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Paul Barrett

@profpaulbarrett.bsky.social
1.9K followers 334 following 336 posts

Dinosaur researcher, birder, author, rugby fan and choral singer (he/him) 🦕🦖🐦‍⬛🏉🏳️‍🌈

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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Third trip on public transport in a row where someone let their dog sit on a seat. Have some consideration for the other humans please. I don’t want to sit where a dog has been licking its arse, drooling or rubbing its dirty feet. There are enough people doing that already ….
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Glad to have attended SVPCA yesterday, a nice catch-up with people I’ve not seen in ages and I’m glad to see a community effort to try and keep it going in future. Sounds like we might have a full meeting at Lyme Regis next year … Thanks to @neilgostling.bsky.social for organising!
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Piece by @joshlukedavis.com on a now-lost mysterious giant sauropod, with a few thoughts from yours truly: www.iflscience.com/in-the-1970s...
iflscience.com
In The 1970s, Researchers Unearthed Fossils Of A Dinosaur That May Have Been The Largest Ever. Then The Fossils Disintegrated
Was this the largest dinosaur ever to have existed? Without the fossils, we might never know.
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Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The Tenth Anniversary Edition of Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved IS ON SALE NOW. An article on this book, by myself and @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social, published by @nhm-london.bsky.social ... tetzoo.com/blog/2026/5/... #dinosaurs #books #dinosaurbooks
tetzoo.com
The Tenth Anniversary Edition of Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved — Tetrapod Zoology
dinosaur book dinosaur evolution new for 2026 new edition covering anatomy evolution Tyrannosaurus Velociraptor Stegosaurus Triceratops stegosaurs ceratopsians origin of dinosaurs in Triassic diversif...
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Lovely ceremony @nhm-london.bsky.social Tring today, to mark the installation of a prestigious Blue Plaque by Historic England commemorating pioneering zooarchaeologist Dorothea Bate
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Sad to hear of the death of Prof. Yasuwa Hasegawa - one of the founding fathers of Japanese vertebrate palaeontology, a generous host & a curious mind. I enjoyed all my meetings with him since we first met 30 years ago when I was a PhD student. My heartfelt condolences to my Japanese colleagues
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Thanks to Jack Bantock @cnn.com for this longer read piece on our team's recent dinosaur discoveries in Zimbabwe 🦕 🇿🇼 edition.cnn.com/science/new-...
edition.cnn.com
New dinosaurs are popping up in Africa. Scientists think it could be just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ | CNN
The discovery of new species of dinosaurs along the shores of Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba has scientists excited about future finds in Africa.
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Katy Evans @katyfevans.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Had a lot of fun chatting with @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social and @she-paleo.bsky.social for this, even if I did have to convince them I was not looking to set up my own side hustle... www.iflscience.com/how-to-fake-...
iflscience.com
How To Fake A Fossil: We Asked Palaeontologists How They'd Do It, And Yes, They Told Us
How to separate prehistoric fact from carefully crafted fiction.
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Increasingly sick of seeing ideas thrust forward as new when they’ve been in the literature decades, but ‘discovered’ by applying the latest R package to the same data. Please attempt some scholarship & at give credit to the people who published those ideas even if you have a new way to confirm them
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Lovely crescent suns … #eclipse2026
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Using my exceptionally sophisticated colanderscope, I can confirm that the solar eclipse has hit London
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This … I’ve also funded a lot of my own fieldwork as large funding agencies don’t value basic discovery-led science as much as they should.
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Petition: Ban on sale of disposable BBQs: We want the Government to introduce a nationwide ban on the sale of single-use disposable BBQs. Disposable BBQs are increasingly linked to preventable wildfires, which poses a serious risk to public safety & wildlife petition.parliament.uk/petitions/77...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Ban on sale of disposable BBQs
We want the Government to introduce a nationwide ban on the sale of single-use disposable barbecues. Disposable BBQs are increasingly linked to preventable wildfires, which poses a serious risk to pu...
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Trying to read The Simarillion and find it amusing there’s a place called Tuna, given that I doubt JRR Tolkien ever encountered a tuna sandwich
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Common sense I think, have your BBQs at home or in designated safe areas like they do in other countries: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Calls to ban disposable barbecues in England and Wales over wildfire risk
Lib Dems and many Labour MPs join farmers, landowners and firefighters in urging temporary prohibition
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Ah the joys of trying to transfer CT data when your office download speed is 5% that of the average UK home broadband connection. Fifth failed attempt so far …
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Welcoming Musango matusadonaensis, a new sauropodomorph dino from the Late Triassic of Zimbabwe found by our team back in 2018. Read about it for free here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... and have a look at this lovely reconstruction by @markwitton.bsky.social (1/2)
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Was trapped on a cliff on the Isle of Wight with Bill Oddie during the filming of Live from Dinosaur Island … wasn’t a fun time for either of us 😂 I’m know he inspired many with his wit and enthusiasm, but have to say that neither were on show under those circumstances
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Sorry that I can’t be joining you @dinoconuk.bsky.social as planned today, but there is a good reason … Hope it’s going with a bang!
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Marc A. Milne @forthespiders.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
It may be surprising to some that there are thousands of undescribed species just sitting in museums awaiting description. One of the main reasons this problem exists is that taxonomy is undervalued and underfunded, a trend that coincides with the devaluing of studies on natural history.
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Swifts soaring and screaming overhead in Fulham today 🥰
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Rachael Funnell @rachaelhfunnell.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Big thanks to @tweetisaurus.bsky.social @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social and @stevebrusatte.bsky.social for talking me through the real cost of dinosaur auctions. $50 mil is just the surface of what's lost when fossils wind up in people's living rooms @iflscience.com www.iflscience.com/50-million-d...
iflscience.com
$50 Million Dinosaur Sale Smashes Auction Record. Three Palaeontologists Told Us Why That’s Potentially Catastrophic For Science And Education
“Dinosaurs like Gus belong in museums,” said Prof Steve Brusatte to IFLScience.
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Richard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
23 month research associate job now available with our team to work on Middle Jurassic mammals from Scotland. Requires strong experience with segmentation of CT data but does not require a PhD. Deadline for applications is 26th July. edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
Research Associate (Leverhulme) - School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences - 105138 - Grade 6
This is a Research Associate position to assist in palaeobiological research conducted as part of the project “New Insights Into Early Mammal Evolution From Exceptional Scottish Fossils” funded by the...
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Sad to hear that #SamNeill has left us, not only did he leave us with Alan Grant but his performance as an astronomer in The Dish was some of the warmest, most charming acting
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Demonstrating skills closer to my level in this one …
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I’m not sure they’ve left the most competent person in charge 🤦‍♂️ Though I think, thankfully, I’m only in charge for around 10 mins …
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
My first visit to @esrf-som.bsky.social to scan some early dino fossils with colleagues from Cape Town, Joburg and the US. Huge facility with so much going on. Looking forward to a day on BM18
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Well, thanks for another good stay South Africa. Much needed holiday followed by a week of collections work in the absence of meetings and (most) other office based distractions. Work on four projects pushed closer to completion …
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Nice to be back working in Joburg for a few days and bumping into this old friend in the lobby
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Correcting AI generated alt text captions for 28 figures is a new found way to waste my time: I’d have been very happy to provide these myself if requested, rather than having to rewrite this computer generated totally useless drivel
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Nice article by @joshlukedavis.com on our Antarctic sauropod paper: www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
nhm.ac.uk
First ever dinosaur fossil discovered on Antarctica identified as a titanosaur | Natural History Museum
Antarctica was once a thriving, forested ecosystem filled with a diversity of dinosaur life.
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Nice piece on our little Antarctic dino find courtesy of the BBC Science team: www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Antarctica's first ever dinosaur bone discovered in a drawer
The fossil, collected in Antarctica in 1985, is part of the tail of a beast called a Titanosaur.
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Phil Mannion @pdmannion.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Our new paper led by @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social & Mark Evans @bas.ac.uk on a sauropod from Antarctica 🦕 that represents the earliest collected dinosaur fossil from this continent: www.app.pan.pl/article/item... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... @es-ucl.bsky.social
app.pan.pl
A titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Antarctica - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Currently on vacation in the South African bush and enjoying the wildlife at Sabi Sands
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Would be great if the major UK news outlets could potentially talk more about policy and how it’s failing or working, rather than just fuelling personality politics did their own weird gratification and gossip. So little discussion of actual issues. Do better
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Just heard we got our grant to go back to Kariba so that we can continue the hunt for more Zimbabwean Triassic goodies next year, can’t wait! 🦕🇿🇼🦖
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
A lovely, if scorching, day of birding @rspbengland.bsky.social Rye Meads: saw my first ever cuckoos and red-crested pochards in the UK (have seen both elsewhere, but never at home)
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Marc Jones @marcehjones.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
This specimen of #Ichthyosaurus is one of the many spectacular fossils you can see at #JurassicOceans from today until 3rd Jan 2027! - www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibi... @nhm-london.bsky.social #FossilFriday 🌊
The skull and neck of a fossil ichthyosaurus in right side view as exposed from a slab of rock. The large eye skeleton is clearly visible within the orbital opening and loose teeth surround the long snout. The fossil is brown whereas the rock is a pale grey.
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
A reminder that some of the largest Late Triassic predators were croc relatives: here’s the humungous maxilla of a rauisuchian from the Elliot of South Africa, which was originally misidentified as a carnivorous prosauropod #FossilFriday
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Rather lovely last minute visit to the Courthold Gallery yesterday to see their delightful Seurat and the Sea Exhibtion
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IPC7 @ipc7.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
✨ We are thrilled to have 6 fantastic plenary speakers at IPC7 in Cape Town! Today we’re excited to introduce Dr. Paul M. Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social from Natural History Museum, London, who will be one of our plenary speakers. We’re delighted to have him as part of IPC7!
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
We’re hiring a herpetology curator @nhm-london.bsky.social - come join us! jobs.nhm.ac.uk/internal/Job...
jobs.nhm.ac.uk
Senior Curator in Charge, Herpetology:South Kensington
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Had an early morning jaunt to Peterborough Cathedral to do some filming in front of Patagotitan for a fun announcement we’ll be making in the near future …
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Just spotted this on the post box opposite @nhm-london.bsky.social - very wholesome content and possibly one of the most heartfelt tributes I’ve seen to the great man
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Been binge watching Attenborough’s ‘Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives’ today and I’d forgotten just how good the story telling was, although much of the science is now dated (but was cutting-edge at the time). Nice to see colleagues appear as talking heads, but also sad as many are no longer with us 😞
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
From the archives, our low budget version of Walking with Dinosaurs back in fieldwork near Clarens, South Africa nearly a decade ago. You might recognise some of the people watching in bemusement as I page out these theropod tracks … #FossilFriday
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The Perfect Specimen @perfect-specimen.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Happy Birthday to Sir David Attenborough! I think it’s fair to say everyone here at the NHM has a story about how he inspired them. He’s also a lovely guy! And we have some specimens named after him. m.youtube.com/watch?v=ToGZ...
m.youtube.com
Our David Attenborough specimens: Nature, knowledge and a lasting legacy
YouTube video by Natural History Museum
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Congratulations Sir David Attenborough on your 100th b’day 🎂 Life on Earth was a seminal moment for 8-year old me: captivating & a major reason I am where I am now. I still can’t hear that theme tune without getting goosebumps at the scope of life’s grandeur. It’s been a joy to meet & work with you
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Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Just voted in the UK local elections. If you’ve any interest in how our government runs please do the same
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Hannah O’Regan @palaeohan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
If you know nowt about science you can be seduced by the glamour of shiny expensive machines and tech talk. Tech skills and method development are important but we also need Hums people to help develop the questions to be answered.
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