iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

If you care about keeping the Academy of Natural Sciences open to the public in Philadelphia, I need you to read and share this thread. Trish Wellenbach was sent from the mayor's office to oversee the Academy of Natural sciences situation. She needs to hear from us. Here comes the action item:

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Claude ✡️🦖🦕 @cascoclauda.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

🚨THERIZINOSAUR NEWS🚨 an incredible study by liao et al. describes kayrasaurus changliensis from the early cretaceous yixian formation of china! the holotype is almost complete, missing only a few hand bones as well as the legs, offering valuable insight into its biology 😍 (art by kohei futaka)

art depicting the newly described kayrasaurus alongside other therizinosaurians from the yixian formation, including beipiaosaurus, jianchangosaurus, and lingyuanosaurus

a skeletal diagram showing the known material from kayrasaurus

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This new year marks the start of a new chapter in my academic life (and life in general!) - I'll finally start formally studying dinosaurs, some of the most successful and wonderful animals to have ever walked the Earth. I have to say, I am excited :) #Paleosky #FossilFriday

Me standing next to the holotype vertebrae of Argentinosaurus. A childhood dream come true

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The Museo Carmen Funes (MCF), located in the town of Plaza Huincul, Argentina, is one of those places that as a child were so far from reach. Getting there and seeing the main exhibition hall by myself really felt like a personal achievement. Hope to show more from the exhibits soon #FossilFriday

The main exhibit hall of the MCF, showcasing a (somewhat outdated) reconstruction of an adult Argentinosaurus made of fiberglass, as well as mounted casts Giganotosaurus, Amargasaurus and several other fossils found in Neuquen, Argentina

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#FossilFriday Today is the Jewish New Year's Eve, a time to look back at the last year and to wish and strive for better. My journey to South America is definitely one of the highlights, including this moment: observing the fossil vertebrae of Argentinosaurus, likely the largest dinosaur known ->

The holotype of Argentinosaurus huinculensis, several gigantic fossil vertebrae and limb bones, on display at the MCF in Plaza Huincul, Argentina

An enromous sauropod vertebra, "standing" and with plaster filling for the missing lower portions. This is part of the holotype of Argentinosaurus huinculensis, on display at the MCF in Plaza Huincul, Argentina

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

"The scorpion hunter", Skorpiovenator, was recently the subject of a new anatomical study. Seeing the replica of this in situ specimen was truly remarkable on its own! It is housed in the Ernesto Bachmann museum at Villa El Chocon, alongside a bounty of interesting and new dinosaurs #FossilFriday

Replica of a near complete dinosaur skeleton, based on the specimen of Skorpiovenator as it was preserved, lying with spine curled upward. On display in the Ernesto Bachmann museum at Villa El Chocon, Neuquen, Argentina.

Illustartion of a live Skorpivenator, part of a larger mural of Plaza Huincul formation fauna, with mouth wide open and running to the left. On display in the Ernesto Bachmann museum at Villa El Chocon, Neuquen, Argentina.

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Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Brilliant day at Crystal Palace, looking at the models with their new paint jobs and tidied bodies. A lot of great new detail to see.

Megalosaurus model at Crystal Palace, Darren Naish in foreground.

Giant sloth Megatherium at Crystal Palace.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Elephants weren't the main target of our recent safari - but were ever present. I can't help but admire these wonderful creatures. Pictured here is one of our last encounters with a family of bush elephants - deep inside the dense coastal *forest* of Kenya. A terrific experience! #WorldElephantDay

A family of African bush elephants, facing the viewer, standing among dense trees. Arabuko-Sokoke coastal forest, Kenya

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Not a fossil, but a life-size model of one of the biggest crocodilians that ever lived: The giant caiman Purussaurus brasiliensis. Miocene Amazonia would've been a very dangerous place, with giant rodents, tortoises and several giant crocodilian species patrolling the waterways #FossilFriday

Model of the giant caiman Purussaurus brasiliensis, with mouth open and facing the viewer. In the background, illustrations depicting the caiman in its natural environment. The model is on exhibit at the Natural History museum of Lima, Peru

Mural depicting Purussaurus brasiliensis and its coeval fauna of Miocene Amazonia, c. 10 mya. The model is on exhibit at the Natural History museum of Lima, Peru.

Selfie (me pictured) of the giant caiman Purussaurus brasiliensis, with mouth open and facing the viewer. In the background, illustrations depicting the caiman in its natural environment. The model is on exhibit at the Natural History museum of Lima, Peru

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Danny Anduza @paleontologizing.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Happy #FossilFriday! Here's just a handful of the jackets we've pulled out of our bonebed over the past couple weeks. Unnamed (new!) iguanodont dinosaur Earliest Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, ~142 mya BLM federal public land Grand County, Utah, USA

Selfie photo of me with about a dozen small plaster field jackets containing the bones of a new iguanodont dinosaur

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Trying to get back to a more regular #FossilFriday schedule... This time, one of the most unique mammals of South America, the sea-going sloth Thalassocnus. This genus of amphibious sea-grass specialists went extinct only 3 million years ago. Just imagine if they were still around today! #Paleosky

Fossil specimen of the sea-going sloth Thalassocnus, with its head, arms and torso turning to the left. The lower part of the body and legs are not preserved. Next to the specimen there is reconstruction of the living sloth's head, and in the top of the cabin a full-body reconstruction of a swimming sloth and a plaque in Spanish. On display at the Museum of Natural History, Lima.

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Z. Jack Tseng @tsengzj.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Exhilarated to share a 2nd @science.org cover article this month from our lab @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social! A collaboration with US & Mexico colleagues on the role of a Mexican biogeographic holding pen in shaping the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI)(1/11) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Cover of Science magazine for July 30, 2026. Caption from Science reads: A three-dimensional rendering shows the land bridge connection between North and South America. Research on the fossil record of mammals in Mexico suggests that the geographic region acted as a biodiversity “holding pen” for 10 million years, buffering the pace of both northward and southward movements of mammal species leading up to the Great American Biotic Interchange.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

June was a very busy month, including an endemic-focused safari in Kenya - Which I hope to share more about some day! The multiple African elephants we've seen got me thinking about the much wider range of proboscideans in the Pleistocene. Cuvieronius spread over much of South America #FossilFriday

Mounted skeleton (cast) of the south american mastodon Cuvieronius, viewed from the left side (the head towards the left). On display at the Paleontological museum in Tarija, Bolivia.

Mounted skeleton (cast) of the south american mastodon Cuvieronius, viewed from the front (head and tusks towards the viewer). On display at the Paleontological museum in Tarija, Bolivia.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Yesterday was #WorldSwiftDay , and a day prior I was lucky to have my best views yet of Little swifts - cute little aeronauts! Swifts are a successful and amazing group of birds, that take flight to an extreme: Some of them land solely to nest. #birdsky #birds #swift #wildlifephotography #birding

A little swift, compact bodied long -winged bird with a while chin and rump contrasting with black body, flying to the left

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I feel the frustration. I once made a thread about a very cool museum visit I had and had to scrap it, twice. The bluesky app has to do better.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Today is #WorldParrotDay! To celebrate, a picture I took of one of my favourite parrots, the Burrowing parakeet. (BTW, they deserve a better, more descriptive name than that!) 📸: BA province, Argentina #parrots #birds #birdsky #nature #wildlifephotography

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Celebrating the new dinosaur #Kank, for this #FossilFriday some unenlagiids I've seen displayed in Argentina. The giant Austroraptor, at about 6 meters in length, is one of the largest paravians that ever lived. Buitreraptor is the most completely known member of the group. #paleontology #paleosky

Cast of Austroraptor in running pose, with jaws open and facing left towards a cast of a smaller dinosaur (the titanosaur Bonatitan from the same formation). On display at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires.
A dromaeosaur sharing its habitat with a smaller adult sauropod is definitely not the norm

Landscape view of the same casts: An Austroraptor in running pose, with jaws open and facing left towards a cast of a smaller dinosaur (the titanosaur Bonatitan). On display at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires.
A dromaeosaur sharing its habitat with a smaller adult sauropod is definitely not the norm

Cast of the in situ fossil skeleton of Buitreraptor, on display at the Bariloche Paleontological museum.

Infographic plaque at the bird observatory in Embalse Ezequiel Ramos Mexia, Neuquen, Argentina. The plaque explains the evolutionary links of birds to dinosaurs and mentions Unenlagia, the first unenlagiid known, found in the same province (Neuquen).
The only bird observatory I know of with more information about dinosaurs than about the local birds XD (local birds were present, rest assured)

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

#FossilFriday The mega-tracksite at Cal Orck'o, Bolivia. A giant quarry wall criss-crossed by tracks. Until recently, this was the largest concentration of dinosaur tracks known - over 12,000!!! I visited the site last September: standing next to this giant Mesozoic monument was a dream come true.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

A pretty special #FossilFriday, as today we celebrate the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough: an inspiration, a leader, and one of the greatest advocates for conservation for +70 years straight. The plesiosaur Attenborosaurus was named in his honour.

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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Happy Birthday David Attenborough! From the earliest days of television, to controller of BBC2, to bringing the wonders, beauty and fragility of the natural world to our eyes & attention - you’re a legend! www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Some more Livyatan photos * With such a wide error margin for the size of the Cretaceous octopus, we really better exercise skepticism and not just stick to the largest size estimate quoted. "Science" journal is going with the most sensational paleontological claims, and not for the first time

Anterior view of the reconstructed skull of Livyatan, Natural History Museum of Lima.

Fossil Livyatan teeth, part of the holotype. Natural History Museum of Lima

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Giant sea monsters are trending with the newly described Cretaceous "kraken"*. So for #FossilFriday, a better known super predator named after myth: Livyatan melvillei! A true terror of the Miocene oceans, I was thrilled to see original fossils and a skull cast of this killer sperm whale in Lima.

Reconstructed skull of Livyatan melvillei, the giant killer sperm whale. To the left, a fossil jaw fragment, part of the holotype. In the background, an illustration of a dark-blue, adult Livyatan attacking a smaller whale from below. Exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Lima, Peru.

The dorsally crushed holotype skull of Livyatan melvillei. Exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Lima, Peru.

Diorama depicting Livyatan together with other prehistoic and modern marine superpredators: Otodus megaldon (an older, Carcharodon-based reconstruction) and a giant pliosaur below it, and an Orca and Great White shark to the right

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Hadas Weiss @hadas.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

leftist publishers when you ask them about open access

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Claude ✡️🦖🦕 @cascoclauda.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

happy #fossilfriday! this is lyrarapax, a radiodont from middle cambrian china. incredibly, the holotype preserves details of the animal’s nervous system, indicating that their raptorial frontal appendages were protocerebral, as was its labum (art by @ultraluther.bsky.social)

an artistic depiction of the raptorial radiodont lyrarapax

a fossil and figure of the fossil of the holotype of lyrarapax

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Oh lawd they are! I was happy and surprised to see almost everything is on display at Lima (could not get to the local museum at Ica)

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

that appeared surprisingly early in whale evolution. With an unusually dense axial skeleton, it paints a picture of a quite diverse array of early whales (Archaeocetes) coexisting in the Eocene oceans. (art by Jamie Bran) #FossilFriday

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

This #FossilFriday I'm moving over from giant marine reptiles to mammals! Starting with one of the biggest of them all: Perucetus collosus! First claimed to be potentially heavier than a blue whale, Perucetus had since been "downsized" drastically. It was nevertheless a mightily chonky beast >

Partial vertebral column of Perucetus, displayed in the Natural History Museum of Lima, Peru

Several dorsal vertebrae of Perucetus, displayed in the Natural History Museum of Lima, Peru

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Science is good. We should fund it.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Another reptile group from the Cretaceous seas of Colombia: the long necked elasmosaurs, Callawayasaurus and Leivanectes. Unlike their heavier, shorter necked kin, elasmosaurs specialised in smaller prey, perhaps infiltrating schools of fish using their long necks. #FossilFriday

Fossil neck, skull and trunk of an elasmosaur (probably Callawayasaurus) on display at the CIP, Villa de Leyva

Anterior view of the fossil skull of Leivanectes bernardoi, an Elasmosaur found in the region. The skull is located on a rock-like pedestal. CIP, Villa de Leyva

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Jeremy Lockwood @valdosaurus.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Ancient ivory from the straight tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus that roamed #IsleofWight about 100,000 years ago when still part of the mainland. #FossilFriday

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I have to admit - with so much bleak and vile things going on in the world right now (particularly here in the ME) this sudden glimpse of optimistic futurism is a pleasant reminder that humanity is not all bad. We can do good things! At least once in a while. www.nasa.gov/news-release... via @NASA

nasa.gov

NASA’s Artemis II Crew Eclipses Record for Farthest Human Spaceflight - NASA

Four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight around the Moon made history at 12:56 p.m. CDT on Monday, traveling 248,655 miles from Earth, surpassing

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

i swear this gov is a TV show. the head of intelligence got hacked and used his real name for a porn account. the head of dept of war accidentally texted war plans to a journalist. and now former head of homeland security grappling with husband's secret cross-dressing double life in anti-LGBTQ admin

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

A fantastic little museum. Some more posts about it left!

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Continuing with the Early Cretaceous seas of Colombia, the ecosystem's top predator: Monquirasaurus boyacensis, "El Fósil". One of the largest and most complete pliosaurs known, a separate museum had been built around this specimen, leaving it exposed but in situ #FossilFriday

The fossilized skeleton of Monquirasaurus boyacensis, a large headed, short necked marine reptile, viewed obliquely with a wide angle. Found and displayed in Villa de Leyva.

The fossil skeleton of Monquirasaurus boyacensis, viewed from the front. Villa de Leyva

(Skeletal reconstruction ©️ Fabio Romero)

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Anders Bergström @anders-bergstrom.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Out today is our paper 'Genomic history of early dogs in Europe', in which we uncover the identity of the dogs that lived in Europe before agriculture—during the Paleolithic & Mesolithic periods: doi.org/10.1038/s415.... A thread ⬇️ (10) @biouea.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

For #WorldFrogDay, the best preserved Jurassic frog in ever found, Notobatrachus from the Middle Jurassic Argentina. Several well preserved species are known, and in 2024 scientists even described the first Jurassic tadpole, attributed to this species! #FossilFriday

Fossils of Notobatrachus degiustoi, a Middle Jurassic frog, with accompanying artwork. Displayed at the MACN, Buenos Aires

A model of a swimming frog (Notobatrachus), part of a diorama of life size small animals from the Cañadon Asfalto formation, Argentina. Part of the Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio, Chubut, Argentina.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Interesting point, but I think this difference can be explained by one key parameter: the newer interpretations of Spinosaurus, while surprising, maintain its reptilian look. Feathers, on any dinosaur, are at odds with the reptilian perception/prejudice through which the public views dinosaurs.

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

For more info about Kyhytysuka and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs, also check out the thread @ausarchosaur.bsky.social posted last week! bsky.app/profile/ausa...

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

And Kyhytysuka wasn't alone: it shared the seas with another smaller ichthyosaur, Muiscasaurus. Other ichthyosaur species from the same formation are being studied right now, and will be described soon!

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Another Colombian marine reptile: Kyhytysuka, a late surviving ichthyosaur from the early Cretaceous. It shows us that even right before their eventual demise, ichthyosaurs occupied top predator niches. #FossilFriday

Fossil of an ichthyosaur (Kyhytysuka, y's pronounced like 'oo'), on display at Villa de Leyva, not far from the rocks it was found in

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Congratulations! I'm curious to know, what was the subject of your thesis?

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Apparently not. The Paja formation, where this species is found, is one of the most trophically complex ecosystems documented, including short- and long-necked plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. Turtles diversified further in later ecosystems, alongside many other marine reptiles too

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

P.S the Center for Paleontological Investigations, where this specimen is displayed, holds an impressive collection of fossils - and it is just one of three museums in the town of Villa de Leyva! A window into an early Cretaceous marine ecosystem

Assortment of fossil marine reptiles on display at the main hall of the Center for Paleontological Investigations, Villa de Leyva

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Not the easiest #FossilFriday as war rears its head again here in the Middle east... A throwback from quieter times: The oldest known sea turtle, Desmatochelys padillai from Colombia. Despite their ancient appearance, turtles returned to the seas at a much later date than many other reptile groups

Fossil of a sea turtle, on display with head turning to the left.

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Josh Luke Davis 🏳️‍🌈 @joshlukedavis.com · 05/03/2026

"Two charismatic marsupial species that had been thought extinct for 6,000 years are alive in rainforest in remote West Papua." Oh yeah this is super cool as both the pygmy long-fingered possum and ring-tailed glider were previously only known from fossils 🤯🧪🐀 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Marsupials previously thought extinct for millennia discovered in New Guinea

The chances of finding one mammal species thought to be lost was ‘almost zero’ and finding two is ‘unprecedented’, biologist Tim Flannery says

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Uri Wolkowski @deinocurious.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Following with hopes of seeing a pipipi

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