if around.

Many of us more skeptical cryptozoologists, think that some aspects of cz reports are driven by culture, indeed @tetzoo.bsky.social and I have published on this...however Adrian Shine and I have a new study out fairly soon that implies in one case, witnesses have NOT been influenced by culture....

On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked, "If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?" Allow our scaled diagram to explain...

Interesting report from Reuters about what happens when fishery scientists are sacked for "savings" and to prevent "overregulation". www.reuters.com/world/us/how...

How Trump’s regulatory freeze is disrupting the US fishing industry

From the Atlantic to Alaska, fishermen say overfishing and fleet delays are shaking up a $320 billion industry.

reuters.com

Nice review by @tetzoo.bsky.social at tetzoo.com/blog/2025/3/... of my collaborator Adrian Shine's rather good new book on sea serpents. I agree with everything he says except I am not wholly convinced by Adrian's explanation for the Valhalla sea serpent.

On the plus side, it would be good for the planet if all the Trumpeters start buying Teslas out of tribalism. Let's face it, they would not have bought an electric car otherwise.

Now accepting applicants for 25-26 intake of our #StatisticalEcology MSc: bit.ly/3ooHNyc. A unique opportunity to develop skills at the interface of #statistics and #ecology (some partial scholarships available too). Please help me share!

There is a documentary entitled "Mysteries of Loch Ness" this Sunday on Channel 4. It might mention some upcoming surprising research of Paxton and Shine about the nature of Nessie testimony. The paper is due out soon.

Early publication of a paper by Adrian Shine, Valentin Popov and myself on the statistical use of anecdotes with some interesting stats about the Loch Ness Monster. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Identifying Biases and the Relevant Statistical Population: the Case of the Loch Ness Monster

We used a database of Loch Ness Monster reports to show university level students how important it is to think about bias and the identification of the correct statistical population. The Loch Ness...

tandfonline.com