Reposted by Hank WoolleyMike Wiser @drmikewiser.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Remember: Darwin's note of "I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything" was written on Oct 1 (1861). Thus we are free to celebrate Very Poorly And Very Stupid Hatred Day today. 2282126
Reposted by Hank WoolleyEos @eos.org · 01/10/2026Scientists found evidence for wildfires that burned only around 560 miles from the South Pole 90 million years ago, making them the southernmost fires ever documented. eos.org/articles/wil...eos.orgWildfires Burned in Antarctica 90 Million Years Ago - EosA new study finds evidence for the southernmost wildfires currently known, which may have facilitated a transition from temperate rainforest to peatland in Antarctica. 03416
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNico Mongiardino Koch @nmkphylo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I am looking for graduate students to join my lab in Fall 2027. If your interests lie within the realms of phylogenetics, macroevolution, and/or invertebrate biodiversity please reach out to me!! 12521
Reposted by Hank WoolleyKiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Hi! 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.comThree ideas to inspire curiosity in natural history educationNature 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.... 17933
Reposted by Hank Woolley Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Out today: We show that Westlothiana lizziae or "Lizzie," described 35 years ago as the world's oldest reptile - is not a stem amniote at all, but a stem tetrapod. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 211055
Reposted by Hank WoolleyZ. Jack Tseng @tsengzj.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Vert paleo curator gig at LSU; see recently published "Vertebrate Fossils of Louisiana" for a preview of the collections and potential projects that can be developed: repository.lsu.edu/spmns/5/repository.lsu.eduVertebrate Fossils of LouisianaBy Suyin Ting, Lorene E. Smith, Connor D. White, et al., Published on 01/01/25 055
Reposted by Hank WoolleyProsanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Exciting 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.comAssistant ProfessorAll 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... 03052
Reposted by Hank WoolleyThomas Cullen @thomascullen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026With all the news of museums being closed and/or defunded, I feel the message of our paper on the importance of natural history research (and the collections housing those specimens) is just as relevant (or more) today as it was when it was published. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... 3186102
Reposted by Hank WoolleyPhiladelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 28/09/2026“You close museums, you close minds,” said Suzanne Ryan, a retired teacher and grandmother who has volunteered at the Academy of Natural Sciences since June.inquirer.comA final day at the Academy of Natural Sciences brought tears, nostalgia, and disbeliefInside the museum, a steady stream of visitors took photos, touched the skin of a scaly anteater being circulated by educators, and guided toddlers in dinosaur costumes through exhibits. 03820
Reposted by Hank WoolleyWilson Cruz @wilsoncruz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026In light of today’s Supreme Court ruling, PLEASE continue to go to handsoffourvote.net to CONTINUOUSLY check your registration, to register to vote, to work the polls and secure the vote during and after the election and to find ways to get involved locally.handsoffourvote.netHands Off Our VoteIn America, voters pick our leaders, and we decide our future. 25843
Reposted by Hank WoolleyJames Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Great thread discussing museum funding from the inside. The reason some universities are trying to divest from their museums is because they are beginning to treat each unit as an independent revenue generating entity. Museums cost money and therefore they WANT to cut them. 03111
Reposted by Hank WoolleyBrittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026You cannot run a museum like a business. Opening a museum is a quick way to lose a lot of money; but it's a great way to invest in scientific research and education in your community. But as long as museums, desperate for money and attendance, keep cosplaying as businesses, we'll lose more of them. 311124
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County @nhm.org · 23/09/2026Would you believe these eggs are from a dinosaur that lived approximately 200 million years ago? Although identifying which species of dinosaur laid a particular egg is quite difficult, the surest way is to find an embryo inside an unhatched fossilized egg, which is a rare find. 14415
Reposted by Hank WoolleyLiterally Miguel 🇻🇪 @literallymiguel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Cuddling Diictodon 614048
Reposted by Hank WoolleyThomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 22/09/2026A new procolophonid from the Triassic Katberg Formation (Karoo Basin, South Africa) fills a key gap in post-extinction procolophonid recovery: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology: Vol 24 , No 2 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....tandfonline.comA new procolophonid from the Triassic Katberg Formation (Karoo Basin, South Africa) fills a key gap in post-extinction procolophonid recoveryProcolophonidae was one of the most successful parareptile clades during the Triassic, becoming widespread across Pangea in the aftermath of the End-Permian Mass Extinction (EPME). The Lower Triass... 0227
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNico Mongiardino Koch @nmkphylo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026The PROGressive PHYLOgenetics LAB is now officially open and I'm looking to hire at all levels!! If you are interested in phylogenetics and macroevolution, and enjoy any/all of the following: fossils, morphology, genomics, simulations, or method development, please reach out to me :) 33428
Reposted by Hank WoolleySarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Today’s rally to save the academy of natural sciences was incredible. Hundreds of people turned out. This is only the beginning. Follow along with save-the-academy.org 14780197
Reposted by Hank WoolleySociety of Vertebrate Paleontology @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology stands with the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANSP) staff, and preservation of the ANSP Museum. SVP urges our member community and anyone who enjoys and supports the natural sciences to speak up on behalf of the ANSP and their staff! #SaveTheAcademy 06034
Reposted by Hank WoolleyJacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Please let your reps know how you feel about Russ Vogt's leadership, which includes an ongoing pillaging of Congressionally appropriate funds to support public science. And this is as much an attack on higher education as it is public science funding. 49637
Reposted by Hank WoolleyAndy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Also, having done some simple illustrations and worked with illustrators myself, the *process* of illustrating new taxa often reveals important data for the underlying science, and helps clarify the writing process. What matters/what doesn't is an important decision in illustration. 1328
Reposted by Hank WoolleyAndy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Hot Take for #FossilFriday - the quest to make paleontology "useful" and "relevant" and "high impact" has backfired spectacularly. A hypothetical "Big Data Approaches to Deep Time Ecosystem Services" almost always end up largely disconnected from actual fossils. (thread) <1/n> 611832
Reposted by Hank WoolleyDr. Jennifer Wade @volcanojw.bsky.social · 25/08/2026US Science folks: I know there are a million questions about these new NSF solicitations and what’s happening generally through all of this [waves arms]. This might start to answer some Qs, and at the bottom please sign up for the Sept 15 Office Hours! www.nsf.gov/geo/updates/...nsf.govA new funding opportunity for core geoscience research 01612
Reposted by Hank WoolleyStand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 23/08/2026We are fighting back ✊🧪 14210
Reposted by Hank WoolleyStand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 23/08/2026Vought's proposal will put all federal grant funding in the hands of political appointees. 24111
Reposted by Hank WoolleyStand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 23/08/2026The OMB Rule will put all federal grant funding in the hands of political appointees, not experts. We need MoCs to permanently #RevokeTheRule. Visit the link to contact your MoCs: zurl.co/JayNi #OMB #Vought #Science #StandUpForScience 37025
Reposted by Hank WoolleyMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 21/08/2026'All told, spending by nearly all of NSF’s eight main directorates is being curtailed by between 20% and 40% relative to the previous year. These reductions have come despite Congress’s directive that the agency not reduce spending for any of its directorates by more than 5%'. 1/3nature.comExclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decadesThe US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project. 14629
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNigel Goldenfeld @nigelgoldenfeld.bsky.social · 21/08/2026This is an excellent article by Irene Ngun at @standupforscience.net I commented about these issues in my NSF comment, which is here: www.regulations.gov/comment/NSF-... If you did not do so there's still time. You can submit multiple comments.standupforscience.foundationHow the National Science Foundation is Closing the Door on Opportunity in Science — Stand Up for Science Foundation At the National Science Foundation, the recent rescinding of Title VI disparate-impact regulations, termination of equity-focused STEM education programs and broadening-participation grants, and... 01310
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNoam Ross @noamross.net · 21/08/2026Three more days to comment on NSF's attempt to smuggle in OMB's already-rejected policies of terminating any grant without cause, gutting civil rights obligations and restricting international collaborations. Submit your comment today! Then call your representatives. 🧪 3142138
Reposted by Hank WoolleyJacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Hey folks, this hasn’t gotten much attention, but remember those proposed OMB rule changes we all commented on recently? There’s a new attempt to sneak them just for NSF. We have three days to comment. Please don’t sleep on this! 7755637
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County @nhm.org · 14/08/2026Found in Late Cretaceous deposits of southeastern Brazil, the newly described 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘮 is one of the best-preserved and earliest-evolving snakes discovered, and may have helped uncoil the mysterious evolutionary origins of snakes: go.nhm.org/dino-age-snake 🎨 Gabriel Ugueto 0328
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County @nhm.org · 13/08/2026🦖 What's been cooking in the Dino Lab? This fossilized skull of an extinct phytosaur was excavated in Ghost Ranch, NM. Look closely and you'll spot its osteoderms—bones embedded in the skin that create an armor to protect it from injury. 0202
Reposted by Hank WoolleyKrista Koeller @kristalerista.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Do you want to go to grad school in #paleontology 🦖, #geology ⚒️, or #biology🧪? Join the @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social Graduate School Application Prep Group! We’ll walk you through the application process in weekly workshops. Sign up with this form! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 18448
Reposted by Hank WoolleyAnonymous Potato @anonymouspotato.bsky.social · 05/08/2026EcoEvoJobs 2026-27 just opened for business and we've already got 79 faculty / permanent jobs listed. Please repost! ecoevojobs.netecoevojobs.netecoevojobs.net 2026-27 1176210
Reposted by Hank WoolleyBob Wong @bbmwong.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Are you an ecologist/evolutionary biologist looking for an ongoing academic position? Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences is hiring! Come join us in Melbourne, Australia! Details here: careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo... 0146203
Reposted by Hank WoolleyPaleobiology Database @paleodb.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Survey time - we want to hear from YOU! Your answers will help us better understand how the community uses and accesses @paleodb.bsky.social and will help shape future work on the database. Browsed Navigator once? Entered 1,342 taxa? Either way, we want your feedback! forms.gle/GFZukC1koFAb...forms.glePaleobiology Database (PBDB) User Community SurveyThank you for taking a few minutes to share your experiences and insights with the Paleobiology Database team! Your answers will help us better understand how the community uses and accesses the PBDB ... 01714
Reposted by Hank WoolleyThe Onion @theonion.com · 09/08/2026New Evidence Suggests Dinosaurs Had Quinceañeras theonion.comNew Evidence Suggests Dinosaurs Had QuinceañerasBOZEMAN, MT—Upending long-held beliefs about how the prehistoric reptiles commemorated a juvenile female’s transition into adulthood, new evidence published Thursday by researchers at Montana State Un... 111674333
Reposted by Hank WoolleyEd Stanley @drscanley.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Our latest paper started out as a DDIG project 14 years ago and grew into an interdisciplinary reassessment of Madagascar's oldest fossil lizard, showing that Konkasaurus mahalana is a gerrhosaur and the earliest known colonization from Africa by an extant Madagascan lineage. doi.org/10.1093/zool... 3198
Reposted by Hank WoolleyJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology @jvertpaleo.bsky.social · 05/08/2026🚨New Pub!🚨Early Paleocene (earliest Torrejonian) mammals from the Tullock Member of the Fort Union Formation, northeastern Montana, U.S.A.🦴🇺🇸by Hovatter & Mantilla www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....tandfonline.comEarly Paleocene (earliest Torrejonian) mammals from the Tullock Member of the Fort Union Formation, northeastern Montana, U.S.A.The Hell Creek Formation and overlying Tullock Member of the Fort Union Formation in northeastern Montana are well known for preserving an exceptional fossil record of mammals leading up to and acr... 022
Reposted by Hank WoolleyBill Minarik @silicatefondue.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 04/08/2026McGill: Assistant Professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences, Solid Earth Processes (Tenure Track) We seek a colleague who investigates the chemical, mineralogical, and physical composition of the solid Earth and its interactions with other Earth systems. Review of applications will begin Oct […]fosstodon.orgOriginal post on fosstodon.org 025
Reposted by Hank WoolleyMateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Half the planet is having a massive fight about how to correctly interpret an Ancient Greek poem but go ahead, close some more humanities departments. 3558911659
Reposted by Hank WoolleyBrandon Peecook @gondwannabe.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Today is my first day in office as the new curator of vertebrate paleontology at @nhmdk.bsky.social & @ucph.bsky.social! 🇩🇰 🏛️ 🦴 🦕 😁 Starting off right with some proper Paleozoic Greenlandic friends (🐟/🐸, 🦈) and an extremely Danish office surprise! 🧱 1313918
Reposted by Hank WoolleyTiago Simões @trsimoes.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Overall, we show that this remarkable story is not linear or simple as previously assumed. It follows a complex trajectory, with Cretaceous snakes already widespread in ecological and neuroanatomical diversity, and more specialized to different environments than the snake ancestral condition 1126
Reposted by Hank WoolleyThomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 22/07/2026www.kfyrtv.com/2026/07/21/s...kfyrtv.comSmall town museum to undergo big-time expansionBig things are happening in one tiny Montana town. The Carter County Museum in Ekalaka is expanding. Plans are to triple the museum’s size. 0156
Reposted by Hank WoolleyTiago Simões @trsimoes.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Proud to share our latest paper in out in Nature today on the origin of #snakes. We present Tametara mirim, an articulated 3D preserved stem snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. Tametara helped us re-tell the story of snake origins in a novel way... www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comExceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes - NatureA well-preserved fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil shows early ecological and brain shape disparity in the group. 37142
Reposted by Hank WoolleyGabriela Sobral @sobralg.bsky.social · 22/07/2026So, I will take the opportunity to write about our paper on the new fossil snake 🐍 from Brazil out in @nature.com today. Tiago wrote on the science itself here 👇 so I will tell a bit about the behind the scene stages, especially segmentation and anatomical interpretation bsky.app/profile/trsi... 1229
Reposted by Hank WoolleyJoshua Lively, PhD @jlivelypaleo.bsky.social · 15/07/2026Trump & Utah politicians lied to the American people by saying Grand Staircase & Bears Ears were “locked up” and unavailable for hiking, fishing, hunting, etc. That’s a lie. Here’s an article from Field and Stream talking about the effects on hunting and fishing. fieldandstream.com/stories/whit...fieldandstream.comWhite House Order Cuts Millions of Acres from National Monuments in UtahThe order opens two National Monuments in Utah to drilling and mining, threatening key habitat for trout and big game. 0117
Reposted by Hank WoolleyJoshua Lively, PhD @jlivelypaleo.bsky.social · 15/07/2026TBH, I don’t give a damn if another T. rex is getting auctioned. How about every fossil site we’ve ever worked in Grand Staircase NO LONGER being within the monument?!? Let’s talk about protecting fossils on PUBLIC land. 33914
Reposted by Hank WoolleyPaleoJim @paleojim.bsky.social · 15/07/2026Worse than I could have imagined with near total loss of our Campanian dinosaur beds. @utahpaleo-ufop.bsky.social @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social @agu.org @natgeosci.nature.com @paleosoc.bsky.social No one asked my opinion as Utah's State Paleontologist! @paleontologizing.bsky.social 55626
Reposted by Hank WoolleyAlex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 14/07/2026The natural history collections at the University of Texas, holding maybe 5 million specimens, is partly closed down because our buildings are falling apart and UT is doing the bare minimum of life support. We could fix it for 1/5th the price of a vanity purchase of a single dinosaur specimen. 11424157
Reposted by Hank WoolleyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County @nhm.org · 13/07/2026Sam Neill’s portrayal of Dr. Alan Grant in JURASSIC PARK will forever hold a revered place as the inspiration for an entire generation of paleontologists and the catalyst of a renaissance in the public's fascination with dinosaurs. 18514
