Sign in

AshPoust

@ashpoust.bsky.social
11K followers 470 following 602 posts

Paleontology, Anatomy, Evolutionary Medicine, Travel. Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln Grazing with the dinosaurs and dear old horses. -What I'm about to show you may shock and educate you

PostsRepliesMedia
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 22h
Thanks. This is great and really well said. I'd argue that it's the same for the American version of the University too - similarly reclaiming something initially created for the nobility to serve the citizens of the nation. And being attacked now for comparable reasons.
140
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 22h
I cannot approve the message of this thread more whole-heartedly
091
Reposted by AshPoust
Kiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 22h
And last (for now) but certainly not least, is this great piece on our study from science writer Asher Elbein for the esteemed yellow rectangle, National Geographic. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
nationalgeographic.com
This Cretaceous 'Sea Monster' Attacked Prey Faster than Great White Sharks
By analyzing tail length and muscle power, paleontologists have explained the physics behind a mosasaur's deadly ability to lunge toward its prey.
2286
Reposted by AshPoust
Kiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 22h
Got some exciting new mosasaur research out today in Current Biology! How fast could these predators burst? www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
Mosasaur tail morphology reveals burst swimming performance and ecological diversity
Formoso et al. develop a drag-based “slam-start” model to estimate lunge velocity in four mosasaurs from skeletal and muscle reconstructions. Tail curl amplitude mainly drives performance: russellosau...
13917
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
🤦‍♂️
010
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Hey, if you're looking to be part of something positive consider helping us get this upcoming book into as many hands as possible. Gorgeous paleoart and good science. It really is a lovely story. Help us support literacy and museums! 🦕🦣🧪📚 (Warning: contains overly-animated paleontologist cameo)
32515
Reposted by AshPoust
Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A lot of what’s happening doesn’t seem to be spreading anymore by mainstream media. A tree that stood for an estimated 150–250 years was destroyed today to make way for Trump’s border wall.
16542561770
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Accurate tooth placement!
190
Reposted by AshPoust
Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is gutting. Sternberg is one of the most important paleontology museums in the country. MUSEUMS SHOULD BE LAST ON THE LIST TO CLOSE, NOT FIRST. What kind of world do we want to live in? Because running the country -- and universities -- like businesses and not a public good is what got us here.
411344
Reposted by AshPoust
Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
In the last couple of years, we've seen multiple critical collections (museums, herbaria) close. The IUCN--the global authority on the status of biodiversity--recently published on how important these kinds of facilities are in conservation. Every day, the dead are working to protect the living.
iucn.org
From collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museums
The IUCN Species Survival Commission has published a Position Statement on the vital role of biological collections in biodiversity conservation: a formal acknowledgement that natural history museums,...
117299
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you don't know Kenshu Shimada, read this letter anyway. But realize that this is coming from someone who, in addition to being an intellectual heavy hitter, is one of the nicest, best humored people in the sciences. This was not written lightly.
0114
Reposted by AshPoust
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
LETTER: Absolute need to maintain entire ‘collections side’ of Sternberg Museum intact hayspost.com/posts/d21f98...
hayspost.com
LETTER: Absolute need to maintain entire ‘collections side’ of Sternberg Museum intact
Image by Pixabay Dear Dr. Tisa Mason,I am a proud graduate of Fort Hay
03419
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's got the tip, so one step above basic for a theropod tooth.
120
Reposted by AshPoust
dr-crocogator.bsky.social @dr-crocogator.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Happy #FossilFriday! Had an amazing week taking part in BeaverCON in Minneapolis this year! I presented on the Giant Beaver as our state fossil and learned SO much 🦫! We even brought a bunch of #beaver fossils from the Science Museum of Minnesota to the @bellmuseum.bsky.social for a Dam Good Night!
052
Reposted by AshPoust
BranArtworks|🐳🐬🦭🎨 @branartworks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Speedpainting of Miophyseter gunmaensis, a new species of physeteroid described from Japan. The specimen consists of a nearly complete skeleton of a young individual, with an estimated length of 3 to 4 m. It lived approximately 16 to 14 million years ago. #paleoart
15518
Reposted by AshPoust
Kiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hi! 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.com
Three ideas to inspire curiosity in natural history education
Nature 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....
110040
Reposted by AshPoust
U.S. Scientific Ocean Drilling @us-sciod.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We are impressed with the representation from the scientific ocean drilling community among the 2026 AGU Honors recipients! Honorees have led and participated in expeditions, completed Schlanger Fellowships, and advised the SciOD community on committees. Congratulations to all!
0107
Reposted by AshPoust
Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#fossilfriday An example of why the ANSP and its collections must be saved. Atlantochelys mortoni, a giant protostegid sea turtle - named in 1849 by Agassiz based on the proximal humerus fragment. In 2012, someone found a large distal humerus that FIT ONTO THE SAME BONE in ANSP collections. 1/ 🦖🧪
The reunited humerus of the gigantic sea turtle Atlantochelys, on display in a museum: you can clearly see the break that happened sometime prior to the 19th century.
18537
Reposted by AshPoust
Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I'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
Reposted by AshPoust
Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
11/ In Summer 2023, I finally saw the specimen again with @ashpoust.bsky.social at UCMP! We're working on redescribing the specimen and it's circuitous history, along with describing many additional teeth and postcrania. This species is known to be a maximum of 500,000 years old.
Two paleontologists wearing hats and masks and holding up the holotype mandible of Enhydra macrodonta in the collections at UC Berkeley
172
Reposted by AshPoust
Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
It's #seaotterawarenessweek! 🐬🦑🧪 Sea otters only live in the North Pacific today and are the smallest marine mammals. Frustratingly, they have a very limited fossil record, and their origins are quite murky. We know *much* more about their ecology than their evolution; read more here:
coastalpaleo.blogspot.com
The terrible fossil record of sea otters, part 1: What do we know about modern sea otters?
You can find the second part here , and the third part here . Introduction Sea otters are perhaps my favorite marine mammal, for se...
625550
Reposted by AshPoust
でんか @k-hermit.com · 22/09/2026
ヤドカリがアイデンティティを取り戻した
3688197
Reposted by AshPoust
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
1) Don't wait until a museum is closed or threatened with closure to support it and speak out for it. By that point, it's often too late, and if it's not too late, the path out of the trouble is way harder and more expensive than avoiding the crisis.
2205
Reposted by AshPoust
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Some Monday morning thoughts on museum closures, spurred in part by the recent Academy of Natural Sciences, but not necessarily specific to that. <thread>
13020
Reposted by AshPoust
Great Dying Survivor @cannotthinkofone99.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#FossilFriday Complete skeleton of Hemicyon sansaniensis, a fully carnivorous and cursorial bear from the Middle Miocene.
092
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I get it, but it was actually described in 1993!
140
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Choerodonty!
010
Reposted by AshPoust
Prof Col Macpherson @colinmacpherson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Hell pigs gathered in their masses, They were bona fide bad asses, Omnivorous mass destruction, And Oligocene predation, Oh lord yeah! 🤘
043
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
As with many Cope names, he was correct in identifying something distinct, but didn't wait to have material distinctive enough to be very useful to others.
030
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Good #FossilFriday post - coughDinohyuscough is an amazing animal. Honestly, I think it's as frightening as T. rex.
171
Reposted by AshPoust
Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What’s your best museum memory? We’re working on a story about the future of science museums and we want to hear from you! Tell us about a museum experience that you can’t forget. Leave us a voicemail at 877-4-SCIFRI. www.sciencefriday.com/articles/cont…
5266
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
K/T - broke K/Pg - woke Beast-Footed Bonfire - BESPOKE!
030
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
And is there a Lizard-Hipped Luau?
120
Reposted by AshPoust
Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Another big potential #FishJob Curator of Fishes (or Mammals, but let it be ichthyology) at the American Museum of Natural History careers.amnh.org/postings/4925
careers.amnh.org
Assistant Curator/Assistant Professor, Vertebrate Zoology
The Division of Vertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) seeks an outstanding tenure-track Assistant Curator/Assistant Professor in either the Department of Ichthyology or M...
03436
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Aww man...
000
Reposted by AshPoust
Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
New #artwork! #watercolor illustration of the 3 meter long block containing the holotype skull, jaws, and vertebrae of the 26 myo eomysticetid baleen whale Tokarahia kauaeroa (Kokoamu Greensand, New Zealand), which I named in 2015 for my PhD research. Large for me, ~20x8"; ~20-24 hours. 🐡🦖🐬 #sciart
A watercolor painting of a fossil whale skull with mandibles in a massive block of greenish gray sand. The skull is incomplete, and the left mandible is in life position; the right mandible is flipped 180. A cluster of vertebrae are present near the braincase. The bones are occasionally stained red with iron oxide.
0406
Reposted by AshPoust
Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Alexander von Humboldt born #OTD 1769
smithsonianmag.com
The Pioneering Maps of Alexander von Humboldt
Beautiful and insightful, the illustrations of the German naturalist helped shape a new understanding of the world
0418
Reposted by AshPoust
Daniel Bellingradt @dbellingradt.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
"Keep on reading the big and badly written book, they said. It'll be fun finishing it, they said. It is totally worth the time, they said..."
A human skeleton reading a big book. The image is a detail of a larger print showing the Last Judgement interpreted by Johannes Wierix in 16c Europe.
514221
Reposted by AshPoust
Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
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. 🧪
Bison antiquus holotype (ANSP 12990) braincase with left horn core, shown in posterior view (top) and dorsal view (bottom). From McDonald & Scott (2023), The Pleistocene Fauna of Big Bone Lick, Boone County, Kentucky: A Rich History and Unanswered Questions
24618
Reposted by AshPoust
らえらぷす @getawaytrike.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
#FossilFriday Zavacephale rinpoche, holotype and reconstructed skeleton in Fukushima Museum.
03717
Reposted by AshPoust
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
For #FossilFriday, here's some 2019 #paleoart of Deinonychus subduing a juvenile Sauroposeidon using the Raptor Prey Restraint (RPR) model of dromaeosaur predation: grabbing prey with taloned feet, pinning it down with its body weight, and then eating it alive. Just like modern raptors, then.
A yellowish feathered predatory dinosaur has leapt onto the back of a small long-necked dinosaur, forcing it roughly to the ground. It has grasped the back of the herbivore with taloned feet, and holds its wings out for stability. Dust swirls around them as they wrestle.
219758
Reposted by AshPoust
Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
#fossilfriday A cluster of large cockles, Clinocardium meekianum, in a sandy concretion from the Purisima Formation in Santa Cruz, California. Early Pliocene, ~4-5 myo. Each cockle is about 6-8 cm in diameter. 🦑🦖🧪
A large, ~40 cm wide light gray rock broken in half, exposing a cluster of five large articulated fossil cockle shells. The fossil shells are white with some light tan coloring in spots.
05212
Reposted by AshPoust
Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D. @deadbovids.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The horn core and partial skull of Antidorcas recki, a fossil Springbok, from Kenya 750,000 years ago #FossilFriday
Curved dark gray fossilModern Springbok with very different horns for comparison
1154
Reposted by AshPoust
Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 11/09/2026
you bigots better not make Joseph Needham rise from the grave and slap you around for falsely claiming that East Asian countries never invented anything
en.wikipedia.org
Science and Civilisation in China - Wikipedia
36614
Reposted by AshPoust
Eric Ekdale @eekdale.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Want to borrow a dinosaur fossil? Try California’s one-of-a-kind taxidermy lending library
A natural history museum lets residents take home 1,400 specimens, from bobcats and beetles to snakes in jars
021
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
To be clear for those playing along from home with Tony: feathers are not trace fossils, but coprolites are generally classed that way.
120
Reposted by AshPoust
Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
As both an academic and a writer, I am repelled by the "this looks like a long document. Would you like me to summarize it for you?" that seems to appear at the top of every pdf viewer now. NO. The *entire point* of good writing (either books or journal papers) is that every sentence has a purpose.
1354043792
Reposted by AshPoust
Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A scientific paper already has a carefully thought out abstract & conclusions I can look at if I want an overview. A book is supposed to be a joy to read, an intellectual and emotional experience to relish. This is not something that advanced statistics can either add to or improve on.
569163
Reposted by AshPoust
Foxfeather Zenkova @foxfeather.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I love the sounds baby cranes make. It takes 2-5 years for young sandhills to grow the 2-3ft long bony coils of trachea (which grow literally into the bones of their thick, shield-like keels) to make the loud, trumpeting calls of their parents. They literally become organic French horns inside! 🪶
6393118
Reposted by AshPoust
Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A fossil whale molar with lace-like latticework of acetate salt, from the 30 myo Makah Formation of Washington; ?Fucaia buelli. I didn't rinse this one long enough, after the acid bath and the white stripes are acetate salt; I photographed this before spot-cleaning and consolidating this tooth. 🐋🦖🧪
A multicuspate molar of a fossil whale with brown enamel and a lace-like lattice of calcium acetate salt infilling fractures in the enamel.
57515