Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 25/07/2026This may be the most argued-over origin story in animal evolution. What are your thoughts? Here are some answers: theconversation.com/80-million-y... 000
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 23/07/2026AN EXCEPTIONAL NEW FOSSIL IS REFRAMING SNAKE EVOLUTION! Meet 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘮, an 80-million-year-old burrower from Brazil. New in Nature, led by Tiago Simões. A privilege to have been part of this. theconversation.com/80-million-y...theconversation.com80-million-year-old snake fossil sheds light on why lizards lost their limbs and started slitheringSnakes lost their limbs millions of years ago to become undulating, scaly tubes of muscles. Scientists are finally figuring out why. 021
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 01/05/2026Huge congratulations to my dear friend and colleague Jane Melville on the publication of her book, For Her Love of Birds! I've heard wonderful things about it from everyone who's read it. I'm so happy for you and so proud of you — you've absolutely earned this. 010
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 17/01/2026Including these glass lizards, several distantly related ‘worm lizards’ have skin bone plates covering their bodies. We just found that these evolved independently. For the full story: doi.org/10.64628/AA.... CT data provided by Sydney Decker (2025, CMC 27120, OSUM R685) via MorphoSource. 030
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 15/01/2026Reptile body armour has a wild back story. Find out here: doi.org/10.64628/AA.... 031
Reposted by Roy EbelThomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 13/01/2026Lizards in chain mail: reconstructing the enigmatic past of dermal armour in squamate reptiles url: academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...academic.oup.comLizards in chain mail: reconstructing the enigmatic past of dermal armour in squamate reptilesAbstract. Osteoderms, bone plates in the skin, occur widely but inconsistently throughout the tetrapod tree of life. Their evolutionary history remains poo 1156
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 13/01/2026Our new paper is out! By reconstructing 320 million years of reptile body armour evolution, we settled a century-old debate. Along the way, we found that monitor lizards broke Dollo’s Law in an unparalleled comeback. Check out our article in The Conversation for more: doi.org/10.64628/AA.... 0125
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 31/10/2025This is it, folks! Your one and only Halloween decoration for the year. It is the creepiest thing I have seen in a while. Watch it in full, with sound on. You won’t regret it. What makes it even better? Every frame is volume-rendered from real scientific CT scans. youtu.be/L_D_iCex16o?...youtu.beScary animals rendered from scientific CT scansYouTube video by Museums Victoria 100
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 13/08/2025It was the greatest of all honours to be featured as Museums Victoria's flagship speaker at the Royal Society of Victoria's launch event for National Science Week. Many thanks to the organisers and the wonderful audience. 000
Roy Ebel @ebelosaurus.bsky.social · 21/07/2025Monitor lizards, also known in Australia as goannas, are some of the most iconic reptiles on the continent. In our new study, we looked beneath their skin with cutting-edge imaging techniques – and we may just have found the key to their evolutionary success. youtu.be/RfOK2wWYjLoyoutu.beThese Lizards have their own built in chainmailYouTube video by Museums Victoria 252
