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Alexis Licht

@alexislicht.bsky.social
1.2K followers 858 following 166 posts

Geologist, paleobiologist, @CNRS.fr research scientist, co-director of the Climate team at CEREGE @climatecerege.bsky.social, PI of ERC-funded @dispersal-erc.bsky.social project

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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Too many activities in your calendar? Close to burn out? This French foundation found the solution. Registering should be mandatory for every academic. www.fondationdurien.org
fondationdurien.org
Bienvenue sur le site de La Fondation du Rien
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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Fossil taxa are sometimes considered island weirdos without any actual evidence that island effects were important in their evolution. So we wrote a paper on how we could do actual island biogeography in deep time. If you want a copy but can't access it, email me: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
nature.com
Island biogeography in deep time - Nature Reviews Biodiversity
Island ecosystems feature unique species assemblages with diverse evolutionary histories, but identifying island communities in deep time comes with its own challenges. This Perspective explores the a...
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We actually published a "Behind the scene" post on the paper, that you can find below, with a bunch of field pictures. (n/n) communities.springernature.com/posts/behind...
communities.springernature.com
Behind the paper: A revised early Jurassic to Albian chronology for dinosaur evolution in tropical Asia
This post offers a behind-the-scenes look at the study ‘A revised early Jurassic to Albian chronology for dinosaur evolution in tropical Asia’ published in October 2026 in Communications Earth & Envir...
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Our dating job allows to put Thai dinosaur assemblages (the richest of Southeast Asia) on the geological time scale and compare them with coeval fauna in North America, China and Africa, with several implications on the age of Cretaceous faunal turnovers. (3/n)
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
To make it short: we dated dinosaur-bearing units of Thailand with zircon U-Pb dating. And some of the units ended up much younger than we thought. Notably, the unit thought to yield the oldest sauropods on record is 20 million years younger than suggested by other, less accurate methods. (2/n)
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
My first dinosaur paper! 🦕. The oldest time window I've worked on so far, and a great adventure with Jeremy Martin from Lyon and Thai colleagues from Khon Kaen University and the Sirindhorn Museum. (1/n) www.nature.com/articles/s43...
nature.com
A revised early Jurassic to Albian chronology for dinosaur evolution in tropical Asia - Communications Earth & Environment
Sauropodomorph-bearing assemblages from the Khorat Plateau, Thailand, begin at least 20 million years later than previously believed, with subsequent faunal turnover paralleling that observed in Laura...
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Climate group @CEREGE, France @climatecerege.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🚨job alert🚨 1-year position in our team to work in our micropaleontology lab!
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
If you haven't seen it yet, here is a video about the work of our Kazakh colleague Saïda Nigmatova, paleobotanist and expert of Cenozoic pollen assemblages. A good introduction on our project and her work in Kazakhstan. @dispersal-erc.bsky.social
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
For #fossilfriday, a picture from our current paleontological field trip in Kazakhstan: paleontologist Pauline Coster picking fossil rodent teeth in Eocene screen washed sediment. This year, we screen washed 1.5 tons of material, our personal record!
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Adam Forte @topoismyforte.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The title doesn't really capture the angst most of us feel, but the first line of the article captures the current zeitgeist of the US scientific community pretty well, "For many U.S. scientists funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the agency they know and loved died on 10 September."
science.org
NSF memo implementing Trump’s ‘golden age’ of science unsettles researchers
New document emphasizes support for White House priorities over curiosity-driven ideas
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 14/09/2026
Here is the latest combined forecast across all 14 models, compared to past strong El Nino events. It shows just how extreme and unprecedented this event is forecast to be:
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Just spent a few days along the former shores of the Aral Sea in central Kazakhstan. Barren landscape of dust, isolated shells on the ground, and endless roads with nothing at the horizon. Rare great outcrops of Paleogene marine strata of the Paratethys sea, but they are hard to reach.
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Our first clumped isotopic data are out!
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Back to Kazakhstan, looking for Paleogene climate records and paleontological sites! @dispersal-erc.bsky.social
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Embrithopods thus remain a mysterious clade of traveling animals! A study with Daniel Robert from @climatecerege.bsky.social, @r0seturqu0ise.bsky.social, @benjaminraynaud.bsky.social, and many others. (n/n)
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Well, the isotopic signal is clear: no evidence for a semi-aquatic lifestyle for embrithopods. But if they didn't swim, how could they cross a wide ocean? The most probable answer is that they could have passively floated, as big mammals sometimes do to cross large bodies of water. (3/n)
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The question we asked is simple: were they able to swim? To investigate this, we analyzed the oxygen isotopic composition of tooth enamel of past embrithopods. Indeed, semi-aquatic mammals, like hippos, have a very distinctive isotopic signature when compared with other surrounding mammals. (2/n)
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A new paper from the @dispersal-erc.bsky.social project! In this study, we investigated how embrithopods, these massive herbivorous mammals who once throve in Africa, succeeded to cross the Neotethys and diversified on Balkanatolia (1/n) doi.org/10.2110/palo...
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DISPERSAL project - understanding past mammalian dispersals @dispersal-erc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A new video of the project, featuring Saïda Nigmatova, paleobotanist and research director of the Satpayev Institute of geology of Almaty! Saïda studies Paleogene ecosystems of central Asia, which are keys to understand past dispersal events between Europe and Asia. youtu.be/n6lpQHo49p0?...
youtu.be
The People Behind the ERC Dispersal Project | Scientist Interview #6
YouTube video by CEREGE
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Gavin Schmidt @climateofgavin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
2027, on the other hand, is going to blow apart the record for the warmest year. 🤷
GISTEMP data from 1980, with predictions for 2026 and 2027 (phew wot a scorcher...)
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
A must-read for the many of us using AI, casually or professionally
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Dr. Nina Davtian (she/her/hers) @ninadavtian.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
FR : Bonjour Nancy ! C’est là où nous, les chercheurs francophones en géochimie organique, allons « coasser » pendant quelques jours. 🐸 ENG: Hello Nancy! There, we, the French Researchers in Organic Geochemistry, will « croak » for a few days. 🐸 geochimie.fr/wp-content/u... 🧪 #ChemSky (1/3)
geochimie.fr
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Climate group @CEREGE, France @climatecerege.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
#Canada, you too? @jysuarezibarra.bsky.social, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow in our lab, was particularly enthusiastic to attend the @goldschmidt-confer.bsky.social conference this Summer. But, because Jaime is Colombian, you rejected his visa application.
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
A new video highlighting the work of my friend and colleague Guillaume Dupont-Nivet !
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Vikram Bath @vikrambath.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
The top 2026 X accounts gives insight into the lie that X is the town square. These people are niche celebrities and their influence on X does not represent influence elsewhere. Your participation is not going to change this graph www.natesilver.net/p/social-med...
Top accounts are all right-wing
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
With @bramvaes.bsky.social, @ignacioq.bsky.social, and many others, and funded by the ERC project @dispersal-erc.bsky.social ! (n/n)
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
We classify these different models and propose guidelines to improve this integration. The paper also provides a list of available data compilations that are adequate for macroevolutionary models (covering long time scales and large areas), which should be helpful for future studies. (2/n)
Licht et al. 2026, TREE
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
🚨new paper alert🚨 In this review paper including an international team mixing geologists, biologists, and paleontologists, we synthesize current approaches for integrating paleoclimate and paleogeographic data into macroevolutionary models. doi.org/10.1016/j.tr... (1/n)
doi.org
Redirecting
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Climate group @CEREGE, France @climatecerege.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Yesterday we were numerous to celebrate the exhibition of the artwork of Paul Botté, PhD student and photographer in our team, featured in Aix en Provence!
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Rachel Warnock @rachelwarnock.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Happy to announce our new MSc in Earth System Dynamics and Evolution beginning this Oct 2026 at FAU Germany. We provide interdisciplinary training in Earth systems and science diplomacy 🌍🧪📈👩‍💻 📝 Funding provided by the Elite Network of Bavaria. Application deadline: July 15. More info below👇
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Moving forward, PELASE remember that downplaying the danger of climate change only helps the climate deniers. That’s why they’ve all jumped on this. Please undo the damage done! Please trumpet that 3C by 2100 is catastrophic (and just a step to more heating w/out fossil phaseout and net zero).
The White House *
@WhiteHouse
X.com
"GOOD RIDDANCE! After 15 years of Dumocrats promising that "Climate Change is going to destroy the Planet, the United Nations TOP Climate Committee just admitted that its own projections (RCP8.5) were WRONG!
WRONG! WRONG!" - President DONALD J. TRUMP E
Donald J. Trump
@reaDonald Trump
GOOD RIDDANCE! After 15 years of Dumocrats promising that "Climate Change" is going to destroy the Planet, the United Nations TOP Climate Committee just admitted that its own projections (RCP8.5) were WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! For far too long Climate Activism has been used by Dumocrats to scare Americans, push
horrible Enoray Dolinoc and fund RIl IONC
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Microplastics have excellent taste
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Climate group @CEREGE, France @climatecerege.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Welcome to @bramvaes.bsky.social, paleomagnetist, paleogeographer and climate modeler postdoc in our lab, working on the @dispersal-erc.bsky.social project !
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
My PhD student Paul botté, is an amazing photographer. He will expose his fieldwork pictures in May in Aix en Provence. Join us for the official party on May 21!
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
The fifth video of our project on primate dispersals is out! Featuring our amazing paleoanthropologist colleague K.C. Beard from Kansas University.
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Running short of funding
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DISPERSAL project - understanding past mammalian dispersals @dispersal-erc.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Back in the field with the team in the Luberon under the Provençal sun ☀️ Careful digging, a bit of patience… and sometimes, a small discovery like this fossilized rodent jaw. A small find, but another big clue from the past!
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Check the interview of @carinahoorn.bsky.social, a great intro on how we work with pollen when reconstructing deep time paleoenvironments!
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
A few pics of our fieldwork in the Luberon of this week. Training student to logging and pmag sampling while dating historical paleontological sites of the geopark
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DISPERSAL project - understanding past mammalian dispersals @dispersal-erc.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Welcome aboard! 👋 We’re delighted to welcome Yohan Roussy, a Master 2 student joining us in the Luberon to work on clays and climate. A great opportunity to explore how sediments record past environmental and climatic changes.
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Climate group @CEREGE, France @climatecerege.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
🚨A newcomer in the team this Winter!🚨 After two years in the US, climate modeler @antacl.bsky.social is joining our team as a CNRS scientist, to work on the links between paleogeography and ancient climates. Welcome 🍾
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Great game for taxonomists! metazooa.com
metazooa.com
Metazooa
Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Check out the video of @mustafayk.bsky.social speaking about his work on past climate and dispersals !
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Douwe van Hinsbergen @vanhinsbergen.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Come join us at Utrecht Eartn Sciences! www.uu.nl/en/organisat...
uu.nl
Assistant Professor in Earth materials & mineral science
Are you the team player and initiative taking entrepreneur to complement our Earth Sciences faculty in earth materials research and/or mineral sciences?
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Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson @hilaryrosed.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
If you're an #EcoEvo #PhD candidate anywhere in the world looking for project funding, consider applying for the @asn-amnat.bsky.social Student Research Award. Ten proposals for $2k in research funds will be awarded. Due 13 March 2026. Please share widely! 🧪 #grants #ecology #evolution #behavior
amnat.org
Student Research Award
<p>The ASN Student Research Awards support research by student members that advances the goals of the society: the conceptual unification of ecology, evolution, and behavior. Each award consists of a ...
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Dozens of researchers will move to France from US following high-profile bid to lure talent
Large proportion worked at Columbia University, which had its grants cut and frozen by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
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DISPERSAL project - understanding past mammalian dispersals @dispersal-erc.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Pauline Coster and @alexislicht.bsky.social presenting their results on the Eocene paleontological record of Kazakhstan today at the Satpaev Institute of geology in Almaty.
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
I'm becoming a fake expert in the taxonomy of fossil beavers. So many of them here
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Alexis Licht @alexislicht.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Visiting the Satpaev Institute of geology in Almaty for a week, to work with our @dispersal-erc.bsky.social collaborators. And enjoying a tea with one of the last living vertebrate paleontologists in Kazakhstan, Bolat Baishashov!
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DISPERSAL project - understanding past mammalian dispersals @dispersal-erc.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Big shout-out to Leny Montheil! His first ERC Dispersal interview is now live and comes with a brand-new paper on how Asian mammals crossed shifting continents during the Eocene (-80 to -40 Ma) doi.org/10.1016/j.ea... Watch continents move 🌍
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