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John P. Friel, Ph.D.

@friel.bsky.social
24K followers 1.7K following 1.1K posts

Director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History • He/Him • 🐟Zoologist 🦈 • linktr.ee/john.friel

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Reposted by John P. Friel, Ph.D.
Dr. Joe Moysiuk @cambrojoe.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Graduate student opportunities in my lab! Seeking up to 2 students to start next year. Learn more: joemoysiuk.weebly.com/student-oppo...
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Reposted by John P. Friel, Ph.D.
Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · 8h
In his Conversation, Stefan Schuster tells us about archer fish, which hunt prey above the surface by squirting jets of water to knock them down and predict precisely where the morsel will land to intercept it before other fish arrive doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
An archerfish (Toxotes chatareus) squirting a jet of water. Photo credit: Schuster Lab, Bayreuth University.
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Reposted by John P. Friel, Ph.D.
Miguel Clavero @chikichanka.bsky.social · 10h
Wonderful crab painted on a ceramic dish some 1400 years ago From the Maya site Joya de Cerén (El Salvador), a kind of Meso American Pompeii, buried by the Loma Caldera Vulcano Seen in a 1990s National Geographic (those things found at the dentist's)
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Adam Yates @reddirtpalaeo.bsky.social · 10h
Ragebait: modern theropods literally shit on tyrannosaurids
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Black Mammalogists Week @blackmammalogists.bsky.social · 20h
GET READY 🥳 Next week #BlackMammalogistsWeek2026 begins! Here's a quick rundown of the many cool and informative events happening from Oct. 11th - Oct. 17th. Giveaways, panels, another drawing workshop, all culminating in our in-person event at NHMLAC in LA on Friday! Join us in the fun!
Black Mammalogists Week 2026: Theme: Celebrating Resilience. October 11-17th. Email: blackmammalogists@gmail.com, bluesky: blackmammalogists.bsky.social, instagram: BlackMammalogistsWeek; twitter: BlkMammalogists. There's a QR code to our website, where you can get more information on events and our sponsors. Please join us in uplifting the efforts of current and upcoming #BlackMammalogists across the Diaspora. Goal: to form conscious, fruitful connections while illuminating historic and present-day contributions from Black folks to the field of Mammalogy through online and in-person events! What to expect: giveaways, panels, games, workshops and more! We hope to see you there.Sunday October 11th: #BMW2026RollCall meet Black scientists, conservationists, and other experts shaping the field of mammalogy!
Monday October 12th: #BMW2026Resist Join us for a rousing round of March Mammal Madness, sponsor shoutouts, and highlights of community-engaged mammal work.
Tuesday October 13th: #BMW2026Create Contribute to our community gallery celebrating mammal-inspired artwork, photography, and creative projects. ALL ARE WELCOME!
Wednesday October 14th: #BMW2026Innovate A look at cutting-edge tools, from advanced tracking to field gear, and what's next for mammalogy research.
Thursday October 15th: #BMW2026Resilience Be inspired by the resilience of mammals *and* mammalogists who adapt, survive, and learn to thrive in a rapidly-changing, challenging world.
Friday October 16th: #BMW2026Community Join us at our first in-person event at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County!
Saturday October 17th: #BMW2026Celebrate Celebrating major wins, milestones, and breakthroughs for current and aspiring Black mammalogists.

Another website QR code: blackmammalogists.com
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authodizer @doktrock.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Artist and Scientist Susie J Lee's Biography pieces present people's lives as drill cores through geologic layers. ⚒️ Core Sampling: a Biography of Jake; the other two have the same title, but different names. 2013. Metal oxide, clay, minerals, steel, and mixed media. Fabrication: Jared Bender.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
👀
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Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Reminder:
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Bruce S. Lieberman @bruceslieberman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A thoughtful, excellent write up by @richardconniff.bsky.social on the very sad situation @sternbergpaleo.bsky.social museum #paleontology #palaeontology #naturalhistory richardconniff.substack.com/p/another-na...
richardconniff.substack.com
Another Nature Museum Faces Death
Kansas is killing a centerpiece of state and world history. Follow the money.
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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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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
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
While it is true that this is the first state shark, Megalodon has been the official state fossil of North Carolina since 2013.
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Dr. Jack Cooper @cooperpalaeo.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🚨Big News🚨 I wrote a book! It's out on February 9th & it’s available to pre-order now! 🦈 Published by UniPress Books & @princetonupress.bsky.social & featuring incredible art by the amazing Gabriel Ugueto @serpenillus.bsky.social, you can pre-order here: www.amazon.co.uk/Megalodon-Ot... 🦈 (1/4)
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Reminds me of one of my professors' challenges when learning marine invertebrate diversity: try to pick animals representing five phyla you'd eat in a stew.
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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 frameLife size t rex head model, from frontLife size t-rex model, from front and staring directly down the barrel of the camera
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
An awesome example of how to use natural history collection specimens and their support staff to fundraise. Here is Samantha Rickle, a researcher and technician with the Bishop Museum’s Ichthyology team showing off a unique deep-sea anglerfish Gigantactis paresca that was described by her.
lnkd.in
#annualfundcampaign #afc2026 #bishopmuseum #hawaiismuseum | Bishop Museum
Mahalo nui loa for your support of Bishop Museum and the work that we do to connect our community with the stories we share about Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. When the Museum as founded in 1889, along wi...
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Peter and I actually did research on triggerfish back in the day. They do indeed have teeth from hell, but are also one of the most delicious fishes to eat.
Low resolution image of a the title page of the following publication. John P. Friel, Peter C. Wainwright; Evolution of Motor Patterns in Tetraodontiform Fishes: Does Muscle Duplication Lead to Functional Diversification?. Brain Behav Evol 1 September 1998; 52 (3): 159–170. https://doi.org/10.1159/000006560
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Teaching on the main campus so no collections work today. So here's Bothriolepis canadensis (UMMP VP 3475) from this week's lab for the vertebrate paleontology course.
Bony armor of a placoderm fish with tiny eyes. The fossil is dark in color and shaped like an egg.
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Ainsley S @americanbeetles.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
lol I just found the notes I took at one of Peter's talks in ~2019, probably at SICB
sloppy drawing of a fish with hideous human-like teeth, probably a sheepshead wrasse. It is labeled "horrible teeth"a hemiramphid fish saying "oh no, I'm a halfbeak" a parrotfish reminds you that they are also wrassesmore wrasse drawings, including a napoleon wrasse and a tube lipped guy who is hungry for mucus
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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....
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Jesus, take the (wh)eel! Did you know that there were eels on the table at the Last Supper? Da Vinci's famous painting has a plate of grilled eel & oranges -- a popular local dish that Leonardo himself probably enjoyed. The ingredients show up on one of his shopping lists! 1/2
Closeup of the plate of eel and oranges from Da Vinci's Last Supper. The eel is sitting on a plate, cut up into 4 pieces. Little eel nuggets, if you will. There is a glass next to the plate with what we should probably assume is wine, but which could also be Mountain Dew Code Red. Wine makes more sense canonically. Mountain Dew makes more sense comedically. You decide.

There are several rolls on the table that look a bit like potatoes but can't possibly be, and a small bowl behind the eels. You can see a hand behind the bowl; it belongs to James the Greater. He seems like he's telling the eels to slow down, and use their walking feet. Which, is just silly, tbh.

One wonders if you could read his future from the lines on that hand: early martyrdom, a post-death sail to Spain, a pilgrimage by Shirley MacLaine...it's probably all right there.

I suspect that James the Greater probably wanted his friends to call him Big Jake, but it never happened. Life is full of such little tragedies. Da Vinci's Last supper, with the plate of eels and oranges highlighted. You know this painting, and I don't feel the need to describe it. If nothing else, "The DaVinci Code" made it famous, but not for eel-related reasons. More's the pity. I do think it's interesting to extend the DaVinci Code hypothesis and presume that *every* figure in the painting besides Jesus is secretly Mary. Did Jesus travel around with a harem of hairy women? We can infer it from the painting. And...you know...it worked for Jerome. So why not?

FYI: you should have known that the much decried* performance at the opening of the Paris Olympics wasn't about the Last Supper. There were no eels. IFKYK.

* There are people in the world who seem to build most of their lives around feeling personally attacked, and who live to decry All The Things. They are almost never the people whom the world is actually besieging, and you can tell because they have the time for performative public martyrdom. They suck.
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Sharing this photo of a ScubaSpood for #Arachtober.
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Kirk Johnson will return to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science as their next president and CEO after 14 years leading the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
dmns.org
Kirk Johnson Named President and CEO
The Board of Trustees has appointed Kirk Johnson as the Museum’s next president and CEO.
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Fishing some 5,300 years ago: a Neolithic fishhook made of a wild boar tusk, wrapped with a fishing line. The size of the fishhook is 6.5 cm. It was used to catch pikes. Found in the lake-dwelling settlement of Arbon Bleiche 3, Switzerland. On display at Archäologisches Museum Frauenfeld 📷me 🏺
The picture shows a fishhook made of wild boar tusk. Only the curved, pointed end and the upper part are visible. The rest is wrapped in fishing line. The fishing line is made of twisted bast.
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Sorry, I could not resist this comparison.😀
Photo of the cover of the book entitled "Butt or Face?" by Kart Lavelle which feature the butt of an okapi with a pair of googly eyes.
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Found a genomics paper where a fish is literally pictured upside-down (but is not a species that naturally swims upside-down). Yet another addition to my collection of "basic organismal facts in a genomics paper that for some reason dozens of authors never corrected"
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Jason Cryan, from the Natural History Museum of Utah, and Barbara Thiers, formerly of the New York Botanical Garden, join Host Flora Lichtman to discuss the challenges of running a natural history museum.
sciencefriday.com
Are natural history museums in trouble?
The country’s oldest natural history museum, in Philadelphia, has closed its doors to visitors. Will other museums follow?
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John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Check out this lovely profile of the University of California, Davis’s Peter Wainwright, whose lifelong fascination with fishes inspired a remarkable career in research and teaching. Peter was my postdoc advisor years ago when he was at Florida State University, and is awesome dude and mentor.
ucdavis.edu
Among the Academies: A Lifelong Fascination With Fish
For Peter Wainwright, the academic path was simple: he simply followed his fascination with fish.“I dare say there wasn't a lot of deep thought about what direction I should go in my life,” he said. “...
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Anthony (Tony) J. Martin @ichnologist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Today is the day to commiserate with Charles Darwin, on the 161st anniversary of his confessing to Charles Lyell that he felt "...very poorly today & very stupid & I hate everyone & everything." Here's more of the back story on Darwin writing about this not-so-good day. www.npr.org/sections/kru...
npr.org
Charles Darwin And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Geniuses have it easy, right? They wake up and out pops the brilliance. Well, not really. And not if that genius is Charles Darwin, who's got lots to do and absolutely no desire to do it. Those days (...
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Alberta Palaeontological Society @abpalaeosociety.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Thanks to Luke Nelson, who recently graduated with his Master's degree, for presenting last Friday! It was a fascinating exploration of a large sabre-toothed fish, Enchodus, which lived in Alberta in the Late Cretaceous. youtu.be/czalifQ16J8 #palaeontology #paleontology #fossils #fish #alberta
youtu.be
The anatomy, taxonomy, and tooth replacement of a sabre-toothed Cretaceous fish
YouTube video by Alberta Palaeontological Society
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Arachtober @arachtober.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
October 1st marks the start of the 20th year of #Arachtober! Join the celebration throughout October by sharing your photos of #spiders, scorpions, and other #arachnids using #Arachtober. Explore the hashtag and connect with other enthusiasts around the world. Learn more at Arachtober.com
Arachtober 2026 written in spider web.
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Krista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It’s the time of year when everyone else matches my level of enthusiasm for skeletons!
static.klipy.com
Dinosaur Skeleton Spinning
Alt: Dinosaur Skeleton Spinning
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Noah Bressman, PhD @noahwithfish.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My favorite emails from students are those with the subject, “What fish is this?” Here, we have a skilletfish, our local clingfish species that uses is suction cup-like pelvic fins to stick under crevices and in shells.
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Lindsey Swierk @lindseyswierk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🦎*Please share!*🦎 Review begins Oct 5. The Swierk Lab is recruiting 1-2 PhD students for Fall 27 / Spr 28 to study Neotropical anole 1) body coloration and visual signals or 2) predator avoidance, diving, and respiration. Please contact only by email. Details here: drive.google.com/file/d/1TGmC...
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Fossillocator @fossillocator.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yay! My missing box of old fossil fish arrived! Among the pieces: 1) a cute Pterichthyodes from the Devonian of Scotland, with Wards label! 2) Americaspis from the Silurian of Pennsylvania 3) cute Coccosteus from the Devonian of Scotland 4) a different Pterichthyodes from Scotland
PterichthyodesAmericaspisCoccosteusPterichthyodes
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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Exciting news! We here at the LSU Museum of Natural Science @lsumns.bsky.social and Dept. of Biological Sciences are looking for Curator and Assistant Professor of Vertebrate Paleobiology! Come work with us! We are fun, supportive and active! lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/LSU/jo...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor
All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...
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Amanda Peng @amandawpeng.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
An attack on one museum is an attack on all museums, let's not continue this disturbing trend of closing down these centers for science, learning, and wonder. If this bothers you, write a letter! Contact legislators! Make your voice heard!
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Amanda Peng @amandawpeng.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is a crucial time for museums across the country. Museums and their backing institutions are charged with an important task: maintain and protect our collective record of biodiversity for current and future generations.
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Sternberg Museum Paleontology @sternbergpaleo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Sternberg Museum curator of paleontology, Dr. Amanda Peng, has a new paper out today in Journal of Paleontology on diversity and disparity in John Day Formation assemblages. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Diversity and disparity in mammalian fossil assemblages of the John Day Formation, Oregon, USA | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core
Diversity and disparity in mammalian fossil assemblages of the John Day Formation, Oregon, USA
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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🚨Postdoc job alert: Come work with my paleontology & evolution group in Edinburgh! Researcher in Cognitive Evolution Over Deep Time. You'll study how brains & neurons have evolved over time, and predict neuron count in extinct species! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTC355/p...
jobs.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time at The University of Edinburgh
Apply for the Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.
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Dan Baldassarre @evornithology.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Birds have a food storage organ called a crop at the beginning of their digestive tract. Similar to a chipmunk packing its cheeks with acorns, they can fill their crop with food (seeds in the case of this American Goldfinch) and digest them at a later time.
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Paleo Nerds Podcast @paleonerdspod.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🎉 Episode #102 is out now! 🎉 Ray & Dave talk with paleontologist Melanie During, who read the growth rings in fossil fish 🐟 from the Tanis site and pinned the death of the dinosaurs 🦖☄️to a single spring one fateful day 66 million years ago. 🔊 Listen now! www.paleonerds.com/podcast/mela...
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
New Philly voice article on the fight to reopen the Academy of Natural Sciences! www.phillyvoice.com/academy-natu...
phillyvoice.com
Academy of Natural Sciences is closed, but the fight for the museum continues
A grassroots group is urging Drexel's board to disaffiliate from the institution and calling for a public process to decide its future.
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Joanna Bagniewska @joannabagniewska.com · 30/09/2026
Insect declines threaten wildlife far beyond insect world. Apart from being food, insects provide other species with homes, protection, chemical defence and sanitation - to name a few things. Great review article by @r-cooke.bsky.social with BEAUTIFUL visuals. 🧪🪳 www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Visuals demonstrating the following:

Many freshwater fish eat insects
Parrots nest in termite mounds
Chimpanzees use insects on wounds
Poisonous frogs get toxins from ants and beetles.

73% of studied vertebrate species eat invertebrates
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Bruce Stallsmith @laimosemion.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
If you want to see what NSF grants have been terminated or disrupted, here's an excellent tracker site. There's one for NIH too. 🧪🌍⚒️🐟 #TeamFish
grantwitness.org
National Science Foundation
An independent, up-to-date, grant-level record of federal science funding disruptions in the United States.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New exhibit at UMMNH. Come for the eurypterids, stay for the ostracoderms.
Image of a museum display featuring a large model of an aquatic arthropod.Close-up of part of museum display featuring casts and models of jawless fishes.
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Taylor Mitchell Brown @tmitchellbrown.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New research finds the Suriname toad’s strange star-shaped fingertips are a kind of tactile eyeball that allow them to ‘see’ their prey. The toes detect subtle vibrations in the water and translate them into details about size and speed. #ToadToesTuesday 🧪🧪 New at @science.org
science.org
These frogs ‘see’ prey with their star-shaped toes
Fingertips of Suriname toads are hypersensitive motion detectors, new study reveals
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Cathy Newman ⚜️🐘 @cenewman0.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Devastated for the Fort Hays community about the closure of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, and this letter from the univ president makes clear how dramatic reductions in state funding leave universities with no good options viable long-term. www.fhsu.edu/news/2026/09...
fhsu.edu
To the Fort Hays State University Community
I need to share a difficult decision with you, and I want to be transparent about how we arrived here, what it means, and who ultimately holds the power to change the path we are on.
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Dave Rodland @daverodland.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It's also #TraceFossilTuesday, and it turns out the Lego Jurassic World exhibition includes a whole room dedicated to dinoturbation! More than one way to make tracks, ya know! 🐾 Just ... don't step on 'em?
Self-build instructions for a variety of Lego dino tracksSelf-build instructions for a Lego theropod dino tracksSelf-build instructions for a Lego Velociraptor dino tracks
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