Richard Dearden

Diversity of tooth mineralisation patterns at the base of crown chondrichthyans Communications Biology - The study of three in situ preserved chondrichthyan tooth files reveals histological and developmental disparity at the stem of crown chondrichthyans and provides insights...

Our work on the histology and mineralization patterns of 3 Devonian chondrichthyan taxa from Morocco is finally out now! I am very happy to share this work and hope there will be more to come about early shark tooth histology!
Thanks to all my co-authors, especially Hector Botella!
rdcu.be/e34zE

The Brymbo Fossil Forest is offering students the chance to get involved in palaeontological excavations of a Carboniferous fossil forest in North Wales. QR code on image directs to further details.

🚨 UK Student Palaeo Research Opportunity 🚨

Brymbo Fossil Forest are offering students the chance to get involved in active palaeontology research & excavations ⚒️ at a unique #Carboniferous fossil site in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 - See below for more details ⬇️

#Paleontology #Geology #Fieldwork #FossilFriday #ECR

I'm really thrilled to see the "Cromhall Croc" finally getting the attention it deserves! Please welcome Galahadosuchus jonesi, named after Ewan's school science teacher, who inspired his love of the natural world ♥️
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

JOB ALERT! Lecturer in Biological Sciences Come and join us in the world class Life Sciences Building at the University of Bristol! Closing date: Sunday 8 March

JOB ALERT! Lecturer in Biological Sciences Interested in our research areas? Click the link in our bio to discover more! Closing date: Sunday 8 March

JOB ALERT!

We are excited to announce that we are recruiting three new academics at lecturer level!

Click the link below for more info on how to apply, and don’t forget to explore our research themes too!

We look forward to receiving your applications!

www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

The Palaeontographical Society are seeking new council members for 2026. We are seeking nominations for: Vice-president, Editor, Treasurer and Ordinary Member. Nominations should include a paragraph outlining why you are interested in the role. Further details can be found here: https://www.palaeosoc.org/latest-news/seeking-treasurer-and-members-of-council/ or by contacting secretary@palaesoc.org / existing council members.

We're seeking new Council members!

We’re seeking nominations for:
• Vice-President
• Treasurer
• Editor
• Ordinary Member

Help us to shape the future of palaeontological research and publishing. Interested? Get in touch to learn more or nominate a candidate.

#Palaeontology #AcademicService

Job Opportunity at the RVC: Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences We have an exciting opening for up to two academics at Lecturer or Senior Lecturer level to join the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at our Camden campus.  The posts are suitable for res...

2 RVC faculty jobs are advertised now!
Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences
Comparative Biomedical Sciences Department
Location: Camden (King's Cross, London)
Very broad search in the CBS department's remit
jobs.rvc.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
EDI-friendly

✨ Calling all PalAss members & future members! ✨

👉 Explore all opportunities here: palass.org/awards-grant...

Not a PalAss member yet? You’re very welcome to join us!
🔗 palass.org/membership

Please share with colleagues and students who might benefit 💬✨

#PalAss #grant #palaeontology #join

Photographs of palynomorphs and other fossil fragments extracted from sediments of the Lower Devonian Strathpeffer-Struie sequence from the Northern Highlands of Scotland. Clockwise from top: Emphanisporites foveolatus and an un-named sphaeromorph from the Moy Formation (scale bar 20 microns); Cymbosporites, Latosporites (in the centre of the image) and Diboliporites eifeliensis from the Moy Formation (scale bar 20 microns); a scorpion pectinal tooth (larger image at bottom right; scale bar 150 microns); Prototaxites sp and an un-named banded tube (scale bar 120 microns); and a bundle of filaments (scale bar 60 microns). The red rectangle in the upper right corner is a cover image for the journal Papers in Palaeontology.

Unusual biota and palynofacies of a Lower Devonian intermontane basin saline lake–playa mudflat ecosystem onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology

If you want to the nice TLDR of our new paper check out Rob’s great thread on it!

by Nobu Tamura

New paper story time. 👁️🐟🦴🩻
Here is your gormless jawless relative Jamoytius:
[1/8]

My new paper is out today!
With @fossilrob.bsky.social looking at Silurian jawless fish (obvs)

With the SLAC synchrotron we find evidence for true bone in these squishy fish AND camera eyes - a nice kismet moment with that great recent Nature paper

Early vertebrate eyes are SO HOT right now!

⚠️After a fantastic 69th PalAss meeting in Portsmouth, we’re thrilled to announce what’s next! 🎉✨

📅 The 70th Annual Meeting
📍 Oxford 🏛️
🗓 8–11 December 2026 

📌 Mark your calendars, spread the word, and keep an eye out 👀 — more details coming soon! 🚀

#PalAss26 #oxford #conference

Early sponges lacked [mineralised] skeletons.
New paper led by M. Eleonora Rossi. Great to have contributed alongside colleagues from @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social , @nhm-london.bsky.social and @mncn-csic.bsky.social.
Read it here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Restoring nature and reversing biodiversity loss are urgent societal challenges. Utrecht University invites applications for an Assistant Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Nature Restoration. In this role, you contribute to help solve these challenges through research and education by linking fundamental wildlife ecology to biodiversity recovery and nature restoration. As an Assistant Professor, you will join a young, enthusiastic team that is eager to make an impact. You will help strengthen the team’s mission to connect fundamental wildlife ecology with the challenges of nature restoration in human-dominated multifunctional forest landscapes, especially in north-western Europe. Your research will focus on restoration-relevant themes, such as wildlife responses to anthropogenic change, the effectiveness of conservation interventions, and the contribution of wildlife to biodiversity recovery and nature restoration. Close collaboration with colleagues within and beyond Utrecht University is an important part of this role, as well as building sustainable partnerships with conservation practitioners and policymakers. You will combine fieldwork, experiments and biomonitoring (e.g. using sensor technologies) with laboratory, statistical and theoretical approaches. There is ample opportunity to initiate research projects and to acquire funding. In education, you will teach in the Biology programs, develop and coordinate a new course, and supervise research projects of BSc, MSc and PhD students.

Are you a PhD-level #wildlife ecologist committed to research and education for #biodiversity and nature restoration?
Our group at @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social has a #vacancy for an assistant professor!
Deadline for applications is February 19.
Please spread the word.
www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

CT Data and Micro CT Specialist :South Kensington

JOB KLAXON! The @nhm-london.bsky.social is recruiting a micro-CT specialist! jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Aerial view of the Jibal al‑Khashabiyeh desert kite : a system of stone walls constituting an anclosure were wild animals were trapped

1/ Last week I attended to a conference entilted "Interactions between human societies and marine invertebrates" (I love how niche and obscure these meetings are), and I learned about the Neolithic desert kites, these huge traps in Middle East.

The link with marine inverts ? A quick thread ! 🦑🏺

Out now: latest addition to the Grande volume! Guang-Hui Xu reevaluates Guizhoubrachysomus from the Middle Triassic of southern China. Interpreted as a "luganoiid" in the past, this work argues Guizhoubrachysomus is instead an early dapediid, a group most famous from Jurassic deposits of Europe.

As we head into the festive period, don't forget to apply for my awesome project (including much cleverer co-supervisors) on flowering plant (genome) evolution by January 8. You know you'll regret it if you don't! 🎄🧑‍🎄🔔🎁☃️❄️

Festive update on chondrichthyan jaw evolution: Evolution of chondrichthyan jaw morphology, from ecological generalists to specialists, led by Ben Griffin, with help from @evopalaeo.bsky.social @euphanerops.bsky.social @emilyrayfield.bsky.social Pablo Milla Carmona and Zerina Johanson

Two time series of decay, showing the decomposition of a sea anemone (top) and shrimp (bottom) over 72 and 144 hours respectively.

Absolutely delighted to be a recipient of the @thepalass.bsky.social Annual Meeting Poster Prize at #Palass25! It was a pleasure to discuss our new taphonomic approaches with so many of you all.

Adaptive radiation of pelagiarian fishes at the K/Pg boundary led to rapid diversification of mandible morphology Abstract. Mandibles represent a key evolutionary innovation that has enabled jawed vertebrates to adapt and diversify in response to a range of food source

New paper! Here we look at shape evolution of the mandible in Pelagiaria, a group of open-ocean fishes that includes tuna and mackerel. We find that shape disparity accumulated rapidly at the origin of the clade at around the K/Pg boundary... academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

#Yourpalaeolife Part II: the PI perspective Hello everybody! Welcome to the second part of this anonymous survey about field work in palaeontology - this time, we want to hear from ESTABLISHED CAREER PALAEONTOLOGISTS (more than 5 years post-PhD...

#YOURPALAEOLIFE IS BACK! But we’re a bit different this time - If you're an established researcher, over 5 years post-PhD, it’s time to shine. Tell us about your field work ambitions, triumphs and (rock-) crushing disappointments.
#whenthestudentsaway #thePIgetstoplay

forms.gle/etx3gqg7DWZb...

🌟 Today — Thursday 11th December 🌟
👩‍🔬👨‍🔬 Palaeontological Association (PalAss) 2025 Annual Meeting – Early-Career Researcher Workshop & Social
📍 University of Portsmouth, UK

📌 Schedule
🕐 13:00 – 14:00 — Registration (Portland Building)
🧑‍🔬 14:00 – 17:00 — Workshop: “Learning from experience: [1/2]

⏳ Just 2 days left until our 69th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association in Portsmouth!
🎉 We’re excited to see you there!
🔗 palass.org/annual-meeti...

#PalAss25 #conference #portsmouth #palaeontology

⏳ Only 3 days left until the 69th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association kicks off in Portsmouth, UK! 🇬🇧🦕
We can’t wait to see everyone there!
🔗  palass.org/annual-meeti...

#conference #palaeontology #PalAss2025

🚨 Apply to host the PalAss Exceptional Lecturer! Dr Yara Haridy from the University of Chicago, USA can give a talk entitled "Deep time origins of your skeleton and the evolution of bone disease" either at your institution or online. [1/2]

Could I ask you to please take a moment to sign and share this. Education matters, and needs to be fought for.
Thank you.

www.change.org/p/save-geolo...

Unlocking Palaeo-Historical Biodiversity Data to Inform Ecological Baselines through AI at University of Reading on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Unlocking Palaeo-Historical Biodiversity Data to Inform Ecological Baselines through AI at University of Reading, listed on FindAPhD.com

Interested in Historical Ecology and Conservation Palaeobiology? 🪸🦀

Steve Pates and I are offering a PhD project on Unlocking Palaeo-Historical Biodiversity Data to Inform Ecological Baselines @es-ucl.bsky.social
@uclcber.bsky.social

🗓️ Apply by 19th January 2026

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Curator of Natural Sciences - Warwick,Warwickshire job with Warwickshire County Council | 250490 About Heritage and Culture Warwickshire Heritage and Culture Warwickshire (HCW) provide a wide range of services that help local communities and ...

Curatorial job with significant geological and palaeontological collections at Warwick Museums.

www.wmjobs.co.uk/job/250490/c...