We still know nearly nothing about synapsid integument

In 2018, I attended a talk about end-Permian ecosystem collapse by Smith et al. (2018) at that year's Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference in Albuquerque. The presenter mentioned a mass Lystrosaurus death site from earliest Triassic South Africa. That in itself is cool, but he offhandedly mentioned some preserved some individuals with mummified skin - …

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Plate tectonics of the far future

As we should all know, the earth's plates are on the move. The theory of plate tectonics is a well-supported mechanism for the movement of the continents in deep time. It explains many prior observations about geology and biogeography, and can be directly observed today via GPS. It makes sense that therefore plate tectonics will …

How to start an ice age

Glaciations are neat - we're currently in one, and the subjects of my undergrad research lived in the previous one, the Late Paleozoic Icehouse. The Phanerozoic has seen three glaciations so far: the Ordovician Glaciation, the Late Paleozoic Icehouse, and the Cenozoic Ice Ages (glaciation, icehouse, and ice age are often used interchangeably). There were …

Fossil Cycad National Monument

Now somewhere in the black mining hills of Dakota, there lay a rich Cretaceous fossil plant site. The tale of this site is a tale of obsession, "petrified pineapples", theft, and one of the very few U.S. National Monuments that has not only been decommissioned, but also lost pretty much all protections it had. That's …

The evolution of stem-bird vocalization

I wrote this essay for a course on evolution last year. I've made a few edits and reproduced it here. Most tetrapods capable of vocalization, such as mammals, utilize vocal cords located within the larynx for this purpose (Senter, 2008). Birds, however, utilize an organ located at the base of the trachea: the syrinx. Unlike …

The paleocolor list

I apologize for the lack of updates. As you may or may not know, I presented my azhdarchoid phylogeny at the 1st Palaeontological Virtual Conference, and I've been trying to get something done with it elsewhere (fingers crossed!) And now for something completely different: paleocolor! For only a tiny fraction of fossil taxa do scientists …

The “molecular paleontology” list

And might as well publicize this list too while I'm at it. Preserved biomolecules in extinct taxa, such as DNA and proteins, are quite a fascinating topic. They allow scientists to place extinct taxa in molecular phylogenies, understand evolution of certain genes, and quantify prehistoric population dynamics. As well, hypothetically, sequences derived from ancient nuclear …

Fuzzy anurognathids!

Distribution of preserved pycnofibres in NJU-57003 (left) and CAGS-Z070 (right). From Yang et al. 2019 As you probably know, a recent paper reports complex branched filaments in two anurognathid specimens (Yang et al. 2019). While this hasn't been the first time branched pycnofibres have been reported (Czerkas and Ji 2002, Cincotta et al. 2016), this …

Pterosaurs of the Kem Kem Beds

Update 10/4/2022: This post is five years old and very outdated. A lot of newer research on Kem Kem pterosaurs has occurred since this post, including the naming of many new taxa. Do not use this as a source anymore. The Kem Kem Beds lie on the border of Morocco and Algeria. This formation produces …