iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Prof Susie Maidment

Journal of Systematic Palaeontology @journalsystpal.bsky.social · 16h

A new 𝙑𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙨 species (Reptilia: Squamata: Varanidae) from the Early Pliocene of Langebaanweg, South Africa by Marchitelli et al.: buff.ly/1QFxUnY This discovery provides the oldest South African record of 𝙑𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙨 and the first confirmed monitor lizard from the region #Neogene #PaleoSky #Fossil

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The Fossil Files Podcast @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 11h

Find out in this week's episode of the Fossil Files with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social & @fossilrob.bsky.social. We explore these new finds & discuss the relative incompetence of babies and teenagers. Available now on YouTube or where ever you get your podcasts 1/2 www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTXv...

youtube.com

Cute fossil babies reveal how mammals evolved live birth

YouTube video by The Fossil Files Podcast

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The Fossil Files Podcast @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 11h

Did mammals evolve live birth more than once?! New fossils discoveries from South Africa and Argentina reveal some cute Triassic mammal babies, one *in ovo* and one captured in histology. So where DID mammal babies come from? 👶🥚🦡 1/2

a, photograph of the specimen; b, 3D digital reconstruction of the segmented bones; c, live reconstruction by artist Sophie Vrard.

"Triassic Mothers," a life reconstruction of a group of Chiniquodon theotonicus individuals, a pregnant female (left) as well as a female (right) breastfeeding few, relatively large neonates. Credit: María de los Ángeles Miceli Baro.

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Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Hot off the presses! I reviewed the history of early ray-finned fishes, with a focus on their morphology, fossil record, and taxonomy. My principal goal is a guide for other workers to make the rich record of early actinopterygian evolution more broadly available. dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmor...

dx.doi.org

The Evolutionary History of Early Ray‐Finned Fishes (Pan‐Actinopterygii)

Ray-finned fishes, the most diverse living vertebrate clade, include over 600 extinct early actinopterygian species whose evolution is an enigma.

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

First #CROCOLOCOEVO ERC grant job posted! More to come tomorrow! 50% time "Research administrator" with an important twist: the ERC thankfully has reduced its bureaucratic burden for grantholders, quite a bit. #scicomm people would be welcome- see next skeet! jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx... (1/2)

jobs.rvc.ac.uk

Job Opportunity at the RVC: Research Administrator

This is a fixed-term, part-time position (17.5 hours per week) for 36 months.Applicants should ideally be able to commence by 1 December 2026, although some flexibility may be possible. The role will ...

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Lewis A. Jones (he/him) @lewisajones.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Interested in Historical Ecology and Conservation Palaeobiology? 🪸🦀 Steve Pates and I are offering a PhD project on "Reducing uncertainty in the impact of climate on biodiversity" 🔗 unrisk-cdt.ac.uk/projects/red... 🗓️ Deadline: 13th January 2027

unrisk-cdt.ac.uk

Reducing uncertainty in the impact of climate on biodiversity – Understanding Uncertainty to Reduce Climate Risks

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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Mind-boggling - just mind-boggling Now expected to peak at an extraordinary 4.2C in December

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hammancheez but spooky @hammancheez.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yall wanna see a 2 hour old highland cow

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Grant agreement signed! Advertising 4 new jobs (3 year contracts w/potential to extend +2 years) on ERC #CROCOLOCOEVO grant next week-- stay tuned for details. 2 postdocs 1 technician 1 research administrator who can do science communication Start date flexible but could be as soon as 1 November!

Picture of right hindlimbs and pelvis of Terrestrisuchus (long skinny legs) and Crocodylus (modern croc; beefy and stubby), from 3D computer models

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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

🚨Postdoc job alert: Come work with my paleontology & evolution group in Edinburgh! Researcher in Cognitive Evolution Over Deep Time. You'll study how brains & neurons have evolved over time, and predict neuron count in extinct species! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTC355/p...

jobs.ac.uk

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time at The University of Edinburgh

Apply for the Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.

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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Friday was the hottest day *ever recorded* for Earth's oceans, on average. Oceans continue to absorb more than 90% of the excess heat from global warming: www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti... via @sfchronicle.com

sfchronicle.com

Earth’s oceans just broke a heat record. The implications will be massive

Human-caused global warming and a strong El Niño are adding excess heat to the oceans, threatening marine life and providing storms with more energy and moisture.

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The Fossil Files Podcast @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Are the next generation of palaeontologsists getting the training that they need to make sure the that field doesn't go extinct? Our new bonus episode is out today! Preview here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJCM...

youtube.com

Are we failing the next generation of palaeontologists? The future of fieldwork [Bonus Preview]

YouTube video by The Fossil Files Podcast

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

😁 but I assume you already subscribe so you'd know that already...

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Did you know that you can subscribe to the #FossilFiles podcast for as little as 1/8th of a South Kensington pint per month?

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Here's the paper: #yourpalaeolife - Google Scholar share.google/eZCzIp7237je...

share.google

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Dinosaur Ridge is really good but I don't know if it's possible to get there without a car. You could see how much it would cost to get an Uber there, I guess.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Hey @stevebrusatte.bsky.social, great to see your new book on sale at Calgary airport. A gripping romance involving an "unfairly hot" Oxford professor (modelled on Roger?). Why the pen-name, though??!

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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This Saturday, Sept 26. The Royal Institution in London. 7pm. Come along, hear me talk about the origin and evolution of birds, and get your books signed! www.rigb.org/whats-on/sto...

rigb.org

The story of birds: From the Jurassic to today

Using fossil records and his own work uncovering extinct species, paleontologist Steve Brusatte rewinds 150

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The Fossil Files Podcast @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A little bit of what Susie is up to this new episode day

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Guillermo Navalón @gnavalon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Quite 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)!

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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Great review of the family tree of early birds!

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Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A 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.com

A new procolophonid from the Triassic Katberg Formation (Karoo Basin, South Africa) fills a key gap in post-extinction procolophonid recovery

Procolophonidae 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...

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Reposted by Prof Susie Maidment

Richard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Today in Dinosaur Provincial Park we have found evidence of tyrannosaurids, dromaeosaurids, hadrosaurs (including skin!), ceratopsians, ankylosaurs, and a whole host of other reptile and fish groups. What an amazing place!

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The Fossil Files Podcast @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

@fossilrob.bsky.social and @tweetisaurus.bsky.social find out how and why in our latest podcast episode, out today on YouTube or where ever you get your podcasts www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qPK...

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Reposted by Prof Susie Maidment

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.com

A bird’s eye view of the fossil record: perspectives on avian systematics

Recent 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,...

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Richard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This year our University of Birmingham Palaeontology Field & Museum Skills trip is in Alberta 🇨🇦. Incredible first day at the Royal Tyrrell Museum with a behind the scenes tour from Caleb Brown & then time in the galleries of maybe the best dinosaur museum in the world.

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Hady George @houdzgeorge.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Gondwanan royalty for today’s #FossilFriday Dinodontosaurus tener from Brazil, Dinodontosaurus brevirostris from Argentina, and Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda from Tanzania They probably didn’t think of themselves as royalty tbf, just very hungry

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Jackson, edited by me

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

And don't forget the existential threat of the world being destroyed by AI... BUT EUROVISION

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I am an Editor-in-Chief of an academic journal and I have literally no idea how this could have happened, but one thing's for sure: I won't be peer reviewing or submitting to Sci Rep again!

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

But more importantly, they shared the confidential comments of one of the reviewers with us without permission, AND they shared a peer review of someone else's paper with us without permission!

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

So, the editor at Sci Rep had either (1) rejected our paper on the basis of a review from a totally different paper or (2) rejected it on the basis of only one review, which seems a little harsh.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

But it doesn't stop there! One of the other attachments included a second peer review. I read it and my initial impression was that the reviewer was an idiot and didn't understand our paper. And then I realised.. this is a peer review of a *totally different paper*

The title of a paper that I didn't write.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The reviewer had not said anything here they wouldn't have said to our faces. But when I peer-review I frequently use that box to say things that I don't want shared with the authors. If I was this peer reviewer, I'd be mortified to know that Sci Rep had just merrily shared their comments with us.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The attachments under 'reviewer 2' included a screengrab showing reviewer 2's comments again, but this time also showing the confidential comments that reviewer 2 had made to the editor. These comments are not supposed to be shared with authors.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Today was the first time I have opened all these attachments. So.. what did I find? Reviewer 1's comments (just an attachment) were a marked up manuscript that appeared to correspond to the comments of Reviewer 2.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This time the paper was sent out to review. A while later, we received a rejection, and two sets of reviewer comments. The first set was just an attachment. The other set was some typed comments, and about five attachments.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

.@fossilphil.bsky.social and I submitted a very short paper to Sci Rep. First, it was immediately rejected for being "out of scope" because they only publish new research. We were perplexed and reached out to someone I know who is an editor there. He said there had been an error. We resumitted.

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Buckle up guys: I've got a story for you about my recent experience submitting a paper to Scientific Reports, a @natureportfolio.nature.com journal. I certainly won't be submitting there or peer-reviewing for them again, and I suggest you don't either, unless you enjoy your privacy being breached!

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The AMOC is going to stop in the next 50 years, making the UK a frozen wasteland where agriculture will be impossible. I hope you like turnips, because our MPs are spending their time debating Eurovision.

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Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A must-read article! (and I truly appreciate that the authors emphasize the importance of the primary data in museum collections, as well as the key roles of both molecular *and* morphological data)

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Richard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Did a 16 mile run today in the company of three episodes of @fossilrob.bsky.social & @tweetisaurus.bsky.social including this one. Highly recommended (the podcast not the running).

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

ChatGPT is unable to take my matrix and add in characters to that they are correctly formatted for upload into Morphobank. Which leads me to wonder (1) what is the actual point in AI if it can't do this and (2) if it can't do basic text editing, how is it going to take over the world?

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