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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Although I can't be with those of you who are out in the rain advocating for your museum today...I thought I might be a good idea to post some Academy of Natural Sciences fossils to keep you warm and dry on the inside. @savetheacademy.bsky.social

An ammonite scultpure outside the side entrance of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

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Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#FossilFriday In 2007, a fossil was discovered & offered as a donation to a local university, but languished until one prof expressed interest 5 yrs later. It turned out to be a rare (in N.America) preserved proboscidean cranium. Read more here: mostlymammoths.wordpress.com/2026/09/14/t...

Screenshot of four pictures of different proboscideans: Columbian mammoth at the La Brea Tar Pits; mastodons (adult and juvenile), also at the La Brea Tar Pits; Tetralophodon at the Henan Geological Museum in China; and a Columbian mammoth and Pacific mastodon display at the Western Science Center in California.

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Anne Kort | The Virtual Paleontologist @virtpaleo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I, like many in the paleontology community, have been devastated to hear about the planned closures for two major museums in the past two weeks. I have seen more coverage of ANSP, so I want to highlight the Sternberg Museum of Fort Hays State University in Kansas. sternberg.fhsu.edu

sternberg.fhsu.edu

Sternberg Museum of Natural History - Sternberg Museum of Natural History

Explore Great Plains natural history at the Sternberg Museum (Hays, KS): fossils, rotating exhibits, educational programs, tours, and camps.

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John Alroy @johnalroy.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The Fossilworks database is now integrated with the Ecological Register and includes growing datasets on Cenozoic and Cretaceous vertebrates including mammals and dinosaurs. All of the 5000+ site inventories include specimen counts used to obtain GW species richness estimates. fossilworks.org

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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Off-Hand Glass Blowing M. Louise Pershing Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1904-1986 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ca 1936 | oil on canvas exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

Off-Hand Glass Blowing by M. Louise Pershing
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1904-1986 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ca 1936. oil on canvas.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

If you care about keeping the Academy of Natural Sciences open to the public in Philadelphia, I need you to read and share this thread. Trish Wellenbach was sent from the mayor's office to oversee the Academy of Natural sciences situation. She needs to hear from us. Here comes the action item:

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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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Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 25/09/2026

We're publishing new guidance to support trans people who do fieldwork (any work outside the office)! Now we need your help to get them seen so please share! inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/trans/

a cartoon of three fieldworkers. One has a small trans flag. The logos of the university of leeds, research england, and canopy robin are shown, as well as the URL: InclusiveFieldwork (dot) Leeds (dot) AC (dot) UK (slash) trans

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Bob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 22/09/2026

NEW PAPER: In a new paper, jointly published in @agu.org Earth's Future & @ametsoc.org BAMS, and co-led by Melissa Kenney, @costasamaras.com and me, 175 authors outline priorities to guide the future of scientific assessments of climate change in the United States. 🧵

doi.org

Research Priorities for Robust Climate Assessments in the United States

A network of climate assessments plays a critical role in synthesizing the state of science to support evidence-based decision-making To support future U.S. and sub-national climate assessments, ...

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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Electric Welder Olive Harriette Nuhfer Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1901-1996 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1937 | oil on canvas exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

Electric Welder by Olive Harriette Nuhfer
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1901-1996 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1937. oil on canvas.

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Dr. Emma E. Bird @dremmabird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A number of 🚨Science & Museum Jobs🚨 available at different levels right now for the Distributed System of Scientific Collections UK programme 🪩 #DiSSCo 🪩 fab if you're into 🌳science digitisation🌳 #ScienceJobs #MuseumJobs jobs.nhm.ac.uk/internal/Job...

jobs.nhm.ac.uk

DiSSCo UK Digitiser:South Kensington

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Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Some Monday morning thoughts on museum closures, spurred in part by the recent Academy of Natural Sciences, but not necessarily specific to that. <thread>

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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I approve of this use of my tax dollars.

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Esther van Hulsen wildlife art @esthervanhulsen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Something I can finally share! I made a series of paitings and drawings of woolly mammoth and other species and landscapes from the North American Ice Age, whcih will be shwon at the Art House Blackhills Hot Springs Gallery from te 25th of September.

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Joe Mason @moreorloess.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Another area of lead prospecting and/or mining southwest of Blanchardville, Wisconsin that's visible with lidar data, close to "Fretwell's dig" on an 1832 public land survey map.

Shaded relief map shows a ridgetop area with some pitted patches indicating prospecting or mining in the past.

Public land survey map of the township shown in the shaded relief map, with "Fretwell's dig" indicated on the line between sections 28 and 27.

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Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I just learned of the term "museomics." With all due respect to many, many awesome people, this comes across as yet another buzzword to avoid mentioning that high impact research depends on "low impact" work by unrecognized collectors, collections techs, researchers, and institutions. <1/3>

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The Podokesaurus Project @podokesauruspro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A rare brontozoid footprint from Nyack, New York. There’s only a sliver of Mesozoic rock left in New York State, and in that only two brontozoid (theropod) footprints have ever been found. #PaleoSky

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Mel Pardi @drpardi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

There are still slots available for the Neotoma Paleoecology DB pre-meeting workshop at SVP! In this workshop you'll learn how to access data from @neotomadb.bsky.social and we'll walk you through some foundational analyses

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Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

In 2007, workers in a quarry found the end of a tusk. They dug some more & thought they'd found a mammoth. Although the fossil was offered to the local university, no one was interested. No one, that is, until Peter Houde heard about it. #proboscideans mostlymammoths.wordpress.com/2026/09/14/t...

mostlymammoths.wordpress.com

This Rare Fossil Was Almost Lost to Science

Those working in a quarry in New Mexico knew what fossils looked like; they’d found them before. So when someone saw the circular white end of a tusk in 2007, they immediately shut off the heavy eq…

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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Brick Plant in Winter (Closing Time) Howard Ellis Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1887-1962 Glendale, California | ca 1935 | oil on canvas exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

Brick Plant in Winter (Closing Time) by Howard Ellis
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1887-1962 Glendale, California, ca 1935. oil on canvas.

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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It is always lovely to spend a Friday with a mammoth. This one is the Moon Mammoth from Lake Pleasant near Erie showing its barely erupted third molars. PA State Museum, Harrisburg.

Carmel brown fossil mammoth jaw with many-plated teeth in a white steel museum cabinet drawer.

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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Schollenberg Rolling Mill Dismantled James Bonar Dumferline, Scotland 1864-1942 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1917 | oil on canvas exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

Schollenberg Rolling Mill Dismantled by James Bonar
Dumferline, Scotland 1864-1942 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1917. oil on canvas.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A very informative post by Brian Curtice digging into the Academy of Natural Sciences’ financials. Mostly confirms what we’ve been assuming, but backed up with actual numbers: www.fossilcrates.com/blogs/news/a...

fossilcrates.com

The Academy of Natural Sciences - A Financial Peek

The Financials Behind Why It Could Not Be SavedThe death spiral and the arithmetic of resurrection of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia Quick Background I study sauropod dinosaurs, most...

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Nicolas Wagner @paleonico.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Excited to share my new first-authored paper, now published in the @journalofanatomy.bsky.social! 🐘🦴 Using FEA, we reveal distinct biomechanical strategies in proboscidean humeri: robust forms better resist multidirectional stresses, while slender forms favour near-axial loading. 10.1111/joa.70234

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Society of Vertebrate Paleontology @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The 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

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Today’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

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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Company Row Alan Thompson South Shields, England 1908-2003 Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire | Date unknown | oil on masonite exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

Company Row by Alan Thompson
South Shields, England 1908-2003 Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, Date unknown. oil on masonite.

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Harriet B. Drage @harriedrage.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Interested in fossil arthropods, palaeoecology, dispersal, and interesting methods? 🦀 🌎 I'm hiring a 4-year, fully funded PhD student at the University of Geneva as part of my European Research Council (ERC) grant. Deadline: 16th October. Reach out if any questions! www.unige.ch/sciences/ter...

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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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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Looks familiar... should be a couple of foot bones and ribs too.

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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Yay! Another mastodon has re-entered the chat.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

New blog post: The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing—how we got here and what you can do. Probably nothing you haven't already heard, but increasing the signal to anyone who has missed the news. extinctmonsters.net/2026/09/05/a...

extinctmonsters.net

Academy of Natural Sciences museum to close

Bad news this week: on Tuesday, September 1st, the longest-operating natural history museum in the United States announced its imminent closure. The Academy of Natural Sciences (ANS) in downtown Ph…

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Baran Karapunar @barankarapunar.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I am thrilled to announce that I started as an Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at the Palaeontological Museum of the University of Zurich 😄 Here are the first fossils I inventorized, some lower Jurassic Palaeonucula from the Yorkshire Coast 🦪

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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Joe Petko Frank L. Melega Diamond, Indiana 1905-1977 Brownville, Pennsylvania | Date unknown | oil on canvas exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

Joe Petko by Frank L. Melega
Diamond, Indiana 1905-1977 Brownville, Pennsylvania, Date unknown. oil on canvas.

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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

River Scene Edith Goe Pearce Pennsylvania 1889-1975 Pinellas, Florida | 1936 | oil on masonite exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

River Scene by Edith Goe Pearce
Pennsylvania 1889-1975 Pinellas, Florida, 1936. oil on masonite.

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Thomas Flynn @nebulousflynn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I am proud to share the UK 3D Heritage Data at Risk project final report with you! 🔗 Link at the end of this thread.

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John (Jack) Williams @iceageecologist.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Excited to share a new paper in Scientific Data, that describes the efforts of the Neotoma Paleoecology Database, Open Context, and the Florida Museum's Environmental Archaeology Program to advance best practices in open data, following the FAIR and CARE Principles. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

Interweaving the CARE and FAIR Principles in Open Quaternary Data Resources: From reflection to initial action - Scientific Data

Scientific Data - Interweaving the CARE and FAIR Principles in Open Quaternary Data Resources: From reflection to initial action

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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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steidlebot.bsky.social @steidlebot.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Off-Hand Blowing Window Glass Edmund Marion Ashe New York, New York 1867-1941 Westport, Connecticut | Date unknown | oil on canvas exhibitions.psu.edu/s/EMSMuseum-Ste… #bsmuseums #artbot #pennstate

Off-Hand Blowing Window Glass by Edmund Marion Ashe
New York, New York 1867-1941 Westport, Connecticut, Date unknown. oil on canvas.

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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Oof. Air quality is a thing.

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Tim Fedak PhD @timfedak.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Starting to share some progress on Sketchy Fossils - graphic narratives about fossils, geology and palaeontology at edinos.ca/sketchy-foss...

edinos.ca

Sketchy Fossils - 1 - eDinos: Stones, Stories and Skeletons

Sketches that explore graphic narratives about fossils, geology and palaeontology.

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EcoMuseum of Scottish Mining Landscapes @mininglandscapes.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

New blog uploaded to our collection ‘Pithead’ by our project artist Yvonne Weighand Lyle that tells the story of her painting from its conception back in 1995 at Lady Victoria Colliery to its current Parliamentary Office home and all bits in between. For full story see www.mining-landscapes.org/blog

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