Reposted by Lizzy SteellDr Paul M.J. Burke @palaeoburke.bsky.social · 10hIntroducing Herugavialis cairensis. A new genus of fossil gavialoid crocodylian from the Middle Eocene of Egypt. Recovered from the Mokattam Formation, Herugavialis was found from the same rocks used to build the Great Sphinx and pyramids of Egypt. Read here: doi.org/10.1098/rsos... 0158
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I am finally processing some photos from a long trip last year so I might share the odd cute little guy here 🐦⬛ Andean Emerald, July 2025, Reserva Sutú, Colombia #birding #birdphotography #hummingbird 0396
Reposted by Lizzy SteellAndrej Spiridonov @andrejpaleo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Just a reminder, that birds had 1.6 times more history before the K-Pg impact than the duration of the Cenozoic Era. My bet would be that we are severely underestimating Mesozoic diversity of birds (stem or crown). www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.... 🧪⚒️ #Geology #EvoBio #Paleobio 0316
Reposted by Lizzy SteellGuillermo Navalón @gnavalon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Quite an updated and deep outlook on the main problems (and potential solutions!) in avian phylogenetics, past and present, stem and crown! Also very well written & nice to read, congrats you both (J. Benito is not in bluesky yet)! 055
Reposted by Lizzy SteellAlberta Claw @albertonykus.bsky.social · 21/09/2026New review of what we know and don't know about the evolutionary history of birds and their close fossil relatives! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 🪶🧪 (📷Benito & @lizzysteell.bsky.social) 07540
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Thank you very much to @tweetisaurus.bsky.social and Imran Rahman at the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology for inviting us to write the review for their special collection! We had great fun thinking of Big Bird Questions 💬 🦩 040
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026🚨 New bird paper! 🚨 Take a look at our review paper that Juan Benito and I put together about avian systematics and the bird fossil record along with what we think are important future directions in the field 🐦 🦴 🦜🦅🦤 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....tandfonline.comA bird’s eye view of the fossil record: perspectives on avian systematicsRecent decades have witnessed an unprecedented rise in avian fossil discoveries that directly inform our understanding of bird origins and evolution, the stepwise assemblage of the avian body plan,... 15825
Reposted by Lizzy SteellDarren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · 21/08/2026The latest ish (Aug 2026) of Historical Biology has arrived. It's another monster, 30 mm thick. Highlights for me include Steell et al. on the possible Miocene bowerbird Aeviperditus and Churchill et al. on new malleodectids. Tons of other stuff. Also includes my review of Mark Witton's King Tyrant. 0366
Reposted by Lizzy SteellManuel Hernández Fernández @hdezfdez.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Lower speciation, not higher extinction, drove African megaherbivore diversity collapse doi.org/10.1038/s414... by @singerstone.bsky.social et al. 095
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 24/07/2026This is soooooo cool! 🐦 🎶 Something that always made me wonder when birding in a tropical place is how different the bird songs sound to temperate places. Amazing work! 052
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Great paper! A huge amount of effort went into the makings of this awesome work on passerine bird skeletal evolution, congrats everyone 🐦 032
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 20/07/2026I'm very happy to see passerines in the macroevolutionary spotlight! Great work!! 🥳 111
Reposted by Lizzy SteellPhil Mannion @pdmannion.bsky.social · 26/06/2026If you've ever wondered what the inside of a crocodile's skull looks like, wonder no more! Here are 43 of them in our new paper led by @palaeoburke.bsky.social in which we evaluate endocranial anatomy across extant + fossil crocodylians 🐊: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @es-ucl.bsky.socialonlinelibrary.wiley.comComputed tomography reveals the endocranial anatomy of Crocodylia: Implications for phylogenetic relationships and ecomorphological convergence across CrocodylomorphaThe evaluation of the endocranial anatomy of 43 crocodylian species reveals several differences, including variation in the curvature of the encephalic endocast, the size of the endosseous labyrinth ... 43720
Reposted by Lizzy SteellSteve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Why were the arms of T. rex so tiny? Literally the size of human arms, but on a bus-sized animal. Insane! Many of us have had ideas over the years & I'm part of a project led by @funstonpaleo.bsky.social But first, my thoughts on a new study for @iflscience.com www.iflscience.com/t-rex-had-hu...iflscience.comT. Rex Had "Human-Sized Arms On A Bus-Sized Animal" – Now We Have The Best Explanation Yet For WhyThe idea that T. rex's tiny arms were a consequence of its large, powerful skull isn't new – but a study of 85 theropod species pulls together some convincing numbers to back up the claim. 1278
Reposted by Lizzy SteellGirton College, University of Cambridge @girtoncollege.bsky.social · 21/05/2026🦖 Research co-authored by Girton Fellow Dr Elizabeth Steell has found that smaller arms in several carnivorous dinosaur groups were closely linked to the development of large, powerful skulls. 🎧 Listen on the BBC Today Programme (starts at 2h9m) www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002wjl9 153
Reposted by Lizzy SteellRichard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 19/05/2026Come join us! We have a one-year, part-time, education-focussed Assistant Professor post in Palaeobiology. Deadline for applications is 2nd June 2026. Please see more at the below link: edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.comAssistant Professor (Education) in Palaeobiology - School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences - 107465 - Grade 8You will contribute to a range of education-related activities. In addition you will be expected to demonstrate academic citizenship, developing and maintaining mutually respectful and supportive work... 02019
Reposted by Lizzy SteellNic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 01/03/2026You can also read about our research in this @aunz.theconversation.com piece theconversation.com/meet-the-old... 13/13theconversation.comMeet the ‘Old Mother Goose’ from NZ’s subtropical prehistoric pastThe newly described fossil goose Meterchen luti lived alongside crocodilians and turtles on the shores of the ancient Lake Manuherikia. 051
Reposted by Lizzy SteellNic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 01/03/2026Welcome to the world Meterchen luti, the St Bathans goose that lived in subtropical New Zealand 14-19 Mya (www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....), making it ten waterfowl species that lived around the giant palaeolake Manuherikia. Artwork by Sasha Votyakova/Te Papa CC BY-NC-SA. 1/13 🧵 12411
Reposted by Lizzy SteellThomas MacGillavry @thomasmacgillavry.bsky.social · 24/02/2026Check out the new bowerbird special issue in Emu - Austral Ornithology! Lots of interesting new #bowerbird research, featuring a fancy flame bowerbird on the cover! Check out our review on the origins and functions of bower construction behaviour here: doi.org/10.1080/0158... 0145
Reposted by Lizzy SteellSergio @nebreda.bsky.social · 24/02/2026Say👋 to *Gorgonavis alcyone*, the newest enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of Spain✨🐦 We welcome here the 1st adult cranial remains of a bird from the fossil site of Las Hoyas, and the 1st longipterygid out of China... Thread!!🧵👇 Paleart by Roc Olivé 28437
Reposted by Lizzy SteellJoseph Tobias @josephtobias.bsky.social · 06/02/2026🚨 For those with access to collections of bird specimens: we are looking for collaborators who can quickly measure bulbuls/greenbuls (Pycnonotidae) for a project on intraspecific trait variation. We need 100s specimens measured from common species in return for co-authorship. Anyone up for it? 🧪🌐🪶 21723
Reposted by Lizzy SteellEmily Mitchell @egmitchell.bsky.social · 06/02/2026This #FossilFriday I am delighted to share a postdoctoral position that we @deeptimeecology.bsky.social @camzoology.bsky.social are advertising on early animal evolution in the #Ediacaran. www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc... 13531
Reposted by Lizzy SteellAbi Crane @gruiformabi.bsky.social · 28/01/2026🚨NEW PAPER OUT🚨 The anatomy of bird lower jaw bones has been understudied...until now! Here, we examine avian mandibular anatomy, answering some and raising more questions about the phylogenetic affinities of key early crown-group birds. Read on! link.springer.com/article/10.1...link.springer.comMandibular morphology clarifies phylogenetic relationships near the origin of crown birds - BMC Ecology and EvolutionBackground The phylogenetic relationships of fossil birds near the origin of the avian crown group remain debated, in part due to a limited amount of character evidence from incomplete fossils. The av... 13321
Reposted by Lizzy SteellMario Vallejo-Marin @nicrodemo.bsky.social · 28/01/2026Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/... 1159185
Reposted by Lizzy SteellKsepka Lab @ksepkalab.bsky.social · 20/01/2026Don't forgot your fossil friends on Penguin Awareness Day. Here's the skull of Eudyptes warhami, an extinct crested penguin from the Chatham Islands. Its such an interesting species that it's features on a NZ coin! Read more here: fossilpenguins.wordpress.com/2019/02/05/a... 1146
Reposted by Lizzy SteellGuillermo Navalón @gnavalon.bsky.social · 08/01/2026Beyond excited to announce that as of today I officially started a Ramón y Cajal 5-year senior fellowship (tenure-track) at University of Alcalá in Madrid, if you are interested in birds & vertebrate macroevolution & you like sun & good food, hit me up to explore postdoc or PhD opportunities! 44512
Reposted by Lizzy SteellDr Cecily Nicholl @piginatutu.bsky.social · 24/11/2025Our paper re-evaluating the notosuchian Eremosuchus elkoholicus is out now! This work formed a chapter of my PhD thesis, and sheds some light on the complex evolutionary history of sebecid crocodyliforms 🐊🌎 @es-ucl.bsky.social 02211
Reposted by Lizzy SteellJordan Bestwick @jordanbestwick1.bsky.social · 19/11/2025The geology department at the University of Leicester, where myself and countless others did our palaeontology PhDs, is at serious risk of closure Please show your support by signing the below! c.org/KtYyZB8dHkc.orgSave Geology at the University of LeicesterCan you spare a minute to help this campaign? 18252
Reposted by Lizzy SteellDr. Bethany Allen @bethanyjallen.bsky.social · 06/11/2025I reviewed The Tree of Life by @maxjtelford.bsky.social for @natecoevo.nature.com 🌳 You can access my review for free here: rdcu.be/eOcYYrdcu.beA beginner’s guide to tree thinkingNature Ecology & Evolution - A beginner’s guide to tree thinking 12911
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 26/10/2025Eurasian Jay posing for the camera this weekend ☺️ #birding #photography 180
Reposted by Lizzy SteellNic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 24/10/2025www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts...discoverwildlife.comAncient bone discovered in New Zealand – and scientists are amazed at what it may belong to | Discover WildlifeThe small foot bone, unearthed in Central Otago, is millions of years old. 083
Reposted by Lizzy SteellNic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 24/10/2025What better way to finish off #FossilFriday than to read about the latest discovery from St Bathans of a possible Miocene bowerbird in Aotearoa #NewZealand theconversation.com/a-tiny-fossi... @lizzysteell.bsky.socialtheconversation.comA tiny fossil suggests bowerbirds once lived in ancient New Zealand – new researchNew Zealand’s ancient bowerbird was smaller and more slender than the species living in Australia and New Guinea today. 0104
Reposted by Lizzy SteellGuillermo Navalón @gnavalon.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Bowerbirds are Australo-Papuan birds engaging in some of the most flamboyant displays among vertebrates, and they might have been in New Zealand - Aotearoa in the Miocene too! Amazing descriptive research with a tinge of quantitative flair lead by @lizzysteell.bsky.social Check it out! 👇 052
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Check out our @aunz.theconversation.com article covering the St Bathans #bowerbird story! theconversation.com/a-tiny-fossi... @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social @atennyson.bsky.social @plubbe.bsky.socialtheconversation.comA tiny fossil suggests bowerbirds once lived in ancient New Zealand – new researchNew Zealand’s ancient bowerbird was smaller and more slender than the species living in Australia and New Guinea today. 065
Reposted by Lizzy SteellNic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 22/10/2025Welcome to the world Aevipertidus gracilis - the gracile one from a lost age. 14-19 Mya ancient #NewZealand appears to have had a bowerbird. Check out this amazing research mahi led by Elizabeth Steell (www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....). Artwork by Sasha Votyakova/Te Papa CC-BY-SA. 1/9 🧵 12813
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025I think the NZ Miocene holds many more surprises for the passerine fossil record. Stay tuned for more discoveries! (11/11). 040
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025These passerine lineages, as well as Aeviperditus gracilis, probably represent lineages that dispersed out of Australia during the Oligocene and Miocene, but not all survived in NZ. Aeviperditus means 'lost through the ages' - it came from a distant land but went extinct before the present. (10/11) 140
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Aeviperditus gracilis is one piece in the puzzle to understanding NZ's ancient biodiversity. NZ is home to several endemic passerine families that arrived there early in passerine evolutionary history, but most families have not been found in the fossil record as of yet. (9/11) 130
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Passerines from Miocene St Bathans are not well known or described, because passerine morphology is difficult to work with. The bones are mostly tiny, passerines are so diverse (~6000 living species), and key features of each group are poorly known. There's a lot more work to be done. (8/11) 150
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025We estimated the mass of A. gracilis at ~33g, which would make it the smallest of all bowerbirds. Living bowerbirds range from ~62g-292g. Our fossil bird would be about the same size as the NZ Bellbird, but with longer feet. 📸 New Zealand Bellbird. © Daniel J. Field @fieldpalaeo.bsky.social (7/11) 160
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Aeviperditus gracilis has a foot most similar to the avenue bowerbird clade. Bowerbirds are famous for their colourfully decorated bowers, which males of many species build to attract mates. 📸 Satin Bowerbird at his avenue bower decorated in blue. © Daniel J. Field @fieldpalaeo.bsky.social (6/11) 161
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025A trait similarity analysis revealed it was very similar in shape to the bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae) from Australia and New Guinea, which are not endemic in New Zealand or known from the NZ fossil record! (5/11) 150
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Unfortunately it was broken at the proximal end, but the proportions are long and gracile, hence 'gracilis' in the species name. We compared it to all the endemic NZ passerine species, but nothing was similar. Scratching our heads, we looked further afield to Australian species. (4/11) 140
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Our new fossil was described from a single 3D well preserved foot (tarsometatarsus). The bone is from a small passerine, and only measures about ~3cm in length. Micro-CT scanning meant we could study it in greater detail than under a microscope. (3/11) 150
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Team effort from @fieldpalaeo.bsky.social @plubbe.bsky.social @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social Alex Brown and @atennyson.bsky.social between Cambridge Uni, Otago Uni and Te Papa Tongarewa. Find the paper here www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @historicalbiology.bsky.social (🧵2/11)tandfonline.comA possible early bowerbird from the Miocene of New ZealandAotearoa New Zealand is home to several endemic passerine bird lineages that likely dispersed from Australia between the Eocene and Miocene. Although the Australian pre-Pleistocene passerine fossil... 172
Lizzy Steell @lizzysteell.bsky.social · 23/10/2025🦴New fossil alert🦴 Introducing Aeviperditus gracilis, a possible bowerbird from the Miocene of New Zealand. My first fossil description! Artwork by the amazing Sasha Votyakova (Te Papa CC-BY-SA) (🧵1/11) 212027
Reposted by Lizzy SteellFabio Alfieri @fabioalfieri2.bsky.social · 14/10/2025And here you can find the plain-language summary🙂 fesummaries.wordpress.com/2025/09/19/w...fesummaries.wordpress.comWhy bird wing bones look so similar inside, no matter how they liveFabio Alfieri, Oliver E. Demuth, Elizabeth M. Steell, Anne-Claire Fabre, Daniel J. Field This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Bones are… 031