I feel like xkcd has been getting more into geoscience the last couple of years, and I absolutely love it. Bonus text reads "the administration thinks it's weird, but the geologists say it looks normal." xkcd.com/3284/

I am genuinely looking forward to the coming academic year. Lots of changes, lots of opportunity! However, I have enjoyed my summer break, spending hours watching my kids swim and enjoying a book poolside. A thoroughly-needed mental break!

Howdy #JMIH2026 folks! Love fossils? Be sure to see my talk Saturday (July 10) at 3:30 in Grand Chernier room to hear about all sorts of cool fossils (not just fish!) from the Cretaceous of Minnesota.

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...

Research traces evolution of anglerfishes’ famed fishing-rod lures

Variously horrific- or alien-looking, many female anglerfishes sport long, protruding lures used for enticing prey or signaling during mating. Now, research from the University of Kansas is giving new...

news.ku.edu

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

Research traces evolution of anglerfishes’ famed fishing-rod lures

Variously horrific- or alien-looking, many female anglerfishes sport long, protruding lures used for enticing prey or signaling during mating. Now, research from the University of Kansas is giving new...

news.ku.edu

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

Waite Park Welcomes First Full-time Water Resource Specialist Ella Burfeind

Waite Park welcomes Ella Burfeind as its first full-time Water Resource Specialist, tackling water management issues and focusing on PFAS while promoting sustainability in the community.

wjon.com

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...

'There's creepy stuff happening in central Minnesota,' author says

Minnesota author Jess Lourey discusses how growing up amid abductions and secrets inspires her mystery novels.

sctimes.com

Hey! We did a thing!

CSD Facility@csdfacility.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Drew Osman and Sarah Gibson from St. Cloud State University are using historical records and surface cores from Ann Lake, MN to identify sediment proxies that may highlight differences on the residential and the Sand Dunes State Forest sides of the lake.

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!

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation@xercessociety.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Got some extra stone bricks or sidewalk pavers? That’s free bug real estate! 🪨🐝 Plenty of bees, fireflies, & other bugs love to make their home under rocks. The housing market is tough, so learn how to help your local bugs by adding a rock feature to your space ⤵️

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

SCSU student honored with outstanding research poster award

Eryn Bloom has been honored for her undergraduate research on assessing flood risk in Midwest state parks and recreation areas.

today.stcloudstate.edu

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.

Hady George@houdzgeorge.bsky.social · 7mo ago

A fossil goblin shark from an ~85 million year old Lagerstatte in Lebanon. This gnarly fish is now on display in Paris You can support the people displaced by the criminal war on Lebanon here: gofund.me/38edcc7c7

"Fossils are another major theme in Pokémon"

Pokémon turns 30 — how the fictional pocket monsters shaped science

The Japanese media sensation has inspired generations of researchers in fields as diverse as evolution, biodiversity and research integrity.

nature.com

An evening stroll for our neighborhood dinosaur flock.