James Ashway

Starfish-killing bacteria revealed as cause of biggest undersea disease outbreak | Natural History Museum The cause of sea star wasting disease has been identified, offering hope that the epidemic might be overcome.

There's a glimmer of hope for these threatened starfish
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Bizarre new fossil reptile had crest unlike anything seen before | Natural History Museum Mirasaura grauvogeli is changing our understanding of reptile evolution.

If you're looking for a new fossil favourite, Mirasaura is a strong contender!
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Half-a-billion-year-old fossil could be earliest known arachnid | Natural History Museum The oldest signs of a spider-like brain have been found in an ancient marine fossil called Mollisonia.

Preserved sign of the brain inside a 500-million-year-old fossil could be signs of the oldest known arachnid
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Earliest moments of planet formation seen for the first time | Natural History Museum Among the hot clouds of gas are signs of the first stage of planets coming into being.

One from last week - the dawn of a solar system captured for the first time
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Giant ichthyosaurs evolved stealthy flippers to sneak up on prey | Natural History Museum One of the first known ichthyosaurs, Temnodontosaurus, was a covert ocean predator.

The structure of these enormous animals' flippers was similar to an owl's wing, helping ichthyosaurs to soar silently beneath the waves
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

The first dinosaurs might have been bigger than expected | Natural History Museum A fossil of an extinct reptile known as a silesaur suggests that the size of early dinosaurs might have been underestimated.

Early dinosaurs might actually have shrunk as they evolved, rather than getting bigger
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Complex animals living millions of years before the Cambrian Explosion revealed by seabed tracks | Natural History Museum The Cambrian Explosion may have been less of a burst of evolution, and more of a final flourish.

This was really cool to write about - by studying tracks, we can work out a lot about how animals behaved and what they look like even if their bodies don't survive!
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Ancient bone-eating worms ate mosasaur, ichthyosaur and plesiosaur skeletons | Natural History Museum Bone-eating worms have been cleaning up the ocean floor for over 100 million years.

What did bone worms eat before whales? Marine reptiles!
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

The Fifth Doctor painted by Alister Pearson - print signed by Peter Davison | eBay UK Alister then asked the editor of the DWAS magazine CELESTIAL TOYROOM if the event and award would be featured in the next issue.

Signal boosting the auction for a print of Alister Pearson's artwork that he kindly agreed to be on the back of the last CT - all proceeds going to a good cause!
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15714495...

Fossil halves separated for 90 years are a new species of reptile | Natural History Museum Sphenodraco scandentis is a relative of lizards that would have climbed among the trees in ancient Jurassic forests.

What happens when you split a fossil apart for almost a century? Eventually, you get a new species!

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Here's @jamesashway.bsky.social's story on the specimen. It's beautifully mounted. Come see it if you are in London. www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

We’re delighted to announce that CT 553 is now available for download free of charge. Please visit www.dwasonline.co.uk/latest_issue

We’ll be taking orders for the printed version from Wednesday onwards.

CT is edited by James Ashway.

What Jaws gets wrong about great white sharks | Natural History Museum Jaws’ depiction of sharks hasn’t aged as well as the film itself.

50 years ago today, Jaws was first unleashed on cinemas!

But while it's a great piece of film, it perpetuated a variety of myths and misconceptions about sharks.

With the help of one of our shark experts, I took a deep dive into the film 👇
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/wha...

Early pterosaur fossils are hard to find – and we might now know why | Natural History Museum Early pterosaurs loved temperate and humid habitats – and it might explain why their fossils are hard to find today.

Also in fossil news, the hunt for early pterosaurs might need to move elsewhere!
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Sharing ideas might have helped Homo sapiens adapt for life outside Africa | Natural History Museum As humans adapted to new environments, they might have better able to share ideas with other groups.

It's been a busy month - and there's lots of exciting stuff on the way!

However, I'm slowly getting back into the regular news groove - and here are a couple which are out today.

Firstly - how did our species adapt before spreading around the world?
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Glaciers could take centuries to recover from climate change overshoot | Natural History Museum Some of the world’s largest glaciers may take thousands of years to regrow if global temperatures breach 1.5ºC of warming.

And hot off the press, bad news for glaciers:
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Earliest reptile footprints could be the first known signs of true terrestrial life | Natural History Museum Amniote tracks uncovered in Australia have been dated to 356 million years ago.

Next up - what could be the first known reptile footprints have been unearthed in Australia!
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

New species of ancient Cambrian predator named after Mothra | Natural History Museum Discovered in Canada, Mosura fentoni is more than half a billion years old.

A few pieces from me in the past week - firstly, meet Mothra's 500-million-year-old cousin!
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Join Emma and me for a first look at our new exhibition!

Tyrannosaurus rex’s ancestors were predatory Asian dinosaurs | Natural History Museum The ‘king’ of the dinosaurs might not be the all-American predator it appears to be.

#ICYMI - some dino news from me from last week:
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

The State of the World’s Seaweeds: Our algal allies are under threat | Natural History Museum A new initiative aims to change the fate of seaweeds for the better.

Last but not least - seaweeds need some love:

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

New fossil shark named from ancient skeleton discovered in southern England | Natural History Museum A hidden remnant of the UK’s distant past has shed new light on the evolution of sharks.

Sharks have been around for hundreds of millions of years - and Pararhincodon torquis is one of the newest discoveries:

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Early British lizard relative among the first known to climb trees | Natural History Museum Marmoretta oxoniensis was a climber, not a swimmer.

Marmoretta oxoniensis has had its lifestyle turned upside down:

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Denisovan jawbone helps to reveal appearance of ancient human species | Natural History Museum The fossil expands the Denisovan's known range by thousands of kilometres and provides new insights into how this species looked.

We now know a little more about the Denisovans - and what they might have looked like:

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

The dark side of the Moon is surprisingly dry | Natural History Museum The first samples returned from the far side of the Moon suggest it's 10-100 times drier than the side nearer Earth.

It also turns out the 'dark' side of the Moon is really dry - and it's not quite clear why:

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Ancient human DNA from north Africa reveals hidden history of the Sahara | Natural History Museum New research is shedding light on the lives ancient humans who lived in a lush and green Sahara Desert.

Been busy with holidaying and a few other bits and pieces recently - but here's what I've been writing recently.

First up - DNA in the Sahara is shedding light on a lost ecosystem:

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Pollution and deforestation pushing fungi towards extinction | Natural History Museum Fungi are critically important organisms, and yet we know very little about them.

Just 0.052% of the estimated 2.5 million species of fungi have made it to the IUCN Red List. We need to speed things up, because many species are in trouble...
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Ancient galaxy shines through the clouds of the early universe | Natural History Museum New observations have revealed early signs of UV light illuminating the cosmos more than 13 billion years ago.

Busy week, but still found the time to get a couple of articles done! First up - an ancient galaxy is doing something surprising over 13 billion years ago:
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Fossil of ancient crustacean gathering reveals new insights into their lives | Natural History Museum Rare evidence about cyclidan crustaceans has been uncovered in the USA, revealing more about how they behaved.

And hot on the heels of that, ancient crustaceans sheltering together over 300 million years ago:
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

World’s oldest known cerapodan dinosaur discovered in Morocco | Natural History Museum The earliest example of an important group of plant-eating dinosaurs has been found in North Africa.

A pair of fossil stories from me this week - first up, the oldest known relative of Iguanodon, Pachycephalosaurus and Triceratops has been described:
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...