iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I was in Arizona last weekend, which is a great place to ensconce yourself in the interface between culture and nature. At Taliesin West, an alluvial fan gave Frank Lloyd Wright the gentle hill he wanted for his masterpiece of a home and studio in a land of jagged mountains and flat deserts.

120

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Happy Year pf the Horse from my occasionally equid-focused lab!

020

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

I tried my hand at a little amateur videography in the Open Sea exhibit at the @orcoastaquarium.bsky.social and really lucked out! (The music is Debussy's 'La Mer,' which I added because the original background audio included other people's conversations, and darned if it doesn't fit perfectly)

000

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Happy #FossilFriday from the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland, home of several important Ediacaran localities within the fantastic Discovery Global Geopark!

081

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Longtime wildlife-viewing aspiration achieved (at Port au Choix National Historic Site, Newfoundland)!

020

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

What does a paleontologist do when they’re on vacation? Go look at fossils! Is it healthy? Probably not, but when a museum does as fantastic a job with their exhibits as the @romtoronto.bsky.social, how could I resist spending part of a long Toronto layover there?

An entire wall of the Royal Ontario Museum occupied by a huge cast of the fossil bed at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, with dozens of small, frond-like Fractofusus a huge orange and grey slab

A fossil of the fern-like Fractofusus on a dark grey slab next to a 3D model of what it might have looked like in life

The tiny early mammal Morganucodon, in both fossil and model form, with the skeleton of the early dinosaur Herrerasaurus looming in the background

An enormous, long-necked Barosaurus skeleton in the jagged, angular, and sunlit galleries of the Royal Ontario Museum

030

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Always a pleasure to find myself back "home" at the @burkemuseum.bsky.social, especially on #FossilFriday!

Skeletons of Pleistocene megafauna: the giant sloth Megalonyx, the Columbian mammoth, and the saber-toothed cat Smilodon, all mounted on a platform in front of windows with Seattle greenery in the background

Cast of the fossil of the tiny, salamander-like temnospondyl amphibian Micropholis next to a yellow and black model of the animal in life

071

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

A few glimpses of a Salish Sea spring before jetting off to an African savanna winter (taken at Seattle's Ballard Locks and the Anacortes ferry terminal)

Pink and white clover blooms in the lawn above the Ballard Locks

Two wild roses, each a different shade of pink, against a background of green leaves

A wild rose with a glimpse of Fidalgo Island shoreline in the background

000

Reposted by John Orcutt

Morphology & Ecology Across Time Lab @meatlabpaleo.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

As of this #FossilFriday, I'm officially hosting a symposium on Afrotheria at next year's IPC in Cape Town! There's still a lot to work out, but if you work on elephants, sea cows, aardvarks or any of their relatives (and can make it to South Africa) please consider being a part of this session!

023

Reposted by John Orcutt

Morphology & Ecology Across Time Lab @meatlabpaleo.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

One of the perks of doing research at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is getting to stroll through the exhibits afterwards. Besides telling a great story about climate change and evolution, they are a textbook example of how great paleoart can elevate a paleontology display.

Fossil display cases in front of colorful murals of life in central Oregon during the Eocene Epoch.

Fossil display cases in front of myself depicting the drier, grassier world of the Miocene Epoch

The fanged jaws of the cat-like sabertooth Pogonodon

Skulls of oreodonts, vaguely sheep-like animals that are superabundant in the John Day fossil record

182

Reposted by John Orcutt

Morphology & Ecology Across Time Lab @meatlabpaleo.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

The lab is working on describing some carnivores from Oregon's John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, so I had an excuse to run down to one of our planet's more dramatic fossiliferous landscapes (and my old stomping grounds) over our Spring Break.

The pyramidal peak of Sheep Rock, Oregon, with sagebrush in the foreground

042

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Following up on my earlier announcement of a lab Bluesky page, I wanted to share our first post, which naturally had to feature long-time friend of the lab Teleoceras.

020

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

In the interest of fully divesting from the Tech Bro social media sites, I just started a BlueSky page for my lab! Give us a follow for research updates and news!

bsky.app

031

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

A weekend trip across the state to visit family culminated in finding myself in the midst of one of the Northwest's greatest natural spectacles.

010

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Ex Africa semper aliquid novi! Egypt's Fayum is an incredible window into a crucial interval in mammalian evolution. Thanks to a team led by researchers at Mansoura University, the Fayum bestiary is now one species larger. Absolutely love the Ancient Egyptian-inspired name Bastetodon!

041

Reposted by John Orcutt

Steve Wang @stevewang251.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Just out: My first ever field-based paper in 25+ years in paleo Carbonaceous macrofossils from the Ediacaran–Cambrian lower shale member of the Soltanieh formation, NW Iran. Led by Najmeh Etemad-Saeed, w/ Shuhai Xiao, me, Kristin Bergmann, Andy Knoll free URL: authors.elsevier.com/c/1ka1c14fdH...

3262

Reposted by John Orcutt

Russell Garwood @russellgarwood.co.uk · 31/01/2025

For #FossilFriday may I present to you an amazing scorpion, Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis. It may look like the moult of a modern species, but these are actually ~330 million year old fossils, dissolved out of a rock from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 using acid. ⚒️🧪🦀🦑 #evosky

A black and white photograph of a fossil scorpion, the front towards the right. Y ou can see mouthparts (chelicerae and pedipalps with pincers), four walking legs, and then a body and tail.

A colour photograph of a fossil scorpion, this time with the top pointing upwards. It also has nice pedipalps and a good body, but the limbs are a bit more scrappy than the other picture. It does have an impressive sting though.

A black and white reconstruction of this super cool fossil species by Jason Dunlop. It's beautifull stippled, and shows the scorpion in dorsal view, with the front upward. It looks a fair bit like a modern scorpion. The man is an amazing artist.

16520

Reposted by John Orcutt

Dr. Nick Famoso @drfamoso.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

The Turtle Cove assemblage from John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is the theme for this year's #NationalFossilDay poster art! Check out the writeup on the NPS website! www.nps.gov/articles/000...

National Fossil Day poster with green border and scene of prehistoric animals and forest. Text includes, National Fossil Day, Discovery, Science, Prehistoric Life, and October 15, 2025.

05212

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

I'm prepping a lecture on the afrotherian paleontology this #FossilFriday, so how could I not share the spectacular reconstruction of Arsinoitherium from the Fayum of Egypt on display at the Natural History Museum, London?

Reconstructed skeleton of the huge, two-horned mammal Arsinoitherium.

0296

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Two related things that make me proud of my home town of Seattle: 1) We're a @unesconow.bsky.social City of Literature 2) We have a strong contender for World's Most Beautiful Bookstore in Arundel Books

The tiled floors, Corinthian columns, and vaulted ceiling of Arundel Books

020

Reposted by John Orcutt

Sami Mark @samimarkart.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

I designed a sticker to raise money for California wildfire relief - I have been wanting to draw something involving garibaldi fish, and seeing as they’re the state marine fish of California I figured now was a fitting time. Preorder period ends in a week - find all details below #marinelife

sticker design of an orange garibaldi fish swimming in front of kelp.

219367

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Last full day on the West Side before heading back to Spokane. Spending it with some surprising sunshine and the Space Age architecture of the Seattle Center (site of the '62 World's Fair).

Paul Horiuchi's colorful, collage style Mural Amphitheater, with the bright white Space Needle against a cloudless blue sky in the background

Sunlight and shadow on the Gothic-inspired white arches of Minoru Yamasaki's Pacific Science Center

Collonade of the Northwest Rooms with a view of the Space Needle

040

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

As always, the Olympics made photography easy today.

010

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

For so many reasons, things are stressful right now. I've always found the waters of the Olympic Peninsula to be endlessly soothing and refreshing, and I hope these videos bring some of that calm to your feed. First, off, Madison Falls in Olympic National Park.

250

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

While I'm revisiting the highlights of 2024, I'd be remiss to not mention a very recent development that's my biggest personal news of the year: I got tenure!!! I'm thrilled to be able to spend the rest of my career at Gonzaga and in Spokane!

Nighttime in the illuminated US Pavilion, Riverfront Park, Spokane

The buildings and bridges of Riverfront Park reflected in the dark waters of the Spokane River

Spokane icons along the edge of RIverfront Park, Spokane

The Gonzaga footbridge at night, its lights reflected in puddles

030

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Happy Holidays from the shore of the Salish Sea! To celebrate the new year, here are some of my favorite memories from 2024!

A windblown Douglas fir and craggy rocks in front of the Salish Sea, with the low hills of the San Juan Islands in the background.

130

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

I think we could all use a sea otter in our feeds this #MarineLifeMonday. Famous for the role they play in maintaining kelp forests, they are equally at home in - and equally important members of - the West Coast's other cradles of biodiversity: eelgrass beds, like these in Morro Bay, California.

A sea otter floating on a bed of eelgrass, with its hands folded over its eyes

A sea otter looking around at its eelgrass bed habitat

191

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

It's been a long #FossilFriday and I'm in no state to say anything profound, so please enjoy, with minimal comment, this photo of Miocene rhinoceros and Friend of the Lab, Teleoceras! (Photo taken in the Carnegie Museum)

The barrel-chested, short-legged skeleton of the fossil rhino Teleoceras

1729

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Is #MarineLifeMonday a thing here on Bluesky? If not, my argument for why it should be is that it gives us all a chance to nerd out about species like the world's largest carnivoran, the southern elephant seal (elefante marino in Spanish), seen here on Península Valdés, Argentina.

Skull of a southern elephant seal on display in the midst of Patagonian scrubland on Península Valdés, Argentina

Resting southern elephants seals on the shores of Península Valdés, Argentina

Southern elephant seals resting where cobble beach meets rocky shore on Península Valdés, Argentina

An enormous (though still young!) male elephant seal, illustrating just how big carnivorans can get, Península Valdés, Argentina

1187

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

This #FossilFriday I'm flashing back to the epic day a decade ago when I visited one of our planet's great lagerstätten, the @unesconow.bsky.social World Heritage Site Grube Messel. As a bonus, I also got to see the amazing fossil halls at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt!

The surreal, angular fossil gallery at Grube Messel

Overview of the pit mine at Grube Messel

Fossil reptiles from Messel at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt

Fossil mammals from Messel at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt

2254

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 12/06/2024

There are many things to love about the Carnegie Museum, but one of my favorites is the collection of half-fleshed-out fossil mammal sculptures.

020

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 12/06/2024

The sun sets on the first of twenty days of road-tripping, collection-visiting, and conference-attending across the Great Lakes states.

000

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 15/05/2024

What do these images have in common? They all appear on posters that lab students will be presenting today at the GSA meeting in Spokane! If you're here, swing by between 4 and 5:30 to hear about their research! Art: Charles R. Knight Ringtail photo: American Society of Mammalogists

030

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 17/04/2024

Paleontology/mammalogy/taxonomy colleagues! Does anyone have a complete citation (or, in a perfect world, a PDF) for Nordmann, 1850, the paper in which the Tribe Camelini was named? I have spent many frustrating hours trying to track it down and am at my wit's end!

000

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 10/04/2024

With the abstract deadline for next month's NW Scientific Association meeting in Spokane approaching on the 19th, it's time for the top ten reasons that any of you who study or teach about the natural world of the Great Northwest should join us!

northwestscience.org

Northwest Scientific Association - 2024 Annual Meeting

500

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 15/02/2024

I'm excited to see my students' research get to the point where they can share it with the paleontology community! If you can make GSA in Spokane or NAPC in Ann Arbor this summer, come see them present their work on fascinating fossils and spectacular sites from my favorite corner of the world!

Sediments and sedimentary structures from the Pysht Formation, Olympic Peninsula

Morning on the rocky, forested shoreline of Vancouver Island.

000

John Orcutt @jdorcutt.bsky.social · 08/02/2024

Hello everyone! Finally giving this site a try and I'm thrilled to see so many paleontologists here! Please accept this mammoth (from the Royal BC Museum) as a token of my appreciation for making this a soft landing. I look forward to nerding out with you all.

4242