If you ever want to read a paper for free and can't find it otherwise, email the lead author and politely ask for a copy. You will not be bothering the person. You will in fact make their whole entire day. I have had scientists get so excited I asked they sent me everything they ever published.
04.03.2026 02:17 — 👍 1656 🔁 526 💬 14 📌 30
Keepin' that average down 💪🏽
🦟 Animal #946 🐬
I figured it out in 5 guesses!
🟧🟩🟩🟩🟩
🔥 4 | Avg. Guesses: 5.2
metazooa.com
#metazooa
Twitch screenshot of me in my office. Behind me are a life-sized 3D print of a gigantic Archelon rear flipper, plus a 1/3 size leatherback turtle, some ammonites, and some framed figures related to marine turtle evolution
It's a #TurtleTuesday stream today on #Twitch, wherein we'll be discussing the evolution of sea turtles (including my beloved LEATHERBACK) as well as whatever else the good folks in the chat are curious about.
Join us in paleontological camaraderie @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing
When you're clever about these things, it makes it easier to get lucky 😉
🐹 Animal #945 🪿
I figured it out in 3 guesses!
🟨🟨🟩
🔥 3 | Avg. Guesses: 5.2
metazooa.com
#metazooa
Twitch screenshot of me in my office, surrounded by various stop motion dinosaur film posters, framed photos of Willis O'Brien, and a 3D-printed Brontosaurus à la King Kong
140 years ago today, stop motion animation pioneer WILLIS O'BRIEN was born right here in Oakland, California.
We'll be talking all about his work & legacy on today's #paleontology stream on #Twitch — and how he introduced dinosaurs to a wide audience through his films
🦕 twitch.tv/paleontologizing
I'll be there!
02.03.2026 17:15 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Photo of four books in a stack: Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin; "Young Illustrated Classics" adaptation of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville; My Beloved Brontosaurus by Riley Black; and The Human Evolution Coloring Book by Adrian L Zihlman
THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S HUNGER FOR NATURAL HISTORY IS INSIATIABLE
"PLEASE!" they say, "GIVE US MORE! WE MUST FEED OUR SENSE OF WONDER WITH MUSINGS ON HUMANKIND'S PLACE IN NATURE!"
Spot on, @bobkopp.net.
“…saving American climate science—and American science in general—requires that the community discard the myth of political neutrality, engage in a concerted defense of liberal democracy, and stand in solidarity with this administration’s other targets.”
I am specifically decrying *American* imperialism and you're trying to distract with whataboutism. Please don't come into my mentions and derail. It's rude and unhelpful.
01.03.2026 16:20 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Modern Russian imperialism is a byproduct of American imperialism.
macmillan.yale.edu/reees/events...
Not voicing it feels cowardly, so I'll say it:
American imperialism is a death cult.
Greed, exploitation, and WAR — like we're seeing now — are its sacraments. It's driven multiple species to extinction already, with more to follow. If current trends continue, it will doom the human species too.
I went to Crissy Field this morning in hopes of seeing some marine mammals — and while I didn't encounter any this huge, I spotted a bunch of harbor porpoises, several common dolphins, and the largest harbor seal I've ever seen.
This place is such a gem
(To be clear though, I literally *can* wait, patiently, and I hope you're taking all the time you need. Bradley's illustrations were a big part of my childhood too, and I'm thrilled that you're working on this. Good things take time!)
28.02.2026 22:49 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
I'd say "don't let the bastards get you down," but that might sound trite. Find solace where you can, take your time, and know that other folks are there too, feeling the same way you are.
We're excited to see your article when you're done — I know I can't wait to admire the JPI art in high res!
Photo of me, wearing a leather jacket and some binocular straps, next to a replica of a large fossil sea turtle. The skull is large compared to the body, much like in a loggerhead turtle, but the upper shell (carapace) has large open spaces between the ribs, calling to mind the hyper-reduced carapace of Dermochelys coriacea, the modern leatherback turtle. Opinions are still divided as to whether these Cretaceous protostegids are related to today's leatherback turtles, or whether they represent an entirely separate family of marine turtles.
For this week's #FossilFriday, here's me and a fossil protostegid cast at @oaklandzoo.bsky.social
Protostegids (such as the famously gigantic Archelon) are a group of sea turtles from the Cretaceous which *might* be close relatives of the modern leatherback turtle.
Note the reduced carapace 👀
Well, well, well... pretty good today!
🐲 Animal #941 🐬
I figured it out in 4 guesses!
🟧🟩🟩🟩
🔥 4 | Avg. Guesses: 5.2
metazooa.com
#metazooa
Twitch screenshot of the "CAT CAM," with longhair domestic cat Sweetie Pie glowering into the lens as I brush her. There's various theropod dinosaur (including bird) miscellanea on the wall behind us
We're talkin' early dinosaur jumping ability, oceanic amphibians (!) and more on today's #paleontology #Twitch stream -- and you're free to join us @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing
We'll likely be having LOTS of feline interruptions as well, so don't worry about being disruptive with your own questions
The Cambrian Identity
The Cambrian Supremacy
The Cambrian Ultimatum
THANK YOU! I hadn't seen the email yet
26.02.2026 05:13 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
a procession of glowing golden plesiosaurs drift across a road through a conifer forest
pictures I painted at 3 am
3/4 „Procession“
Down to an average of 5.2 guesses, though! 💪🏽
25.02.2026 22:57 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
It was a 50/50 shot at the last turn, and I guessed wrong. Still, four guesses ain't bad
🐕 Animal #940 🐴
I figured it out in 4 guesses!
🟥🟥🟧🟩
🔥 3 | Avg. Guesses: 5.2
metazooa.com
#metazooa
Twitch screenshot of the "CAT CAM" as Sweetie Pie headbutts my face
We've got #paleontology news (and feline interruptions) galore on today's #Twitch stream — from theropods running like birds to alvarezsaur phylogeny shake-ups and four-eyed chordate ancestors 👓
Join us @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing
I squandered that first guess, but this still isn't too bad
🐳 Animal #939 🦎
I figured it out in 6 guesses!
🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟩
🔥 2 | Avg. Guesses: 5.3
metazooa.com
#metazooa
Twitch screenshot of me in my office. There's a slightly goofy pterosaur LED light on the wall behind me, as well as a lovely poster showcasing amniote phylogeny, as well as a huge Allosaurus skull 3D print (and a little life-sized Scelidosaurus skull print, too)
It's a casual #paleontology Q&A stream today on #Twitch, and we'll be trying to identify and remedy some common public misconceptions about dinosaurs and Earth history.
Feel free to join us and chat @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing
Selfie photo of me and UCMP's Tyrannosaurus and Pteranodon skeleton casts
Broadcast is going to be late today
(catching up with some old friends this morning)
Nine is pretty darn good for a first time! Especially since they give you twenty guesses
24.02.2026 02:52 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Got this one *just* before Metazooa reset for the day. Not my best showing, but not the worst either
🦗 Animal #938 🐝
I figured it out in 6 guesses!
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟩🟩
🔥 1 | Avg. Guesses: 5.3
metazooa.com
#metazooa
Twitch screenshot of me in my office. Behind me on the wall are a life-sized 3D-printed Spinosaurus dorsal vertebra and Baryonyx claw, plus various framed prints of spinosaur- and phylogeny-related images
We're talking more about Spinosaurus mirabilis today, and also discussing why #paleontology is important to modern society — and what paleontologists can do to improve public understanding of our science.
Join us and chat @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing
Photo of small-ish plant-eating dinosaur's skull on exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Here's a Thescelosaurus skull at DMNS for #FossilFriday — one of the better skulls of this dinosaur I've seen. Apparently this one is going off exhibit soon, so I'm glad I was able to catch it last week
20.02.2026 14:04 — 👍 47 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0