It's a major award! I keep telling @boydpaleo.bsky.social he should mass produce these to fund @ndgspaleo.bsky.social, but apparently @mhouseholder.bsky.social has to hand paint each one. So... maybe not?
Stephanie Drumheller
@uglyfossils.bsky.social
Studying the evolution of archosaurs and their behaviors, one ugly fossil at a time. she/her
This research trip's "mommy guilt" present feels a little weirdly self-agrandizing.
Happy #FossilFriday from the special surprise found inside the last stupid Xiphactinus that i discovered this spring: a complete Micropycnodon! This poor little guy was eaten right before the Xiphactinus (nicknamed Brown Sugar) died, and is forever trapped in fish rib jail. 🧪🐟
I collected too much data and had to buy a backup notebook in the NHMU giftshop. In conclusion, Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry has too many interesting bone surface modifications.
Alright NHMU collections, you have my attention.
To all my professional acquaintances that convinced the higher ups to go along with this: Heck you!
John P. Friel, Ph.D.@friel.bsky.social · 3w agoDear @mosasaurologist.bsky.social, I am so very sorry. 😂
Because sometimes you have to escape collections and stretch your legs mid-research:
Here be Witches. We come as four and toil with the dead until their secrets start to pour. #taphonomy #Morrison #dinosaurs #Macabre #science @uglyfossils.bsky.social @jptaphonomy.bsky.social
Hanging out in the Natural History Museum of Utah's collections, hunting bite marks and other taphonomic goodies:
“I’ve been joking that these fish were just out there making poor life choices." Many thanks to @uglyfossils.bsky.social for talking to me about some unusual fossil bite marks! My latest Buttondown article, out now for paid subscribers! buttondown.com/restingdinof...
Some Fish Will Never Learn
Strange bite marks indicate some fish just kept picking the wrong prey.
buttondown.com
Evidence of fruit-eating from preserved gut contents in Eocene birds of the Messel Formation: link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🪶🧪 (📷Mayr & Collinson)
So excited to be a co-author on this paper with an amazing team led by @egveatch.bsky.social, published today! Tl:dr - 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 scavenged (not hunted) Stegodon and did not have control of fire at Liang Bua.
Dr. E Grace Veatch@egveatch.bsky.social · last mo.🐘 check out our newest paper from Liang Bua! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Did H. floresiensis hunt Stegodon? 🔪 Did they also had control use of fire? 🔥 We tested these early claims of complex behavior using taphonomy, experimental archaeology, and zooarchaeology of the Stegodon assemblage.
Decomposing vertebrates introduce a whole host of nutrients into their immediate environments. In related news, my alligators have beautiful plant halos this morning:
This is really interesting. The common cause (of evolution, taphonomy) does deep: "Monsoon-driven storms created a Cretaceous dinosaur Lagerstätte. Microbial mats enabled rapid sealing and exceptional soft-tissue preservation." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪 ⚒️ #Geology #Paleobio
@utknoxville.bsky.social and my home department will be hosting #2028NAPC. The first circular is out now: napc2028.sites.utk.edu
Welcome to NAPC 2028! - NAPC 2028
Join the international paleontology community for the 13th North American Paleontological Conference from May 22-26, 2028 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The North American Paleontological Conference is a m...
napc2028.sites.utk.edu
I would joke about job security here, but that maybe cuts a little too close to the bone. Anyway, turns out equifinality is as thorny of an issue as we've all said, even when you turn our shiniest new tech onto the problem. 🧪 journal.caa-international.org/articles/10....
Deep Learning-Based Computer Vision Is Not Yet the Answer to Taphonomic Equifinality in Bone Surface Modifications | Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology
journal.caa-international.org
The #Snyderfire is burning near our museum in Fruita, so we suspended field work to kick fire prep into high gear. Fire systems are ready to go, but with sprinklers to fight fire, we also have to prep for water mitigation too. We're not in any immediate danger, but how's the time to get ready!
"Scientists don't want you to know-" Buddy there are so many things I, as a scientist, want you to know and the only thing stopping me from writing more papers and posts about it and then starting a podcast to tell you even MORE things is that I am limited by hours in the day
📣 Attention to U.S. Paleontologists! See you email for links to take action. #paleontology #geoscience #paleo
Closing out my summer class with our usual fossil collection field trip, ending with a visit to the Clinch Mountain trace fossil wall:
Aw, a cute little fossil croc with soft tissue preservation!
Soft tissue preservation in the Barremian Montsecosuchus depereti (Neosuchia: Atoposauridae)
Abstract. Crocodylomorpha (crocodilians and their extinct relatives) have an extensive fossil record that extends from the Late Triassic to the present day
academic.oup.com
So far, the theme of my 2026 publications seems to be "fish making poor life choices." 🧪 In this example, we have multiple blastoid specimens that seem to preserve partially healed fish bite marks: www.scup.com/eprint/AQIF3...
Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside: evidence for vertebrate predation and recovery in the Mississippian blastoid Pentremites spicatus
Predation acts as a major evolutionary selective pressure, but this process must often be approached indirectly in the fossil record. Predation and consumption are often destructive processes for the ...
scup.com
Made these in celebration of all the dedicated dads of the animal world, and in memory of my stepdad.
My dogs are performing a taphonomic experiment in my backyard.
This month, SVP stands in proud support of our LGBTQIA+ community. Complex and expansive expressions of gender and sexuality are as natural as they are ancient. It is imperative to protect the rights of all people, celebrating the diversity that strengthens our society. Art: @emmalerae.bsky.social
Doing my annual field trip today to the Gray Fossil Site to say hi to their alligator.
