AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 22hThanks. 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 · 22hI cannot approve the message of this thread more whole-heartedly 091
Reposted by AshPoustKiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 22hAnd 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.comThis Cretaceous 'Sea Monster' Attacked Prey Faster than Great White SharksBy 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 AshPoustKiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 22hGot some exciting new mosasaur research out today in Current Biology! How fast could these predators burst? www.cell.com/current-biol...cell.comMosasaur tail morphology reveals burst swimming performance and ecological diversityFormoso 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 · 06/10/2026Hey, 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 AshPoustAlt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 06/10/2026A 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
Reposted by AshPoustJacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 05/10/2026This 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 AshPoustJacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 05/10/2026In 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.orgFrom collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museumsThe 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 · 02/10/2026If 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 AshPoustThomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 02/10/2026LETTER: Absolute need to maintain entire ‘collections side’ of Sternberg Museum intact hayspost.com/posts/d21f98...hayspost.comLETTER: Absolute need to maintain entire ‘collections side’ of Sternberg Museum intactImage by Pixabay Dear Dr. Tisa Mason,I am a proud graduate of Fort Hay 03419
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 02/10/2026It's got the tip, so one step above basic for a theropod tooth. 120
Reposted by AshPoustdr-crocogator.bsky.social @dr-crocogator.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Happy #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 AshPoustBranArtworks|🐳🐬🦭🎨 @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 AshPoustKiersten 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.... 110040
Reposted by AshPoustU.S. Scientific Ocean Drilling @us-sciod.bsky.social · 25/09/2026We 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 AshPoustRobert 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/ 🦖🧪 18537
Reposted by AshPoustBrittney 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
Reposted by AshPoustRobert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 22/09/202611/ 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. 172
Reposted by AshPoustRobert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026It'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.comThe 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 AshPoustAndy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 21/09/20261) 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 AshPoustAndy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Some 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 AshPoustGreat 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
Reposted by AshPoustProf Col Macpherson @colinmacpherson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Hell 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 · 18/09/2026As 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 · 18/09/2026Good #FossilFriday post - coughDinohyuscough is an amazing animal. Honestly, I think it's as frightening as T. rex. 171
Reposted by AshPoustScience Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 17/09/2026What’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 · 16/09/2026K/T - broke K/Pg - woke Beast-Footed Bonfire - BESPOKE! 030
Reposted by AshPoustProsanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Another big potential #FishJob Curator of Fishes (or Mammals, but let it be ichthyology) at the American Museum of Natural History careers.amnh.org/postings/4925careers.amnh.orgAssistant Curator/Assistant Professor, Vertebrate ZoologyThe 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
Reposted by AshPoustRobert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026New #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 0406
Reposted by AshPoustAlisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Alexander von Humboldt born #OTD 1769smithsonianmag.comThe Pioneering Maps of Alexander von HumboldtBeautiful and insightful, the illustrations of the German naturalist helped shape a new understanding of the world 0418
Reposted by AshPoustDaniel 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..." 514221
Reposted by AshPoustEric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 11/09/2026For #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. 🧪 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 AshPoustMark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026For #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. 219758
Reposted by AshPoustRobert 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. 🦑🦖🧪 05212
Reposted by AshPoustKaedan O'Brien, Ph.D. @deadbovids.bsky.social · 11/09/2026The horn core and partial skull of Antidorcas recki, a fossil Springbok, from Kenya 750,000 years ago #FossilFriday 1154
Reposted by AshPoustFaine Greenwood @faineg.com · 11/09/2026you bigots better not make Joseph Needham rise from the grave and slap you around for falsely claiming that East Asian countries never invented anythingen.wikipedia.orgScience and Civilisation in China - Wikipedia 36614
Reposted by AshPoustEric Ekdale @eekdale.bsky.social · 11/09/2026www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...theguardian.comWant to borrow a dinosaur fossil? Try California’s one-of-a-kind taxidermy lending libraryA natural history museum lets residents take home 1,400 specimens, from bobcats and beetles to snakes in jars 021
AshPoust @ashpoust.bsky.social · 10/09/2026To 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 AshPoustHelen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 10/09/2026As 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 AshPoustHelen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 10/09/2026A 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 AshPoustFoxfeather Zenkova @foxfeather.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I 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 AshPoustRobert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026A 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. 🐋🦖🧪 57515