Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 04/10/2026This was the second time I've been contacted by actual scientists - some of the observations in my field area were of interest to state biologists! For my part, I just enjoy spotting cool animals. 000
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 04/10/2026ambiguous whiptail, which may represent a newly introduced species from outside of the area - my particular part of LA County is not well documented 020
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 04/10/2026That feeling when your iNaturalist observation turns out to be extra extra interesting to some experts in the field... 161
Reposted by Andy FarkeBruce S. Lieberman @bruceslieberman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026A thoughtful, excellent write up by @richardconniff.bsky.social on the very sad situation @sternbergpaleo.bsky.social museum #paleontology #palaeontology #naturalhistory richardconniff.substack.com/p/another-na...richardconniff.substack.comAnother Nature Museum Faces DeathKansas is killing a centerpiece of state and world history. Follow the money. 26242
Reposted by Andy FarkeMuseum of the Rockies @museumoftherockies.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Happy #FossilFriday! Specular #fossils of #Brachylophosaurus have been discovered in the #Cretaceous Judith River Formation of #Montana. This is a complete skull (#MOR794) and a section of skin impressions (#MOR1071 8-98-003) from this duck billed #dinosaur. 0205
Reposted by Andy FarkeKiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Hi! My World View in Nature Reviews Biodiversity was published today! Read about my three main aims when educating people about topics in natural history. www.nature.com/articles/s44...nature.comThree ideas to inspire curiosity in natural history educationNature Reviews Biodiversity - Natural history can captivate the minds of all manner of people for a multitude of reasons, but a shifting media landscape demands adaptation from public educators.... 17532
Reposted by Andy FarkeJohn P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Check out this lovely profile of the University of California, Davis’s Peter Wainwright, whose lifelong fascination with fishes inspired a remarkable career in research and teaching. Peter was my postdoc advisor years ago when he was at Florida State University, and is awesome dude and mentor.ucdavis.eduAmong the Academies: A Lifelong Fascination With FishFor Peter Wainwright, the academic path was simple: he simply followed his fascination with fish.“I dare say there wasn't a lot of deep thought about what direction I should go in my life,” he said. “... 36019
Reposted by Andy FarkeBrandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 01/10/2026" In contrast to body fossil patterns, most mass extinctions, including the end-Permian event, are weakly expressed in the bioerosional ichnogenus record, whereas the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary shows the most pronounced decline." K-Pg event was *bad* bad. 0154
Reposted by Andy FarkeThe Neotoma Paleoecology Database @neotomadb.bsky.social · 01/10/2026🌿 Neotoma Outreach | Explore Neotoma Data with R 💻 The neotoma2 R package provides an R-based interface to the Neotoma Paleoecology Database, helping researchers retrieve, structure, explore, visualize, and analyze palaeoecological data programmatically. open.neotomadb.org/neotoma2/ 023
Reposted by Andy FarkeBoneJ @bonej.org · 01/10/2026📢 Out Now in BoneJ+: Improved 3D skeletonisation performance, on Intel GPUs. Compiler optimisation is back on, giving 🔥 10× 🔥 speedup. Special mention to Windows, whose flakiness exposed buggy behaviour of the unoptimised OpenCL kernel. You *might* have to update your graphics driver 🤷♂️ 101
Reposted by Andy FarkeAndy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I am pretty disappointed by the lack of public acknowledgment from the American Alliance of Museums about the situations at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel (which was AAM-accredited!) & the Sternberg. There are lots of museum crises right now, but these are particularly serious. 13111
Reposted by Andy FarkePaleontological Research Institution @prinstitution.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Teacher Resource Day is this Saturday at the Museum! PRI's annual Teacher Resource Day has tables full of free fossil and geological specimens and other educational materials for teachers to use in their classrooms. The event is free and exclusively for teachers. See you there! 044
Reposted by Andy FarkeZ. Jack Tseng @tsengzj.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Vert paleo curator gig at LSU; see recently published "Vertebrate Fossils of Louisiana" for a preview of the collections and potential projects that can be developed: repository.lsu.edu/spmns/5/repository.lsu.eduVertebrate Fossils of LouisianaBy Suyin Ting, Lorene E. Smith, Connor D. White, et al., Published on 01/01/25 055
Reposted by Andy FarkeThomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Freimuth WJ, Lively JR, Zanno LE (2026) Reassessment of the Early Cretaceous North American “troodontid” Geminiraptor suarezarum as a therizinosaurian and mosaic evolution of coelurosaurian maxillae. PLoS One 21(9): e0356471. doi.org/10.1371/jour...doi.orgReassessment of the Early Cretaceous North American “troodontid” Geminiraptor suarezarum as a therizinosaurian and mosaic evolution of coelurosaurian maxillaeThe only recorded member of the bird-like Troodontidae from Early Cretaceous North America is Geminiraptor suarezarum, known from an isolated maxilla recovered from the Suarez Site bonebed of the basa... 0186
Reposted by Andy FarkeTapani Hopkins @tapani-hopkins.bsky.social · 29/09/2026This is undramatic, but invaluable, work. How do we know what belongs to which species? - By comparing to the types, the specimens used to describe the species. So where are those types? - Erm can I get back to you, I think someone saw the type of X 50 years ago somewhere in Germany.. 151
Reposted by Andy FarkeSteve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 30/09/2026🚨Postdoc job alert: Come work with my paleontology & evolution group in Edinburgh! Researcher in Cognitive Evolution Over Deep Time. You'll study how brains & neurons have evolved over time, and predict neuron count in extinct species! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTC355/p...jobs.ac.ukPostdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time at The University of EdinburghApply for the Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now. 26075
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 30/09/2026It's also why I always remind folks to be careful when talking w/potential donors about institutional needs--any donations are great, but unrestricted donations are usu. best. Someone's passing comment ("it would be so nice to have this program!") can end up as a well-funded institutional albatross. 120
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Yep. All gifts, especially sizable ones, come with strings attached. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it also means that soliciting and accepting donations can be dicey. 120
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I also recognize that professional organizations can't comment on everything, and strongly worded statements are just that, but also it matters to this AAM member to know that *our* organization is paying attention. 0112
Reposted by Andy Farke Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Out today: We show that Westlothiana lizziae or "Lizzie," described 35 years ago as the world's oldest reptile - is not a stem amniote at all, but a stem tetrapod. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 211055
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Earlier this morning, I sent an email to the Advocacy & Government Affairs team at AAM, requesting them to take *some* form of action. I think AAM does a good job on many things, but the apparent silence around two *major* closures is a bit disconcerting. 2123
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I am pretty disappointed by the lack of public acknowledgment from the American Alliance of Museums about the situations at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel (which was AAM-accredited!) & the Sternberg. There are lots of museum crises right now, but these are particularly serious. 13111
Reposted by Andy FarkeProfessor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026New paper! Brandon Kilbourne conducted a huge data collection effort for the limb muscle architecture (masses, fascicle lengths, pennation angles; thereby PCSAs) of mustelid mammals. We found conspicuous relationships with morphology and locomotor mode. link.springer.com/article/10.1...link.springer.comMuscle architecture in mustelid mammals: anatomical proxies for muscle function and their relation to locomotor habit - BMC Ecology and EvolutionBackground Though skeletal adaptations for locomotion in mammals are well documented, possible limb adaptations in terms of muscle architecture have received far less study. Examining mustelid mammals... 33020
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Ugh, yep. I remember visiting a major LA-area museum--the signage by each piece was composed of words I knew, but the order in which they were presented was gibberish. I'm not a stupid person, but wow, the intent of that signage sure seemed to be to show how smart the curator was. 130
Reposted by Andy FarkeThomas Cullen @thomascullen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026With all the news of museums being closed and/or defunded, I feel the message of our paper on the importance of natural history research (and the collections housing those specimens) is just as relevant (or more) today as it was when it was published. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... 3186101
Reposted by Andy FarkeSerjoscha Evers @sirjoscha.bsky.social · 28/09/2026New paper: doi.org/10.1002/ar.7... 🐢 In this paper, our team around Scott Bellotti describe multiple crania and mandibles of Plesiobaena antiqua, a Campanian baenid turte, assess intraspecific variation, and discuss the significance of this variation for baenid taxonomy. 092
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Mojave Desert sunsets are some of the most beautiful in the world! 050
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I'm seeing a lot of statements that universities are inherently risky as parent organizations for museums, or that universities are inherently bad as parent organizations. Please don't forget that stand-alone and government-funded museums have a HUGE share of problems and risks, too! 1288
Reposted by Andy FarkeTerry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I became a biologist because of a museum exhibit. Real artifacts tell stories that are more powerful than anything we can get from scrolling. They are part of our engine for training the next generation of scientists. 🧪 scienceforeveryone.science/the-awesomen...scienceforeveryone.scienceThe awesomeness of museumsGenuine artifacts tell the richest stories that fill our souls. And they fuel the scientific enterprise. 922080
Reposted by Andy FarkeAbeeha Tariq @abeehatariqart.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I’m so proud of this actually 14633129
Reposted by Andy FarkeRaven Amos (Spoopy Edition)🎨🐦⬛ @alaskanime.bsky.social · 24/12/2025I must have been added to some starter packs - hello, new followers! I am a paleoartist taking an on-again-off-again hiatus from drawn #artwork to take care of family members - in the meantime, I make sun catchers! alaskanime.etsy.com/?etsrc=sdt&ref=seller-platform-mcnav§ion_id=53007571 310129
Reposted by Andy FarkeBoak & Bailey (Jess & Ray) @boakandbailey.bsky.social · 27/09/2026BLOG POST: Does your AI-generated beer app actually contribute something? Is it meeting a real need, or providing new information? Or did you just get excited about being able to make something with zero effort? boakandbailey.com/2026/09/ai-h...boakandbailey.comAI has made it easier than ever to make apps nobody asked forWe’ve been inundated lately with AI-written press releases about AI-built tools and websites focused on beer and pubs. Who is asking for this? 43218
Reposted by Andy FarkeMr. Escher A. Bug, MSc @escherbug.art · 25/09/2026As a taxonomist I will always be a little miffed that people who make comics are cartoonists and people who make cartoons are animators and people who make jokes on stage are called comics 48622
Reposted by Andy FarkePaleontological Society @paleosoc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026PaleoArt Highlight!🦕 🌲This week we have this fantastic poster featuring the Hell Creek Formation's Triceratops prorsus! 🎨Thank you to @graysev.bsky.social for sending in this impressive piece! Submit paleoart here: tinyurl.com/PSPaleoArt🔗 084
Reposted by Andy FarkeLiz Covart @lizcovart.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I’m teaching a workshop this weekend about how historians research. #Skystorians, what are your favorite or most important research tips and tricks? What is your favorite method for finding archives and archival material? 194523
Reposted by Andy FarkeCorey Callaghan @coreytcallaghan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Do you use #iNaturalist data in research—or advise students who do? We put together a practical guide to using iNaturalist data in scientific research, covering how to access, acquire, analyze, and attribute the data, with examples in R and Python. Paper: doi.org/10.1093/bios... #ecology 410374
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Yep. This always comes from the very best of places, but is never a long-term solution. It's rarely even a short-term solution, even in the optimal situation. 0152
Reposted by Andy FarkeBrittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I've worked for a natural history museum for 11 years at this point (man, yikes) and while it is sad, it isn't surprising to see two major institutions facing closure this year. 36833
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Fossils as cultural heritage: Scientific, commercial and legislative issues - Fanti - 2026 - Geology Today - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....onlinelibrary.wiley.comFossils as cultural heritage: Scientific, commercial and legislative issuesFossils are among the principal sources for understanding the history of life through ‘Deep Time’ and can inform projections of biotic responses to environmental change. Despite a widespread recognit... 12111
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 24/09/2026From @peerj.bsky.social - Let them fight: using finite element analysis to determine combative evolutionary drivers of ceratopsian (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) horns peerj.com/articles/217...peerj.com 040
Reposted by Andy FarkeAaron Kufner @akufner.bsky.social · 23/09/2026This one has been a long time coming! I'm happy to share that another chapter of my PhD has been published! In this one, I'm shaking up the taxonomy of North American metoposaurids. This work was largely done in museum collections, and more on that below. peerj.com/articles/217... 25624
Reposted by Andy FarkeSkye McDavid @skyemcdavid.com · 23/09/2026I have digitized 四川脊椎动物化石 / The Vertebrate Fossils of Sichuan by He Xinlu (1984) and uploaded it to @archive.org. Useful reference for the fossil record of Sichuan (including today's Chongqing). archive.org/details/he-1...archive.org四川脊椎动物化石 / The Vertebrate Fossils of Sichuan四川脊椎动物化石何信禄编著The Vertebrate Fossils of Sichuan by He Xinlu (Chengu College of Geology)Sichuan Scientific and Technological Publishing House, 1984 2317
Reposted by Andy FarkeDr. Rich B @morphometrich.bsky.social · 22/09/2026This would be a major loss for science, paleontology, and the general area in Hays, Kansas, which is a literal hotbed of Cretaceous Paleontology. I am seeing a couple of trusted sources confirming this, but I am hoping this is just a panicky post from someone and will not come to pass.hayspost.comSternberg Museum future in question" /> By CRISTINA JANNEYHays PostAn employee of the Sternberg Museum of 1138
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Long confused with a certain museum on a high school campus, too...as I have had to state many times, we have no connection with the Government of Melmac or the Imperial Intergalactic Trade Federation 000
Reposted by Andy FarkeDr. Adeene Denton @spacewhalerider.com · 22/09/2026Geologists made up for this classic blunder by first creating a prequel (the Ancestral Rocky Mountains) and naming several excellent mountain-building epochs (Laramide Orogeny, etc.) 0184
Reposted by Andy FarkeAndy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026The tarantulas are afoot! This little fellow was on my front porch when I got home...by coincidence, wandering across Permian-aged fossil footprints from the Coconino Sandstone. 4398
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Me too! My sense in looking at these kinds of things (which happen semi-regularly in the museum world and elsewhere) is they are either too optimistic, or assume a steady-state system of incoming cash and then run into trouble when economic headwinds occur, or hope for donors that never materialize. 130
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Maybe? Or perhaps even best for non-emergency stuff, or "emergency" versus "EMERGENCY". This is an area I don't have a ton of experience in, so can't speak too authoritatively. 120
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Very true! The Form 990 can often be a good guide here (although hard to interpret)...esp. if there is massive shortfalls year to year. 010