iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 1h

They are clearly not up for this 😂

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 1h

Hays Daily News has been crushing it

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 4h

Thank you for articulating this so well.

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J Pardo @jdpardo.bsky.social · 4h

I posted this last week without comment, but I'm going to comment now. The people who established the system of museums in the West had a very specific reason for doing so: they thought that having an appreciation for the wonders of the world was absolutely necessary for being a good citizen.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 5h

Has a museum with staff whose whole job is to understand the legal and ethical treatment of fossil collections. "wE HeARd a DuDe oN a PoDCaSt"

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 7h

But seriously if you ever have a chance to count them up I'd love to know how many skeletons you've built/contributed to

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 7h

Also what percentage of dinosaur skeletons currently on display have you personally built? 😛 I thought Hagryphus was one of Gaston’s for some reason

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 7h

Yeah it’s perfectly reasonable as a representation of where scientists are at with their understanding of either of these guys! I’m just here pointing out the nuance, since “is it real or fake” is top of mind for most people looking at these displays

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 8h

Got an email this morning from a middle schooler critiquing an exhibit. They assured us that they "have trusted sources." Love the hustle!

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 8h

Hagryphus at NHMU is the main competition, I think. I suppose there's an argument against this sort of thing, but I won't be the one making it! A mounted skeleton is an art/science hybrid that always involves a certain amount of interpretation and artifice.

Reconstructed skeleton of an oviraptorosaur with its arms outspread.

Silhouette of an oviraptorosaur with hand bones illustrating known material. I think there's also a foot bone not included here. Text label says Hagryphus giganteus.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 22h

Nominating this Nanuqsaurus at the Perot Museum as the mounted dinosaur skeleton based on the smallest amount of actual known material.

Reconstructed skeleton of Nanuqsaurus leaning forward with tail high. Guy in plaid stands next to it and gestures toward it.

Diagram showing known Nanuqsaurus pieces. It's a minority of the jaw and a scrap of skull.

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🦕Isaiah Cole Torre🦖 @isaiahctorre.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Since uploading longer videos on BlueSky is now possible apparently, here's an audio-redux I recently made of the finale of Will Vinton's "Dinosaur" (1980). Had fun working with vintage sound effects here, though isolating the voice tracks was tricky. It's a bit rough, but it was fun to make.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 13h

What’s the rest based on? Gorgosaurus?

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 22h

Don't show this to the people who think all museum dinosaurs are fake. 😅

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 22h

Nominating this Nanuqsaurus at the Perot Museum as the mounted dinosaur skeleton based on the smallest amount of actual known material.

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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)

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Don’t you love it when there’s a dinosaur we still haven’t figured out?

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I was going to say iguanas and tegus get big and spiky eating like 4 calories a day with tiny teeth, but ankylosaur teeth really are still proportionally smaller, aren’t they?

Iguana skull on black bg. Teeth are a bit bigger proportionally then ankylosaur skull above

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Going through my Dinosaur Park hard drive for a project I’m getting ready to lock in on. And this Priconodon tooth is just so stupidly huge. Not in absolute terms, but ankylosaur teeth are proportionally really tiny…

Leaf shaped tooth with long root next to a scale bar showing it’s about 5.5 cm long

Cast skull of Denversaurus. The teeth are hanging out of their sockets so you can see the roots a bit

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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.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Dude’s been known to reference some surprisingly deep cuts…

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

He’s got legs so he’s gotta be Acanthostega or higher (also would this be funnier if the fishapod was actual size? I can’t decide 😂)

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Congratulations on the incoming book! Delighted to see what you've got in store, but also very glad you've been able to get out into nature from time to time. PS: If you ever have a spare minute for your inbox, I've been hoping to license a few existing illustrations.

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Adam Becker @adambecker.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Ok I am massively jetlagged so it's time for an astronomy shitpost thread I think, as many do, that the IAU definition of a planet is not great, and that there are not eight planets in the Solar System. Specifically, I believe there are only *four* planets in the solar system.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A half-remembered Sternberg Museum story I need to get to the bottom of: After FHSU bought the metroplex dome and exhibits were being developed to fill it, some important stakeholder (donor? university prez?) kept insisting that the museum be "more like Jurassic Park."

A square building next to a huge dome in front of a blue sky in flat western Kansas.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Thanks! The answer appears to be no—neither of the referred specimens at the Tyrell are on display

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Oh ok, np. 🙂 I thought maybe you had access to the full paper and had looked at the specimen list

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Hi, are any of the now-Tromerosaurus specimens on display?

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Underrated part is addressing him as “Pope” like it’s his first name

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

If you are part of an academic society or a professor of any kind, public statements that you do not condone Drexel cutting off the academy of natural sciences from the public of Philadelphia is very important right now. We need your voices. Urgently.

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Gef the Toking Mongoose @geftokingmongoose.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

God this shit was cool as fuck

Still from the movie Jurassic Park showing a raptor with genetic code projected onto it

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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 02/10/2026

This is a better epilogue to my January story about the private equity firm profiting off of ICE's cruelest flights than I could have ever possibly hoped for. CHICAGO: You went to the mat and protected (at a minimum!) thousands of immigrants from torture. Take a bow. prospect.org/2026/10/02/i...

prospect.org

The City That Brought Down an ICE Airline - The American Prospect

In Chicago, progressive alderpeople held up a contract until a private equity firm was forced to dispatch Omni Air International, protecting thousands of immigrants from deportation.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's also very fun to see that there's a new sign that is *still* using that logo I drew in photopia or something a decade ago.

Dinosaur Park roadside sign features silhouettes of Astrodon, Acrocanthosaurus, and Deinonychus on an orange background.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Very happy to hear that the Maryland Dinosaur Park's discovery trail is now open! Congratulations to everyone there for *finally* making this happen. The sculptures by Tristan Crum look phenomenal—can't wait to see them in person in a couple weeks. Photos borrowed from JP Hodnett. #FossilFriday

Minimalist outdoor metal sculpture of a juvenile sauropod skeleton

Minimalist outdoor metal sculpture of a giant ankylosaur skeleton

Minimalist outdoor metal sculpture of a crocodile skeleton

Man stands under a metal nodosaur skeleton with a face mask and portable welder

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Kevin Sievers @diplotomodon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Until it is accompanied by an actual plan, concrete action, transparency, and a process that meaningfully incorporates public input we see no reason to treat the University’s statements as evidence that any of the underlying problems have been or will be resolved. save-the-academy.org/statement.html

save-the-academy.org

Save the Academy Coalition statement, October 1, 2026

We refuse closure. Secure a year of bridge funding, appoint an independent commission, and give the public a real role in the Academy’s future.

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Dave Rodland @daverodland.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The Anthropocene isn't really a stratigraphic concept. It belongs to other fields. It's honestly regrettable that stratigraphic nomenclature got wrapped up in the concept to begin with. But that doesn't invalidate the term or the idea.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Since it's #AstrodonDay, here's the Big Femur found by the Norden family in 1991. AFAIK it's still on display at the Maryland Science Center.

Woman and two kids pose with a large plaster jacket in a gray landscape.

Man applies burlap soaked in plaster to a dinosaur bone

Photo looking down of half a gnarly-looking sauropod femur

Partial sauropod femur with black silhouette showing the missing portion

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Kieran 🦘🇨🇦 @hellbendermuseum.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Proud to present my lifesize T. rex head, affectionately named Hannibal. I created this myself from start to finish- digital sculpture, resin 3D printing, painting, etc. Huge thanks to my friend @rj-palmer.com for instrumental crits and redlines during the sculpting process.

Life-size t rex head model from front 3/4 view. I am also in frame

Life size t-rex model, from front and staring directly down the barrel of the camera

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Assuming all the sauropod material from Maryland's Arundel Clay is Astrodon, we actually have quite a lot of this east coast sauropod! And fossils range from tiny babies to Brachiosaurus-sized adults.