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Zach

@reallyoldfish.bsky.social
575 followers 627 following 334 posts

3rd year PhD candidate in the Friedman Lab at the University of Michigan. Volunteer @ Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pitt alum. Cat dad. Opinions my own. Fan of fishes, particularly extinct ones

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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Massive outbreak of Northern Walkingsticks (Diapheromera femorata) at Cowan’s Gap State Park this weekend. Tons of mating pairs. Probably one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen.
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Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
LETTER: Absolute need to maintain entire ‘collections side’ of Sternberg Museum intact hayspost.com/posts/d21f98...
hayspost.com
LETTER: Absolute need to maintain entire ‘collections side’ of Sternberg Museum intact
Image by Pixabay Dear Dr. Tisa Mason,I am a proud graduate of Fort Hay
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
No fossil Friday; i have a more important question: why is protesting against war on college campuses heavily policed but predators are allowed to walk free?
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
UMich is a case study in repression, and this has been on full display both regarding pro-Palestinian protesting, but also with regard to labor organizing.
aclu.org
New ACLU and Amnesty International USA Report Uncovers Widespread Suppression of Pro-Palestine Speech Across College Campuses | American Civil Liberties Union
Findings Show Concerted Efforts to Censor and Retaliate Against Speech in support of Palestinian Rights in Colleges and Universities
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AAUP-Ohio State @osuaaup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Cornell AAUP, and all who are outraged by the violence against Jane Doe and the Cornell administration’s response to it.  aaup-cornell.org/statements-a...
aaup-cornell.org
Cornell Chapter of the AAUP
Defending academic freedom, shared governance, the economic security, the rights of all those who teach or conduct research in higher education, advocating for the interests of the broader communit…
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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If i were still a postdoc, I'd be running, not walking, to apply to this, y'all
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Joseph W. Brown @josephwb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Early-diverging lineages provide little information about ancestors academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan... From @phylieu.bsky.social @sinkingdiatom.bsky.social @omearabrian.bsky.social
academic.oup.com
Early-diverging lineages provide little information about ancestors
Abstract. Large phylogenetic trees are often unbalanced near the root, with a species-depauperate lineage sister to a far more species-rich clade. The spec
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Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Out 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...
The part and counterpart of the holotype specimen of Westlothiana. Paleoartistic reconstruct of Westlothiana by Jacob Schick based on our new data
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Faculty curator position in vertebrate paleontology! Great opportunity to work with outstanding colleagues at LSUMNS: lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/LSU/jo...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor
All 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...
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Semafor @semafor.com · 30/09/2026
Visitors to the US are on track to drop by almost two million year-on-year. “We’re the only major country in the world losing visitation,” the head of the US Travel Association said. “It’s mind-boggling.” www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
And here's the holotype of Tecovaserpeton perfectum in person!
Underside of large, spade-shaped metoposaur skull.
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Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#fossilfriday An example of why the ANSP and its collections must be saved. Atlantochelys mortoni, a giant protostegid sea turtle - named in 1849 by Agassiz based on the proximal humerus fragment. In 2012, someone found a large distal humerus that FIT ONTO THE SAME BONE in ANSP collections. 1/ 🦖🧪
The reunited humerus of the gigantic sea turtle Atlantochelys, on display in a museum: you can clearly see the break that happened sometime prior to the 19th century.
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Americaspis americana. Full stop.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Wow! Great news for the BGSU paleobiology program. Congrats to @pegyaco.bsky.social and colleagues: www.bgsu.edu/news/2026/09...
bgsu.edu
More than $1 million in gifts expands opportunities for BGSU paleobiology students
More than $1 million in gifts from BGSU alumna Sue Goldstein, Ph.D., ’74 and the estate of longtime professor Don C. Steinker, Ph.D., will expand research, fieldwork and professional opportunities for...
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Richard Dearden @euphanerops.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Fan of weird end-Permian-surviving fossil sharks? Check out our preprint describing the first endoskeletal fossils of Carnian jalodontiform Keuperodus brodiei. #FossilFriday doi.org/10.64898/202... Led by Ryan Tokeley (no bsky), based on his great masters project work @nitroshutter.bsky.social
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Not one person understands how evil she is
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It’s been one year since UofM hospitals rescinded access to gender affirming care to people under the age of 19. The decision to fold protections due to pressure from the administration is nothing less than pure cowardice.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17/09/2026
Trump: "We spent more than $2 billion in FEMA funding. You're waiting for some additional funding. I'm gonna get that to you. Now if Michael loses, I'm not sending it." Crowd: *groans*
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John R. Platt @johnrplatt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Awful: Trump Administration Moves to Gut a Core Endangered Species Protection "...the accidental killing or injury of an animal would no longer be considered illegal; only actions specifically intending to target an animal would." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Moves to Gut a Core Endangered Species Protection
An internal memo reinterprets the law so that only the intentional killing of animals, not collateral harm, is illegal.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 17/09/2026
New Yorkers should know whether the apartment they’re looking at is real. That’s why we’re working to require apartment listings to clearly disclose when images and videos have been generated by AI. Finding a home in New York is hard enough without artificially generating more problems.
nytimes.com
Is That Fireplace Real or A.I.?
Listing sites are littered with homes with fake fireplaces, improved views and virtual landscaping, raising false advertising concerns.
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felinecannonball @felinecannon.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
- 'wolverine' is a marketing term - eight members, a narrow majority of the new FDA panel, voted in favor of allowing pharmacies to sell untested and previously unapproved peptides - seven members operate or work for clinics or businesses selling peptide treatments www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
reuters.com
FDA advisers back first four of seven unapproved peptides under review for looser rules
A majority of the U.S. FDA's outside advisers on Thursday supported allowing pharmacies to compound the first four of seven peptides under review, ‌advancing efforts championed by Health Secretary Rob...
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Rebekah Rogers @evolscientist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
USDA approves blight resistant chestnut trees. www.newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/202...
newyorkupstate.com
USDA approves genetically modified American chestnut tree developed at SUNY ESF
Decision marks first time a genetically modified tree designed for forest restoration clears regulatory hurdle.
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Dr Alice Clement @draliceclement.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Oops, I hadn’t even shared a link to our latest paper…. “Hard-object feeding adaptations infer relative predator-prey size relationships in #Devonian #placoderms” from @theskullywaglab.bsky.social et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41... published in Scientific Reports 🐟 🦷 🩻 #FEA
nature.com
Hard-object feeding adaptations infer relative predator-prey size relationships in Devonian placoderms - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Hard-object feeding adaptations infer relative predator-prey size relationships in Devonian placoderms
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Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com · 14/09/2026
Obituary: Robert Ricklefs (1943–2026) www.nature.com/articles/s41... Polymath ecologist whose research and textbooks integrating ecology and evolution have inspired generations of students. Free to read: rdcu.be/D33fLgYcv4Ba
nature.com
Robert Ricklefs (1943–2026) - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Polymath ecologist whose research and textbooks integrating ecology and evolution have inspired generations of students.
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Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology @sicb.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
#SICB Members and Friends, We are happy to announce that registration is open #SICB2027's Annual Meeting · Hundreds of oral and poster presentations spanning #organismal biology, #physiology, #ecology, #evolution, #biomechanics, & more Register Today! cf23.xcddev.com/sicb/store/i...
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Jonathan Huie, PhD @jmhuie.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I heard you like clingfishes! Check out our new preprint on the evolution and ecomorphology of their adhesive discs and skull! doi.org/10.64898/202...
A smattering of clingfish skulls visualized with CT scans
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Kory Evans Ph.D @sternarchella.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Really excited to share our latest paper with you! We examine patterns of skull shape evolution in an awesome group of fishes and show that they rapidly innovated following the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com
Selection, constraints, and contingency drive mosaic patterns of evolution during the carangarian adaptive radiation
Adaptive radiations generate remarkable morphological diversity, yet traits often diversify at different rates and modes, producing mosaic patterns of evolution. Modularity, the semiautonomous organization of traits, can shape how selection and ...
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Dr. Sven N. Nielsen @snnielsen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Paleontology job in Mexico!
earthworks-jobs.com
Full-time Researcher Position
Full-time Researcher Position at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México - UNAM. Located in Queretaro, Mexico. Deadline: 15/09/2026.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Nice to see some #FossilFriday coverage of the display and centennial from the Detroit News: www.detroitnews.com/picture-gall...
detroitnews.com
UM celebrates 100 years of paleontology with exhibit
The University of Michigan's Museum of Paleontology celebrates a century with a historic look of the museum's contributions to the field
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Brandon Peecook @gondwannabe.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Tenure-track job in vertebrate paleo! 🦬🦕🦈🦴 This is my former position at the Idaho Museum of Natural History & Biological Sciences. Can confirm that the collections are excellent & understudied; AND that the people at the IMNH and BioSci are wonderful colleagues. APPLY!
isu.csod.com
Curator/Assistant Professor, Idaho Museum of Natural History & Biological Sciences (3756)
Job DescriptionThe Idaho Museum of Natural History and the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University invite applications for a joint...
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
A sign of the end of summer. Dog-day cicadas being increasingly easy to find on the ground. They’re finishing up their grand chorus before the eventual silence of winter settles in.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Following up on this old post with some crushing news: www.inquirer.com/education/ac...
inquirer.com
The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries
The closure does not affect the rest of the institution, which builds and maintains the collections and conducts research through departments such as the Patrick Center for Environmental Research.
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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Some exciting news for #TrilobiteTuesday I've been nominated to be the Avocational Representative for the @paleosoc.bsky.social Council. I will be a voice for fossil clubs and amateur collectors, connecting the academic community with the general public. I'm excited to work with everyone.
Pencil sketch of Cambrian trilobite, Olenellus gilberti from the Pioche Shale of Nevada.
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Brant Faircloth @brantfaircloth.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
NSF PRFB RFP is out. If you have interests in AI approaches to studying bird color across big phylogenies, let me know! I have some ideas... And, if you don't, that's cool too, but please apply to do something with someone else if you can! www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
nsf.gov
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB)
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Hadeel Saad @hadeelsaad.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I can’t explain how grateful I am to have been a part of building this case! Chasing down stories and learning more about the people, scientists, and history of UMMP was so much fun.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Even unassuming specimens have backstories. Here’s a good example for #FossilFriday: the Paleocene gastropod Turritella mortoni from near Fredericksburg, VA (UMMP IP 329).
Irregular brown rock with cone-shaped shells and a yellowed specimen label.
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Benjamin Pope @benjaminpope.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
man I loved being an international student at Berkeley and it kills me to think that these opportunities are just being pulled out from under the younger generation
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Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Hot 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>
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Douglas Natelson @nanoscaleviews.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
🧪⚛️ So, down to 1500 targeted awards, and strongly emphasizing the executive branch’s priority research areas. What happened to the Golden Age of Science idea of funding the best people, rather than specific ideas? Oh wait, that was last month. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
nsf.gov
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
First scan of the semester looks promising. Sometimes fish look like fish!! Gzhelian of the Appalachian Basin.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Something a little different on #FossilFriday: new temporary exhibit at UMMNH highlighting the history of paleontological collections at U-M. Timed to recognize UMMP's centennial (although the collection itself is approaching its bicentennial). 📸 Elliot Zirulnik/UMMNH
Photograph of display case featuring many fossils, photographs, and models. Large text at the top of the display reads "Library of Life."
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Anonymous Potato @anonymouspotato.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
EcoEvoJobs 2026-27 just opened for business and we've already got 79 faculty / permanent jobs listed. Please repost! ecoevojobs.net
ecoevojobs.net
ecoevojobs.net 2026-27
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Rule #1: don’t overtighten your lugs, or you’ll end up like me!
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
A wee explainer on why the NIH hiding impact scores and percentages from peer review of grants: 1. Spend 6 months writing proposal 2. Submit to NIH 3. Peers review it, give it a score, and it’s ranked by percentile—the lower, the better 4. If you’re in the 1st percentile you can expect funds
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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
This is an absolute travesty. Northwestern has, probably, the 2nd best library collection for African History/Studies in the USA (behind Yale and ahead of MSU, UCLA, etc). A self-inflicted wound that is absolutely, 100% unnecessary given the massive wealth of Northwestern--north of $15 billion.
thepurplewire.beehiiv.com
SCOOP: Northwestern moves to close Program of African Studies
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Holly Bik @hollybik.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
My lab is HIRING - we have an opening for a #postdoc focused on marine invertebrate symbioses & evolution (heavy focus on microbial -Omics and bioinformatics, but lots of fun fieldwork opportunities too!) Full position info here: www.biklab.org/join-the-lab Please help spread the word! #SymbioSky
Neon flyer advertising a postdoc job at UGA
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E. Anne Chambers @chamberea.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
We're hiring! The Chambers Lab is recruiting grad students interested in landsacpe & conservation genomics or species delimitation of reptiles & amphibians. Find more info here (or reach out with questions!): chamberslab.org/opportunitie...
chamberslab.org
opportunities – Chambers Lab
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
A few weeks later, and the smile continues to grow #FossilFriday
Fossil fish skull in the process of being prepared.
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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
In 2019, Willy Bemis came to Michigan and gave a lecture on ocean sunfishes at UMMP. One of the most engaging talks I have ever attended. It included work that went into a new monograph published this week and led by Kate Bemis: scholarlypress.si.edu/publications...
Cover of a monograph titled "Comparative anatomy of ocean sunfishes (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae). Authors are KE Bemis, JC Tyler, CD Carson, EJ Hilton, and WE Bemis. The cover is blue with a black horizontal band in the upper third featuring photographs of larvae of the three extant genera of ocean sunfishes.
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Zach @reallyoldfish.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I am so frustrated by the return, in earnest, of our society’s acceptance of denigrating behavior and language towards neurodivergent people. It is beyond the pale.
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