pls note the bats have been carefully depicted HANGING FROM THEIR LITTLE BRANCHES on this radial phylogeny (bats drawn by Fiona Reid, whose portfolio is here --> fionareid.ca)

Michael Hiller@hillermich.bsky.social · yesterday

Happy to share results of the @bat1kgenomes.bsky.social phase 1, providing reference genomes covering 21 bat families. New insights into bat phylogeny, ancestral genome reconstruction, European origin & ancestral echolocation. Great work by a team of 100+ colleagues www.nature.com/articles/s41...

How do you take the temperature of a T. rex 66 million years too late? Time machine? Impossible. Billionaire’s dinosaur island? Risky. Geochemistry? Much safer 🦖🌡️ Our new Science Advances paper adds evidence for an endothermic, “warm-blooded” T. rex, link to the paper 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scia...

A must-read article! (and I truly appreciate that the authors emphasize the importance of the primary data in museum collections, as well as the key roles of both molecular *and* morphological data)

Journal of Systematic Palaeontology@journalsystpal.bsky.social · last wk.

Transforming turtle systematics: challenges, opportunities and the path ahead by Evers and Joyce 🔗 buff.ly/9dnDRTc #PaleoSky #turtles #systematics #phylogeny #morphology View the full series here: Perspectives on the Systematics of Fossil Organisms: Challenges and Opportunities: buff.ly/qiJ0XUO

Transforming turtle systematics: challenges, opportunities and the path ahead by Evers and Joyce 🔗 buff.ly/9dnDRTc #PaleoSky #turtles #systematics #phylogeny #morphology View the full series here: Perspectives on the Systematics of Fossil Organisms: Challenges and Opportunities: buff.ly/qiJ0XUO

The news none of us wanted www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...

Breaking: SA records first bird flu case in sea lion

The sea lion was found at Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island.

abc.net.au

For #FossilFriday: holotype of the extinct Pleistocene bison species Bison antiquus, one of millions of specimens housed in the collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University - the oldest natural history museum in the US, now slated for permanent closure on 30 September. 🧪

New paper lead by Siobhan Pearson, exploring morphological differences between fur seal and sea lion crania 🦭 We found that allometry explains most differences between the two groups. This project originated as Siobhan's Masters project at @nhm-london.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/mms....

Quantifying the Morphological Differences Between Fur Seals and Sea Lions

The eared seals (family Otariidae) are divided into fur seals and sea lions, despite a lack of cladistic support for these groups. The division is primarily based on hair morphology, and it is unknow...

doi.org

Delighted to finally share our paper examining Paleogene mammal faunas and global and regional environmental change in Central Asia.... www.nature.com/articles/s41... @nielsmeijer.bsky.social @sgn.one @idiv-research.bsky.social

Happy to announce the publication of our article in Nature Ecology & Evolution on adaptive zone evolution in terrestrial mammal carnivores. Over the next few days, I’ll share the major results—and by extension, take you on a tour of carnivore evolution. (rdcu.be/6okG1hVhvtHa) 1/n

1/11 🐟 2nd new preprint today from @chasedbrownstein.bsky.social We investigated how losing the swim bladder, the organ that most fishes use to control their buoyancy, has shaped the diversity of ray-finned fishes over 90 million years of Earth history. The results surprised us. 🧵

Banse, M., M. Van Steenberge, G. Sonet, et al. 2026. Echoes of Evolution in Holocentridae: Harmony Between Phylogeny, Morphology and Acoustics. Ecology and Evolution 16, no. 8: e74152. 🐟🧪 doi.org/10.1002/ece3....

Echoes of Evolution in Holocentridae: Harmony Between Phylogeny, Morphology and Acoustics

Using phylogenetic, morphological, and acoustic data from 53 species, we reconstructed the evolution of acoustic communication in nocturnal reef fishes of the family Holocentridae. Our results reveal...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

#toothtuesday A large lower premolar of the extinct "killer" walrus Pelagiarctos thomasi from the Sharktooth Hill Bonebed near Bakersfield, California, ~15.5 myo, middle Miocene. Specimen in @ucmpberkeley collections, published in Barnes, 1988. 🦖🐬

🦤 What do we really know about the Dodo? The dodo was likely nocturnal and, less surprisingly, its telencephalon was perfectly normal for a pigeon of its size. This paints a very different picture of one of history's most misunderstood birds. @evoneuro.bsky.social Paper: doi.org/10.1093/zool...

New Brain Scans Suggest the Dodo Was Active at Night

YouTube video by People Are Fish

youtu.be

Exhilarated to share a 2nd @science.org cover article this month from our lab @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social! A collaboration with US & Mexico colleagues on the role of a Mexican biogeographic holding pen in shaping the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI)(1/11) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Highly aquatic marine stem archosaur with soft tissue preservation | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Highly aquatic marine stem archosaur with soft tissue preservation

A 240-million-year-old reptile exhibits elongate forelimbs, a morphology consistent with adaptations to an aquatic lifestyle.

science.org

How did seals evolve to hear on land and underwater? This #ProcB study found a specialised ear tissue enables amphibious hearing in pinnipeds, revealing this unique adaptation evolved more than 26 million years ago. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #Evolution #Palaeontology

Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses) are the only mammals that hear well in both air and water. This study suggests that cavernous, blood-filled ear tissue helps make this amphibious sensation possible! 🧪 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Nelson 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2025) show the cranium, atlas and axis of 𝙀𝙤𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙞, revealing features linked to feeding behaviour: an enlarged temporal fossa, a dorsoventrally tall coronoid process, and a pronounced fossa for jaw‑adductor musculature: buff.ly/43FWxpK #FossilFriday #PaleoSky

Great new paper in Science from @narimanechatar.bsky.social and colleagues on morpho-functional divergences in the carnassial teeth of carnivores! 🦁 🐯 🐺 🦊 🦝 🧪 Check out the thread below!

Narimane Chatar@narimanechatar.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Excited to share our latest study highlighted on the cover of @science.org 🥳Combining a 3D dataset representing 250 taxa spanning the whole Cenozoic, 3D modelling & printing and material testing; we deciphered the form-function relationship in the lower 🦷 of mammals www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The seminar below is about ears, which makes it inherently interesting. But a seminar about the ears of marine mammals? Bliss!

Dr James Rule@palaeo-jrule.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I recorded a seminar for the Royal Society on our study on the Evolution of amphbious hearing in seals 🦭🔊🧪 cassyni.com/events/7cKKw...

I recorded a seminar for the Royal Society on our study on the Evolution of amphbious hearing in seals 🦭🔊🧪 cassyni.com/events/7cKKw...

Excited to share our latest study highlighted on the cover of @science.org 🥳Combining a 3D dataset representing 250 taxa spanning the whole Cenozoic, 3D modelling & printing and material testing; we deciphered the form-function relationship in the lower 🦷 of mammals www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Want to know more about the evolution of amphibious hearing in seals? Check out our article in The Conversation! 🦭 🔊 🧪 doi.org/10.64628/AA....

Seals have a unique superpower in their ears, and we finally know how it evolved

Unlike all other mammals, seals can hear both in the air and underwater. How do they do this?

doi.org

Excellent thread summing up this neat paper

Dr James Rule@palaeo-jrule.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Seals have a superpower: they are the only mammals with amphibious hearing! They hear well both in-air and underwater. My collagues and I have a new study in Proceedings B on the origins and evolution of amphibious hearing in pinnipeds 🦭🔊🧪 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Our newest paper on mammalian dental evolution, out today as the cover article in @science.org, lead by @narimanechatar.bsky.social with a team of fantastic early career scientists!!! 🎉🥳 “Performance trade-offs define a fundamental dental dichotomy in mammals” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I’m happy to say the first chapter of my dissertation has just gotten published! Here, we compared the results of two prominent tools for measuring muscle architecture from contrast data, Xfiber and Goodfibes, with some recommendations for each. anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Relative performance of automated fiber‐tracking approaches to <fc>3D</fc> muscle architecture and their utility for comparative biomechanics

Muscle architecture is a key determinant of muscle performance, informing the calculation of functional traits such as force production and excursion distance. Due to its importance in understanding ....

anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

This is such a cool study! Sometimes I feel seals kind of get overlooked next to whales, but they have such unique adaptions to aquatic living 😱🥰

Dr James Rule@palaeo-jrule.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Seals have a superpower: they are the only mammals with amphibious hearing! They hear well both in-air and underwater. My collagues and I have a new study in Proceedings B on the origins and evolution of amphibious hearing in pinnipeds 🦭🔊🧪 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

If you want an up-to-date summary of whale and dolphin evolution, have a read of my new review paper in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com! I’ve tried to cover as much research as possible in this, so apologies if I’ve missed you! doi.org/10.1038/s443...

The evolution and diversification of Cetacea - Nature Reviews Biodiversity

Cetaceans are a highly diverse and enigmatic group of animals with a well-documented evolutionary history. This Review describes the macroevolutionary and palaeobiological history of Cetacea, from the...

doi.org

This paper is so freakin' cool. The authors use a combination of comparative anatomy, the fossil record, phylogenetic methods, and morphometric analysis to figure out how (and when) seals evolved "amphibious hearing" that uniquely enable them to effectively hear in both air & underwater

Dr James Rule@palaeo-jrule.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Seals have a superpower: they are the only mammals with amphibious hearing! They hear well both in-air and underwater. My collagues and I have a new study in Proceedings B on the origins and evolution of amphibious hearing in pinnipeds 🦭🔊🧪 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Really great to see the work @palaeo-jrule.bsky.social did while he was here at @NHM London out. Super cool stuff.

Dr James Rule@palaeo-jrule.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Seals have a superpower: they are the only mammals with amphibious hearing! They hear well both in-air and underwater. My collagues and I have a new study in Proceedings B on the origins and evolution of amphibious hearing in pinnipeds 🦭🔊🧪 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...