Heather F. Smith. Ph.D.

Paleo Connected 2025 was a truly excellent conference! Thanks to @anatomyorg.bsky.social and the awesome conference organizers. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the latest exciting paleo and ev bio research & connecting with the paleo community. @anatrecord.bsky.social was excited to participate.

This #FossilFriday, we're at Paleo Connected 2025! Looking forward to the exciting paleo presentations

A redescription of Glyptochelone suyckerbuykii (Ubaghs, 1879), an enigmatic fossil sea turtle (Chelonioidea) from the Maastrichtian of the Netherlands and Belgium, sheds new light on fossil sea turtle shell variation and neural bone homology - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology We here provide a redescription the Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) fossil marine turtle Glyptochelone suyckerbuykii to document its anatomy and intraspecific variation. This redescription highlights the complete absence of a nuchal pedestal, presence of a radiating shell surface texture pattern easily differentiated from that of coeval marine turtles, and the presence of interneural elements, a characteristic unique among Late Cretaceous turtles. A phylogenetic analysis suggests that Glyptochelone suyckerbuykii is located at the base of Dermochelyidae, a dubious result likely resulting from missing data. To allow constructing phylogenetic characters based on the presence of supernumerary neural elements, we suggest a revised classification for the midline column of the carapace of turtles based on novel homology criteria as consisting of neurals, which are outgrowths of the neural arches, as opposed to preneurals, interneurals, and postneurals, which are independent bones that form in front, within, and posterior to the neural column, respectively. We suggest use of this novel classification in future phylogenetic analysis.

Menon & Joyce 2025
A redescription of Glyptochelone, an enigmatic fossil sea turtle (Chelonioidea) from the Maastrichtian of the Netherlands and Belgium, sheds new light on fossil sea turtle shell variation and neural bone homology
Swiss J of Palaeontology 144: 62
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Putting the finishing touches on my talk for PaleoConnected 2025! Excited to present a new Cenomanian turtle fossil jaw, including detailed microCT segmentation of its extensive neurovascular canals.

The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada has learned this morning, Wednesday, October 1st, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away due to natural causes.

She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.

Preparing @anatrecord.bsky.social swag for the upcoming PaleoConnected 2025 conference at Mizzou!
Beautiful paleoart reconstructions by Henry Sharpe (pseudosuchians) and Adam Hartstone-Rose (sabretooth cat).

Fun night at Arizona Museum of Natural History's Rock on the Rock fundraiser. Excellent live music & science themed games! Proceeds will fund fieldwork, research, education, & new exhibits 🦖🐢🎶

I have the best students (who know me very well)!

We're pleased to share the abstracts from the 2025 International Symposium on Morphological Sciences held earlier this year in Lisbon, Portugal. It was an honor to sponsor and support this excellent conference:
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...

Phx folks, fundraiser for AZ Natural History Museum Sat 9/27. Come by to enjoy live music, local brews, science themed games & chat w/me & other paleontologists about fossils! Proceeds will fund fieldwork, research, education & new exhibits! 🎸🦖🎶🦕
www.arizonamuseumofnaturalhistory.org/get-involved...

We are excited to announce the publication of a new Special Issue "Looking into Chinese Fossils: Paleobiology, Evolution and Biodiversity" organized by Drs. He Chen, Tong Bao, & Hong Pang bringing together leading research institutions across China
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...

🐺 Happy to share our recent article, “The dire wolf resurrection that wasn’t”
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Thanks to my awesome co-authors Annie Burrows, Adam Hartstone-Rose, and Mike Jensen-Seaman!

Thanks to @asbmr.bsky.social for hosting a fantastic session on effective science communication today. My slides and resources can be found below. Please share with your research groups!
tinyurl.com/tku9xnfx

Really touched to receive an award for mentorship of student researchers from the medical school, “a professor who pursues knowledge, believes in students’ dreams with unwavering curiosity and dedication and mentors students to reach the next plateau”.

Neurals are positioned along the dorsal midline of the carapace

Hmm... It does have a neural look to it. Ctenochelyids are currently only known from North America, but it could be a different type of Pan-Chelonioid (marine turtle)

This #FossilFriday, a contingent from the Menefee Paleo Project is out scouting the field site in preparation for our upcoming fall field season.
Preview of a lovely osteoderm from Deinosuchus, a giant Late Cretaceous eusuchian (crocodyliform) that grew up to ~10.5 m in length.

New study on duck-billed dinosaur Huallasaurus australis reveals no evidence of invasive air sacs in Ornithischia. CT scans show dense vertebrae, suggesting these dinos used a “pelvic bellows” breathing system—unlike saurischians.
Aureliano et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Abstracts for the 2025 Western Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists conference held at the AzMNH have now been published in PaleoBios!
escholarship.org/uc/item/4x65...

Paleo folks, I highly recommend this fun conference. Serving on the host committee this year was a great experience!

📢 Call for Papers!
AR Special Issue: Evolution of Birth Difficulties

✨ Focus: Obstetrical dilemma, pelvic anatomy, neonatal & primate adaptations
📅 LOI: Sept 1 | 📝 Manuscript: Dec 1

Guest Editors: Nicole Torres Tamayo & Cédric Cordey
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/pb-assets/as...

Calling Midwest Anatomists and Paleontologists!
Deadlines Extended! Sept 1st for Talks and Posters! Sept 12th for registration. Look forward to seeing you here! @anatomyorg.bsky.social @paleosoc.bsky.social @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social

www.anatomy.org/.../Meetings...

🦖📢 Call for Papers!
The Anatomical Record Special Issue: South Asian Paleobiology 🌏

✨ Theme: Fossil vertebrates & evolution on a drifting continent
📅 LOI: Oct 1, 2025 | 📝 Manuscript: Dec 1, 2025

#Paleontology #Evolution #CallForPapers
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/pb-assets/as...

SVP abstract accepted! Looking forward to talking turtles with everyone in Birmingham 🐢

banner

Join us in congratulating AR's editor-in-chief, @heatherfsmith.bsky.social, and guest editors, Drs. Felipe L. Pinheiro, and @leonardokerber.bsky.social for winning an APEX award for special issue: The Dawn of an Era: Comparative and Functional Anatomy of Triassic Tetrapods!
@anatrecord.bsky.social

Our September issue is now live!
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...
The cover article by Sven Sachs et al. describes the early-diverging plesiosauroid Seeleyosaurus guilelmiimperatoris from the Lower Jurassic of Germany:
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

We're excited to be a sponsor the 2025 International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology. Dont miss our sponsored symposium "Kings and Queens of the Air: How Archosaurs Grew Wins and Controlled the Skies" on Friday August 8th 8:00-11:40am EDT.
www.xcdsystem.com/icvm/program...

If you’re attending #ICVM2025, don’t miss my co-author Leigha Lynch’s @squeacslab.bsky.social presentation on bony labyrinth morphology of North American river otters. Presentation streaming on demand & today Aug 7 at 2:55pm EDT www.xcdsystem.com/icvm/program...

The Menefee Paleontological Project submitted 3 abstracts for GSA 2025! Stay tuned to learn more about new Campanian assemblages of chondrichthyans & actinopterygians from Cliff House Sandstone. Goblin sharks, nurse sharks, angel sharks, rays, and more! 🦈🐟

My lab's awesome summer veterinary research scholars are off to a conference in Spokane to present the results of their summer projects dissecting and segmenting CT scans of the manus of the three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) and tamandua (Tamandua mexicana).

We are honored on #FossilFriday to receive an Apex publication award for our Special Issue on comparative and functional anatomy of Triassic tetrapods: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...
Editors Felipe Pinheiro, Flávio Pretto & Leonardo Kerber. Cover artwork by Márcio L. Castro