When I first heard about this, my brain looked at the numbers, 476 over millions of years, and concluded this was actually "That Spot Where All The Other Wales Told Them Not To Go, But They Went Anyway And Were Never Seen Again." I realise it's not as catchy as WHALE NECROPOLIS, obviously.

@thefossilfiles.bsky.social · yesterday

How could 476 whale skeletons accumulate at the bottom of 6km ocean trench over 5 million years? Introducing the WHALE NECROPOLIS

How could 476 whale skeletons accumulate at the bottom of 6km ocean trench over 5 million years? Introducing the WHALE NECROPOLIS

Did a lack of sex hold back the evolution of the first animals? To answer this question, you need some lovely Ediacaran fossils and lots of interesting maths. An x-rated double hitter for @thefossilfiles.bsky.social this week with @egmitchell.bsky.social and @tweetisaurus.bsky.social

JOB CLAXON! Research assistant at Bham doing CT segmentation. You probably want this job. I want this job. Amazing fossils and the best team 👇👇👇👇👇

Richard Butler@richardjbutler.bsky.social · 3w ago

23 month research associate job now available with our team to work on Middle Jurassic mammals from Scotland. Requires strong experience with segmentation of CT data but does not require a PhD. Deadline for applications is 26th July. edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Why did T.rex have such tiny weedy arms? 🦖 🔍💪 It has always been a mystery perplexing palaeontologists and non-palaeontologists alike. This week we find out what happened!

Happy one year anniversary to one of the most enjoyable and informative science podcasts of which I know: @thefossilfiles.bsky.social. 🥳🎉 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The Fossil Files is one year old: The best bits so far

Podcast Episode · The Fossil Files · June 16 · 34m

podcasts.apple.com

The mossy forests of the Devonian were towered over by mysterious 8m tall giants, Prototaxites. But what were these weirdos? New research suggests it not a plant, not a fungus, not an animal, but some other previously unknown form of life

National Museums Northern Ireland are hiring a curator of vertebrates!! Details here - deadline soon!! ce0568li.webitrent.com/ce0568li_web...

You know that paper on the giant intelligent octopus that was the largest animal in the Cretaceous oceans? We did a #FossilFiles on it. Two words: error bars. You can hear me say these two words quite often wherever you get your podcasts share.google/Gttt7x9NPVzQ... @thefossilfiles.bsky.social

The Fossil Files: Were giant super intelligent octopuses the top predators of the Cretaceous?

Cretaceous oceans have long been accepted as a dangerous place full of massive mosaurs and other predators. Now some new fossils from Japan have upended this with the suggestion that the "top dog" was...

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Last day in Morocco for Team 2026. I was presented with this commemorative plaque by the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at USMBA to celebrate our ongoing collaboration, and we had a nice dinner together in Fes. We will be back next year!

A sneak peak of us sniggering about mammoths sneezing themselves to death 🦣🤧☠️

When did mammoths go extinct? Did they sneeze themselves to death as a result of allergies? We take a look at some 'massive' fossil fails in the latest episode: Weird ideas about how and when mammoths were "snuffed out"

We have a Patreon! If you enjoy the Fossil Files, consider helping us cover our running costs!

@thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 4mo ago

This is the first episode exclusive for our new Patreon where you can find bonus content and offer your much needed support www.patreon.com/c/FossilFiles

How do you become a palaeontologist? @tweetisaurus.bsky.social and @fossilrob.bsky.social chat about their own routes and their advice for aspiring fossil fans

✨️ HEY IT'S NEW EPISODE DAY ✨️! In our latest episode, Ray and Dave review the evidence with Dr. James Napoli @jgn-paleo.bsky.social, co-author of the new research paper 📝 that resolves the validity of #Nanotyrannus 🦖. 🔊 Listen now! www.paleonerds.com/podcast/jame...

Enjoyed learning about fossil bumholes this week with Rob and Suzie. Officially my favourite science podcast* (*Technically the only science podcast I listen to).

@thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Jaw dropping fossil integument news: this new Iguanodontian was rather improbably covered in porcupine-like spines and this Permian trace fossil captures the earliest known cloaca

In which Susie and I try not to giggle about fossil butt holes and silly looking dinosaurs

@thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Jaw dropping fossil integument news: this new Iguanodontian was rather improbably covered in porcupine-like spines and this Permian trace fossil captures the earliest known cloaca

Jaw dropping fossil integument news: this new Iguanodontian was rather improbably covered in porcupine-like spines and this Permian trace fossil captures the earliest known cloaca

We talked about this incredible new lagerstatten in the latest #FossilFiles podcast. You can listen to Rob's take on it here youtube.com/@palaeo_sans... or wherever you get your podcasts @thefossilfiles.bsky.social

The Fossil Files: 24. How and when did animals first appear? Extraordinary new fossils from China

What (and when) is an animal? They are thought to have first arrived about 500 million years ago and immediately underwent an explosive diversifcation at the beginning of the Cambrian. When and how th...

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Matthew Cobb@matthewcobb.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Fabulous new set of early animal fossils

I’m looking for a post doc (up to five years) interested in phylogenetics and earth systems - please spread the word!

Barbara Kleine-Marshall@barbaraikm.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We are looking for 6 motivated Postdocs interested in various aspects of Earth system sciences. More information here: fau-earth-system-science.github.io #geochemistry

It has always been difficult to properly understand the Cambrian explosion because the fossil preservation windows are limited and change at the beginning of Cambrian. But take a look at this!

Aww very nice coverage of our paper. For some context I spent four years going through the 1000 of specimens from the bonebed and STILL find something new and interesting every time I go through it 😂

Makovicky, P.J., Mitchell, J.S., Meso, J.G. et al. Argentine fossil rewrites evolutionary history of a baffling dinosaur clade. Nature (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Argentine fossil rewrites evolutionary history of a baffling dinosaur clade - Nature

A skeleton of the alvarezsauroid Alnashetri cerropoliciensis—representing a highly complete alvarezsauroid skeleton from South America—provides evidence on the evolution of the peculiar anatomy and mi...

doi.org

Fossil Fish News! (with some dinosaur news on the side)

@thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Was the solution to palaeo mysteries hidden right in front of our faces? High powered X-ray analyses of Silurian 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 fossils reveals cryptic 👁️ & 🦴 of early vertebrates, whilst new discoveries in Cretaceous 🇭🇺 find the missing European ceratopsians. Find out more in this week's new episode!

Was the solution to palaeo mysteries hidden right in front of our faces? High powered X-ray analyses of Silurian 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 fossils reveals cryptic 👁️ & 🦴 of early vertebrates, whilst new discoveries in Cretaceous 🇭🇺 find the missing European ceratopsians. Find out more in this week's new episode!

What do you want to hear about? Every week we cover a new palaeo paper or discovery. This time, we are asking you to choose! Take a look at the options below and 'like' the title(s) you want @tweetisaurus.bsky.social and @fossilrob.bsky.social to do next!

The end Permian nearly wiped out all life on earth.🌋🦈🐬🐍🐊🐸 Now new data shows that life bounced back much faster than expected with a big diversity of predators right at the beginning of the Triassic. Find out more in today's new episode

Is it our ability to survive lead poisoning that made us human?☠️ 🦧 🧠 🦷 A new study combining data from gigant orangutan fossil teeth and artificially grown brains in jars paints a picture of distant human origins and language development. Episode out today!

Gigantopithecus was a massive fossil orangutan with a weird origin story. Sneak preview of next week's episode for #FossilFriday

🎉✨ The PalAss is BACK after winter break! ✨🎉 And we’re coming back with amazing news 👀👇 🌍✈️ Next ProgPal is heading to London! 📅 22–25 June 2026 💡Get ready for inspiring sessions, great talks, and posters 🇬🇧 ⚠️Stay tuned — more details coming soon! 🚀🔥 #conference