Davide Foffa
@davfoff.bsky.social
Palaeobiologists (University of Birmingham, Virginia Tech, National Museums Scotland). Vertebrate Palaeobiologist: Mesozoic reptiles, anatomy, systematics, palaeoecology, macroevolution & assemblages, digital palaeontology https://davidefoffa.weebly.com
Congratulations to all members of the Palaeobiology group at the University of Birmingham - tonight we won the Rose Sidgwick Award for External Engagement & Impact at the University’s Founders’ Awards, our highest internal awards. youtu.be/rXLX0sN5Q5c?...
New review paper with Martín Ezcurra just published in @journalsystpal.bsky.social as part of a special issue! Modern reptiles comprise archosaurs 🐊🦉, lepidosaurs🦎🐍, and turtles🐢, but their origins is murky. Where do turtles fit in, really? And most marine reptiles? Choristoderes? Drepanosaurs? ->
Our @gardenersworldmag.bsky.social garden is open! Between the 18–21 June 2026, explore #prehistoric #plants, hear from @profaliceroberts.bsky.social, and spot our life-size reconstructions of #extinct #animals! Tickets are available through the BBC website. 📷: Jake Atterby
palaeoverse is a community-driven R package of generic functions to help streamline palaeobiological analyses and improve code readability and reproducibility. This is our last version before a major refactor in Autumn, supported by funding from the @softwaresaved.bsky.social.
📢 Please repost! Want to do a Masters by Research at the University of Bristol? If you're interested in phylogenetics, morphology, macroevolution or vertebrate palaeobiology, please get in touch! More information: tinyurl.com/4h6v3s99 ⏰ Deadlines: • International: 30th June • Home: 31st July
Biological Sciences | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol
Find out about the University of Bristol's PhD in Biological Sciences, including entry requirements, supervisors and research groups.
bristol.ac.uk
A short-snouted ‘sphenosuchian’ with unusual feeding anatomy demonstrates that ecological specialization occurred early in crocodylomorph evolution url: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
A short-snouted ‘sphenosuchian’ with unusual feeding anatomy demonstrates that ecological specialization occurred early in crocodylomorph evolution
Abstract. The early evolution and diversification of Crocodylomorpha is a key component of vertebrate evolution on land but is somewhat poorly understood a
royalsocietypublishing.org
A new taxon of saurischian dinosaur from the Coelophysis Quarry of New Mexico, USA (Triassic: latest Norian or Rhaetian) highlights herrerasaurian diversity in the latest Triassic - Srivastava - 2026 - Papers in Palaeontology - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
A new taxon of saurischian dinosaur from the Coelophysis Quarry of New Mexico, USA (Triassic: latest Norian or Rhaetian) highlights herrerasaurian diversity in the latest Triassic
The most complete record of the earliest dinosaur lineages is from the Carnian from the higher latitudes of Pangea (e.g. present-day Brazil, Argentina), but dinosaurian assemblages from the upper sta...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
As the sole living genera of an ancient order of reptiles, tuataras are key for fossil comparisons of extinct species & modern lepidosaurs (lizards & snakes). Here, their axial skeleton is described in detail, offering new insights to this unique creature...Tuatar-ya interested? 🌍🧪👇
The axial skeleton of the tuatara (Rhynchocephalia: Sphenodon): insights on intraspecific variability, ontogeny, sexual dimorphism, and remarks on fossil taxa
Abstract. As the sole living rhynchocephalian, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) provides important comparative information for fossil rhynchocephalians an
doi.org
How should I publish my digital fossil? Recommendations for the publication of comprehensive 3D datasets in palaeontological studies onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @daniajinn.bsky.social @mfnberlin.bsky.social @dfg.de @datadryad.bsky.social #FossilFriday
Lystrosaurus embryo! Benoit J, Fernandez V, Botha J (2026) The first non-mammalian synapsid embryo from the Triassic of South Africa. PLoS One 21(4): e0345016. doi.org/10.1371/jour...
The first non-mammalian synapsid embryo from the Triassic of South Africa
Oviparity was likely the plesiomorphic reproductive condition for non-mammalian Synapsida, the stem-mammal group. Yet, despite nearly two centuries of research, no definitive fossil eggs of late Palaeozoic or early Mesozoic synapsids have been discovered. Here, three perinate specimens of the dicynodont genus Lystrosaurus from the Early Triassic of the South African Karoo Basin are examined using high-resolution CT and synchrotron scanning. One specimen, NMQR 3636, displays a tightly curled posture suggestive of an in ovo position and completely lacks tusks. Crucially, the lower jaw symphysis remains unfused—a developmental trait found only in pre-hatching embryos of modern birds and turtles. No calcified eggshell is preserved, so the egg might have been soft and leathery. The large size of the reconstructed egg suggests a precocial, non-milk-feeding developmental strategy. As a non-cynodont synapsid, Lystrosaurus offers a rare and valuable glimpse into reproductive biology far removed from the mammalian crown group. Unlike the more derived, mammal-like cynodont Kayentatherium, whose egg size aligns with lactation, Lystrosaurus anchors the plesiomorphic condition deep within Synapsida. Its reproductive strategy may have played a crucial role in its resilience and ecological dominance following the end-Permian mass extinction.
doi.org
‼️🚨 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.
Job Details
my.corehr.com
A special #fossilfriday, as we were visited by several of our illustrious Univ of Edinburgh paleontology alums! Paige dePolo, Kim Kean, some scrawny balding guy in a flamboyant purple shirt, Sarah Shelley, @davfoff.bsky.social What great students we've had & long may it continue!
Pretty grim reading on the future for UK academia: blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducat...
Universities: get ready for the new normal - LSE Higher Education
Research funding is being restructured. Student lives have fundamentally changed. Yet universities continue planning for minor adjustments to a model that no longer exists. Huw Morris examines two str...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
The Stuttgart Natural History Museum is offering a postdoc position (m/f/d) in Temnospondyl Geochemistry E 13 TV-L, 100 %, 2 years Application deadline: March 8th, 2026 ➡ Further information: https://t1p.de/nwrfi
Congrats to Ewan Bodenham @stephanspiekman.bsky.social @tweetisaurus.bsky.social Paul Upchurch & @pdmannion.bsky.social on describing Galahadosuchus, a new crocodylomorph from Triassic Gloucestershire. Reconstruction: @sketchy-raptor.bsky.social anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Meet Galahadosuchus jonesi, a new crocodylomorph from the Late Triassic of the UK, described by @es-ucl.bsky.social & @nhm-london.bsky.social PhD student Ewan Bodenham (with @stephanspiekman.bsky.social, @tweetisaurus.bsky.social & Paul Upchurch): anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
What do we want? Fossil databases! 🐚🦕 When do we want them? Forever! 🗓️ Nice new paper highlighting how academic funding systems and digital architecture need to change, to ensure we can protect and sustain our precious fossil data 📚 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The billion-dollar case for sustaining palaeontology’s digital databases - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The authors survey community palaeontological databases, documenting their contributions to science as well as their vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations for the future of open science databas...
nature.com
Ever wanted to know what the fossil record of trackways can tell us about past life? Well look no further than this excellent review paper in Palaeontology by the one & only @peterfalkingham.com and the legendary Stephen Gatesy: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Formation, preservation, and interpretation of dinosaur tracks
The fossilized tracks of dinosaurs were first reported in the scientific literature in 1836, not long after Buckland's discovery of Megalosaurus. Tracks record aspects of dinosaur locomotion, diversi...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Out in @nature.com today, we shake up the ornithischian family tree. Remember those weird Late Cretaceous iguanodontians, the rhabdodontids? Well they're weird because they aren't iguanodontians. They're ceratopsians. Well, at least some of them are... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A hidden diversity of ceratopsian dinosaurs in Late Cretaceous Europe - Nature
New results indicate that rhabdodontids and the previously described Ajkaceratops are actually distinctive European ceratopsians, a group better known from Asia and North America.
nature.com
I wrote a piece for @theconversation.com about the top dinosaur discoveries of 2025, featuring Zavacephale, Istiorachis, Spicomellus, Nanotyrannus and Huayracursor. Research from @tweetisaurus.bsky.social @valdosaurus.bsky.social, Lindsay Zanno and more: theconversation.com/the-best-din...
The best dinosaur discoveries of 2025
We’re in a golden era for dinosaur science.
theconversation.com
Our first follow up from the Science paper: New paper on tooth morphology in the Grippia Bonebed - the oldest and most diverse Mesozoic marine tetrapod ecosystem. Paper open access here: njg.geologi.no/publications...
Dental and Dietary Disparity Among Marine Vertebrates from the Early Triassic (Spathian) of Svalbard – Life Bites the Dust, or A New Hope? - Norwegian Journal of Geology
The Early Triassic saw the recovery of ecosystems after the most severe mass extinction event in Earth’s history. However, the ecosystems of the Early Triassic and their patterns of recovery after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction are poorly known due to a scarce fossil record. This study uses dental material to provide information on the taxonomic […]
njg.geologi.no
Yes, you CAN go back in time! This StoryMap allows readers to experience several hundred million years of Earth history in just minutes with a scroll-driven animation. Happy GIS Day too! ow.ly/ZjFV50XsVbc Want to know how the team did it? ow.ly/gC3k50XsVQY ⚒️ 🧪 #gischat #geogsky #geogchat 🌎 🌍 🌏
Then we have the Triassic symposium in the room with the massive screen... @elsa-panciroli.bsky.social, @stephanspiekman.bsky.social, and @davfoff.bsky.social shown here..
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I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees! yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/ Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches. Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
PhyloWeaver – Interactive phylogenetic tree editor
Edit and visualize phylogenetic trees directly in your browser. PhyloWeaver lets you interactively rearrange tree topologies and export high-quality figures for publications and presentations.
yawak.jp
An Edinburgh family photo at the @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social meeting. Soon after we lost my PhD advisor Mark Norell, it was special to be surrounded by the students and postdocs I’ve supervised!
Check out this #CORDIScovery podcast on how we study extinct animals, ecosystem and evolution in deep time. I greatly enjoyed learning and discussing our EU funded projects: #ECODIV, #DINODAWN, #MAPAS with @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social and Sara Varela!
Professor John R. Hutchinson@johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 9mo ago#CORDIScovery podcast about my #DAWNDINOS Triassic-Jurassic archosaur locomotor biomechanics project, @davfoff.bsky.social's #ECODIV mass extinction/diversity/ecosystems project, Prof. Sara Varela's #MAPAS climate/biogeography/macroevolution project. Nice synergy! cordis.europa.eu/article/id/4...
#CORDIScovery podcast about my #DAWNDINOS Triassic-Jurassic archosaur locomotor biomechanics project, @davfoff.bsky.social's #ECODIV mass extinction/diversity/ecosystems project, Prof. Sara Varela's #MAPAS climate/biogeography/macroevolution project. Nice synergy! cordis.europa.eu/article/id/4...
When it comes to dinosaurs, was Orwell right?
In his novel Animal Farm, Orwell’s character claims: “Four legs good, two legs bad.” Would the tyrannosaurs agree? Or did...
cordis.europa.eu
