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Lucy Jackson

@lej-palaeo.bsky.social
358 followers 455 following 54 posts

she/her | PhD Student | Natural History Museum London & University of Reading | Researching the Cambrian explosion of echinoderms ⭐️🌊⚒️ | all views my own

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Reposted by Lucy Jackson
Natural History Museum, London @nhm-london.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Dorothea Bate has been honoured with a Historic England blue plaque at the Natural History Museum in Tring! 🌟 Dorothea had no formal qualifications when she walked into the Museum in 1898 looking for a job. She went on to become a renowned palaeontologist, known for her fossil mammal discoveries.
Photograph of Dorothea Bate in profile facing left, showing short, wavy hair styled close to the head. The black-and-white portrait has a vintage appearance, likely from the early to mid-20th century.
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franz @franzanth.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I don't think I've ever posted these posters together as a set, so here's a first. Wonders of the Deep series, commissioned by the International Seabed Authority between 2020-2022 to celebrate the fragile biodiversity of deep sea. Not for sale. #Art #SciArt
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Congrats Laurent! ⭐️
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bookswain.bsky.social @bookswain.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Speaking of echinoderms, here’s some hand-colored illustrations of echinoderm species showing off their unique, pentamerous radial symmetry. Plate from ‘Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle’ by French botanist Charles d'Orbigny, published in 1849. #invertefest Coin for scale. 🦑
Illustrations of different echinoderm species dominated by a light purple striped sea urchin (Cidaridae) in the center. A sand dollar in the lower left (order Clypeasteroida) highlights the fivefold symmetry radial symmetry found in echinoderms.


#sciart
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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
1315m Nice zooms on a stalked crinoid. I don't get tired of the Okeanos ROV cameras. #OkeanosExplorer EX2606 dive 3 #MarineLife
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GHOULology Johnson @geologyjohnson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Fascinating work. I've been thinking along similar lines, too. Could you have something that's not-quite-alive but that would look like life when fossilised? How complex could these nearly-biological entities become? Could they also evolve?
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Dr. Peter Neff @icy-pete.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
"Modern science outreach" 6 recs for scientists: 1) Craft research summary 2) Get public comms training 3) Engage w/ media, journalists 4) Challenge yourself w/ public speaking 5) Amplify your impact online (90% of Americans use social media daily) 6) Join podcasts www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
Modern science outreach: A guide for scientists
This paper outlines six actionable practices to help scientists effectively reach and engage broad audiences, with a focus on leveraging modern media and emerging dissemination channels. We encourage ...
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Reposted by Lucy Jackson
The Marine Biological Association @thembauk.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
🌾 Species Spotlight: Weedy Seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) It's no wonder this stunning camouflage expert is tied to the theme of the July issue of The Marine Biologist! #SpeciesSpotlight #MarineLife #WeedySeadragon #TheMarineBiologist
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Will Allen @wlallen.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
New Paper: Ornaments evolve faster than weapons Combining a new theoretical model of sexually selected trait evolution with comparative analyses across ten clades, we suggest that drift in female preferences accelerates the rate of ornament evolution. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Ornaments evolve faster than weapons
Abstract. We investigate the evolutionary dynamics of sexually selected traits using both a mathematical model and comparative analyses, focusing on the re
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Reposted by Lucy Jackson
IUCN SSC Marine Conservation Committee (MCC) @sscmarine.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Meet the IUCN SSC Sea Cucumber Specialist Group! A global network of experts seeking to advance research, raise awareness and inform policy to improve knowledge and protection of sea cucumbers around the world #WeAreSSC #SeaCucumber #biodiversity #conservation #marine
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IUCN SSC Marine Conservation Committee (MCC) @sscmarine.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
NEW PUBLICATION ALERT Read about the discovery of a sea cucumber with remarkable powers by members of the IUCN SSC Sea Cucumber Specialist Group Read here: doi.org/10.1126/scia... #WeAreSSC #SeaCucumber #BiodiversityMatters #Publication
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Cool new paper led by James McDermott in Proceedings B exploring how and why different symmetries evolved in animals 🐟🪸⭐🪱 "A morphological phylogenetic approach to the evolution of symmetry in animals" - doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
doi.org
A morphological phylogenetic approach to the evolution of symmetry in animals
Abstract. Animal body plans exhibit different forms of symmetry, which plays a major role in their physiology and interactions with the environment. Howeve
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Natalia (娜塔莉) @wrycritic.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Early British Palaeontology trivia. Divorce was impossible till 1857. It's unusual, wife of Gideon Mantell, Mary, seperated in 1839 Mary illustrated works of her husband to rather condescending credit The dispute between the pair complicates attributing discovery of the first dinosaur (Iguanodon)
Iguanodon teeth Gideon Mantell’s 1825 paper. Royal Society of London Philosophical Transactions 
As the engravings are the first performances of a lady but little skilled in the art, I am most anxious to claim for them every indulgence. I am well aware that the partiality of a husband may render me insensible to their defects; but although they may be destitute of that neatness and uniformity, which distinguish the works of the professed artist, they will not, I trust, be found deficient in the more essential requisite of correctness.
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Noam Vogt-Vincent @nvogtvincent.co.uk · 12/05/2025
Dr Rita García Seoane and I (with valuable input from other colleagues) have put together a little (unofficial) applicants' guide to applying for EU Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships! We hope that this guide will make the process a little less overwhelming for other first-time applicants.
doi.org
Applying for an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship: A Fellow's Perspective
"Applying for an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship: A Fellow’s Perspective" is an informal, non-official guide written by two successful recipients of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellow...
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Felix Zareie-Vaux @felixvaux.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Phylogeny, classification, and evolutionary history of Neogastropoda: doi.org/10.1093/zool... #evolution #phylogenetics #systematics #mollusca
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Jay @kakapojay.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Proud of the DinoCon team for standing up for the community and for celebrating human art and artists ❤️ I was heartbroken and disappointed with that talk specifically, but being part of a community of incredible, creative, kind people who are so supportive of each other - that is special. ❤️
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Menna Jones @mennajones.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Stoked to see our paper out as a pre-print! Check it out if you're interested in how we can expand comparative methods to better accommodate the many-to-one mapping of evolutionary process to pattern... (or if you think frogs are cool) @gjslater.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Beyond the Panglossian paradigm: adaptation, constraint, and anuran functional trait evolution.
Recognizing patterns in functional trait evolution is a necessary step in testing macroevolutionary questions. Quantification of these patterns and interpretation of their generative processes relies ...
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Cam Muskelly (Explorer of Deep Time ⏰ ⚒️) @cambriancam.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Welcome back to another #fossilfriday Here is a large heart urchin known as Macraster sp. from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Fort Worth Formation in Tarrant County, Texas. These were burrowing in the sands on the seafloor in the Western Interior Seaway about ~112 million years ago.
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Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre @charmouthhcc.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
It's another stunning 2026 find for July's Fossil of the Month! Tony Gill found this rock showing a hint of ammonite back in January. Some expert prep work from Kayleigh Gill has revealed this stunning, rare ammonite, an ancestor to the ones found up in Yorkshire! #FossilFriday
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Matt Haber @profmatthaber.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Excited to share that "Common Ancestry, Contemporary Phylogenetics, and Process Ontology" is posted at Systematic Biology. @maureenmkearney.bsky.social and I argue that GCD Griffiths' process view of systematics provides a powerful foundation for contemporary systematics. doi.org/10.1093/sysb....
academic.oup.com
Common Ancestry, Contemporary Phylogenetics, and Process Ontology
Abstract. Recent advances in systematics and evolutionary biology have revealed extraordinary complexity in phylogenetic diversification, challenged our tr
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Andrea L. Mack @andreamack.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I really liked this nonfiction picture book DON’T CALL ME FiSH written by Charlotte Guillain and illustrated by Sally Agar. It IS confusing that so many creatures have fish in their names but aren’t actually fish. Great concept and fun facts. Will share with my Grade 1 students. 📚👍🏻 #kidlit #edusky
Cute drawing of jellyfish under the title
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The Introvertebrates @introvertebrates.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
two new t-shirt designs coming to #DinoCon! "bad choices man" and a pile of dinosaur cookies (as well as our previous t-shirt designs, people really liked the invertebrate fossil one at Lyme Regis!) #SciArt
digital painting of a bright orange stripey tiktaalik coming out of the water stepping on a sandy shore, with a theoretical first flying insect and some theoretical first land plants to the side, the text above on a stone blue background says DON'T DO IT, GRAMPA...semi-realistic digital drawing of four gingerbread cookies in the shape of dinosaurs, with white frosting showing their skeletons. t-rex with a bit butt, ichthyosaurus, stegosaurus, triceratops, on a dark green background
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Tom Sharpe @tomsharperocks.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
22 July 1775: birth of Wiltshire geologist Etheldred Benett. A contemporary of Mary Anning, and as well-known and respected, she donated fossils to the Geological Society from 1813, sent a measured section of a local quarry in 1815, and published a monograph on Wiltshire fossils in 1831.
Left, silhouette of a woman in a bonnet; centre, title page of 'A catalogue of the organic remains of the county of Wilts by Etheldred Benett'; right extract of her section of Chicksgrove quarry published by James Sowerby.
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University of Reading @uniofreading.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Centuries-old collections. Millions of objects. AI unlocking discoveries their original collectors could never have imagined. What could we learn next? Join experts from UoR, the British Museum & Natural History Museum for Fossils to Futures Live. 📆 7 Aug | 14:00 BST 🎟️ rdg.ac/fossilstofutureslive
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Talk highlights from the final day of #ECE12 ⭐️ a fantastic week thanks to the organisers and all the incredible presenters I learned so much about echinoderms
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Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Echinoderms have pentaradial (5-fold) symmetry but DNA tells us that echinoderms are part of the animal group Bilateria, animals with bilateral symmetry. Associate Doctoral Researcher @lej-palaeo.bsky.social is uncovering the evolutionary steps involved in this transformation body plans
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Plus more talk highlights from today and Tuesday! #ECE12
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Really enjoyed presenting the methods and results of the first chapter of my PhD today at #ECE12 , only one day left of the conference!
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Journal of Systematic Palaeontology @journalsystpal.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Did you know..? The living echinoderms have a body plan which is equivalent to only the head of other bilateral animals. @echinerd.bsky.social Read about the Ordovician diversification of sea urchins by Thompson 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2022): buff.ly/FseMBZR #PaleoSky #Echinoderms #ECE12 www.euroechino.net
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Matt Bracken @brackenlab.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Where intertidal rocky reefs are composed of “soft” rock - such as the sedimentary mudstones and sandstones of the Point Arena Formation in Mendocino County, California - sea urchins create circular niches by abrading the substratum. #MarineLife #SwelterShelterNSF 🌊🦑
A bunch of purple urchins (*Strongylocentrotus purpuratus*) in their concave, circular niches, along with one sea anemone (*Anthopleura sola*) taking advantage of an otherwise unoccupied niche. They are surrounded by pink, encrusting coralline algae.
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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
It's always nice to have biological collections acknowledged as "irreplaceable evidence bases" and essential records of life on Earth. 🧪🪲 iucn.org/news/202607/...
iucn.org
From collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museums
The IUCN Species Survival Commission has published a Position Statement on the vital role of biological collections in biodiversity conservation: a formal acknowledgement that natural history museums,...
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Great first day at the European Conference on echinoderms, looking forward to the rest of the presentations over the coming days #ECE12 #echinoderm 🌊⭐️🥒
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Nadine, Hunter of Rocks @nadwgab.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Resharing for #MineralMonday Fun fact, the NHM has this set (still boxed) registered in the Mineral Collection - you can view its info here: data.nhm.ac.uk/object/829a1... #minerals #SciArt #Lego
data.nhm.ac.uk
Collection specimens - Specimens - BM.2026,2 - Data Portal
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John Dolan @tintinnman.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Wonders of Deep Sea Mud - from "Das Leben in den grössten Meerestiefen" (Haeckel 1870). Rads, Forams, Diatoms & the infamous Bathybius- Lost art of scientific illustration. #protistsonsky
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Journal of Systematic Palaeontology @journalsystpal.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Next in our a series of short reviews on the systematics of major fossil groups from leading experts. Spiekman and Ezcurra's contribution looks at the evolutionary origins of modern reptiles, one ofthe key unanswered questions in vertebrate evolution. Read here: buff.ly/ulDNoNx #PaleoSky
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Maija @maijasauna.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
A 7-year-old found a 250 million-year-old sea star fossilized in the rocks used in landscaping at a Calgary playground.
newsroom.calgary.ca
Young Calgarian Discovers Rare Fossil at Local Playground
Calgary playgrounds are designed to spark adventure and curiosity for thousands of children each year. For one seven-year-old girl, this sense of adventure led to an extraordinary discovery. After pla...
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Finally got round to reading this! Loving it so far @jackdashby.bsky.social
Book ‘Nature’s Memory’ by Jack Ashby with a green shell on the cover held up in a garden
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Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
34: Critical Raw Materials opens today! This temporary exhibition is free! At a time of rising geopolitical tensions and growing competition over the resources needed for clean energy, modern technology and defence, there has never been a more timely moment to shine a spotlight on them.
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Dr Dave Hone @davehone.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
@iszi.com and I sat down with @paleokieran.bsky.social at the Lyme Regis Fossil festival to talk about everyone's favourite / the most famous fossil hunter Mary Anning. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtlA...
youtube.com
Mary Anning, Marine Reptiles & the Jurassic Coast | Terrible Lizards Podcast
YouTube video by iszitube
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Tom Sharpe @tomsharperocks.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Just popped by to say cheerio to Mary Anning and I see that over the Fossil Festival weekend some belemnites and an ammonite have been left on her grave. The ammonite looks like one from the Lyme Regis Museum fossil polishing children’s activity, which is rather lovely.
The coiled shell of an ammonite and some fragments of belemnites. Mary Anning’s gravestone with fossils left by it.
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Dr Thomas Clements @taphonomist.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Lovely, but exhausting, weekend at the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival. Hundreds of visitors visited the stand to learn about trilobites, how animals turn into fossils, and getting to meet real palaeontologsts! Very proud of our team, representing the very best of @thepalass.bsky.social!
A corgi learns about trilobites from Dr Emma Dunne and Dr James Witts. James McKay making palaeoart based on drawings from children. 

Dr Emma Dunne shows off her ammonite face paint in front of the Palass logoTwo children show off their palaeoart while Dr Alison Rowe is teaching about trilobites in the background.
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Move around the plaice? Nah just go under it 📍Gozo, Malta 📷 Chris Jackson Diving on YouTube
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
I finally made an Instagram account for all things science!
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Yearly Lyme Regis Fossil Festival #palaeoart haul!
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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
I recently picked up a Helicoplacus for my collection. One of the earliest and strangest echinoderms.
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Belated #FossilFriday from the schools day at the Lyme Regis fossil festival, I ran an activity where the children drew what they thought ammonites, belemnites and crinoids looked like in life, we then spoke about taphonomy and how we figure out what extinct animals looked like from their fossils!
Selfie in front of schools day activityBox of ammonite and belemnite fossilsPhoto of Lyme Regis beach with ammonite lampposts and a seagull flying
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Had an absolute blast speaking at the #LymeRegis #FossilFestival today as part of the student talks series! I spoke about weird fossil echinoderms, recent research showing that #starfish are all head no trunk and shared some of my own research, thanks to all who came along! 😊
Speaker in front of a slide about starfish body plansSpeaker in front of a slide with images of ctenocystoid echinodermsSpeaker in front of summary slide of presentation. The slide reads: 
• Starfish and sea urchins are echinoderms which have 5-fold symmetry
• Echinoderms are all head no trunk!
• There are many weird extinct forms of echinoderms with weird symmetry
• Understanding how these fossils are related can tell us how and when starfish lost their trunks and gained their star-shaped bodies
• We don't yet know why, how or when ... but it's an exciting current area of research!Screenshot of talk advertisement, title “Starfish before they were star-shaped”
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
And if anyone’s at the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival this Saturday I’ll be giving the talk again! ⭐️
Talk “Starfish before they were star-shaped” advert Fossil Cothurnocystis echinoderm specimen with an artists impression next to it (by Franz Anthony)
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Lucy Jackson @lej-palaeo.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Last week I gave my talk “Starfish before they were star-shaped” as part of the monthly Reading “Cafe Scientifique” talk series. This was my first time talking to the public about my research (!) and it was lots of fun sharing the weird world of extinct echinoderms with them!
Speaker in front of a projector screen showing a lecture slide about starfishView of room upstairs in a pub with people sat around tables listening to a presentationView of room upstairs in a pub with people sat around tables listening to a presentation
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GHOULology Johnson @geologyjohnson.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Day one of the #Redcar #fossil event was excellent. Spoke to hundreds of people, at least. Got to show all those people very old mud and tiny dead things, and some younger mud and dead things from Redcars #Jurassic rocks #geology #paleontology
Table holding various rocks and microscope slides. Microscope screen showing a star shaped fossil crinoid ossicle. Photo of a red and brown folded layered  stromatolite fossil. Photo of a hand holding a yellow and red rock with thin wrinkled black microbial mats.
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