Joe Keating

We’ve finally discovered when sponges appeared on Earth | Natural History Museum New research has revealed the hidden early history of the sponges.

Did you know sponges are among the oldest animals on Earth? They're over half a billion years old!

New research has helped to narrow down when they first evolved - and it could reveal more about the first ever animals!

Find out more about these marine marvels 👇
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

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Homology?

Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history Sponges have a cryptic Ediacaran history because ancestral sponges were soft-bodied and had low fossilization potential.

Sponges are notoriously difficult to understand in evolutionary biology terms. I think this paper is a big step forward : www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Whoops, couldnt find your handle earlier. Go follow @meleonora-rossi.bsky.social

Earth's early sponges were soft: Scientists close fossil record gap Sponges are among Earth's most ancient animals, but exactly when they evolved has long puzzled scientists. Genetic information from living sponges, as well as chemical signals from ancient rocks, sugg...

A nice news summary here as well: phys.org/news/2026-01...
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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/...

Ammonite survival across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary confirmed by new data from Denmark - Scientific Reports We provide a reassessment of the hypothesis of ammonite survival across the Cretaceous–Paleogene (Maastrichtian–Danian) boundary, based on new data from the lower Danian Cerithium Limestone Member at ...

Earliest Cenozoic ammonoids:

Machalski, M., Olszewska-Nejbert, D., Landman, N.H. et al. Ammonite survival across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary confirmed by new data from Denmark. Sci Rep 15, 45802 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Errrr...

A bizzare christmas display of some total-group birds.

BBC Bristol on Instagram: "Hundreds of raw sausages have been dumped in St Jude's. This photo was taken at the end of last week, but many of them are still there. They've become a bit of a talking poi... 117K likes, 2,216 comments - bbcwest on December 9, 2025: "Hundreds of raw sausages have been dumped in St Jude's. This photo was taken at the end of last week, but many of them are still there. They'...

Worth checking out some of the comments here as well... Especially greggs_official.

www.instagram.com/p/DSDGF6Vk6z...

Hundreds of raw sausages fly-tipped near city centre Council leaders have urged people not to fly-tip in the area.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

a close up of a person holding a green beetle with pink eyes ALT: a close up of a person holding a green beetle with pink eyes

Finally, check out Anees Kathrada’s poster from his MSc with Jakob Vinther, Erik Tihelka and me: “The birds and the beetles? Beetle iridescence evolved as a defence against visual predators.” Be sure to stop by!

My summer undergraduate student Johnny Clavo Yamahuchi is up at 11:45 in Session 2B: “Can we reconcile molecular and morphological clock disparities in a group with a rich fossil record?”
Funded by a @thepalass.bsky.social Undergraduate Research Bursary, with colleagues @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social

Don’t miss Emily Driscoll’s talk, based on her MSc work with David Button and me. Session 2A, 11:15 — “Investigating the functional morphology of iguanodontian thumb spikes.”

two ostriches are standing in a field with an animal planet logo in the corner ALT: two ostriches are standing in a field with an animal planet logo in the corner

Excited to be at the @thepalass.bsky.social Annual Meeting in Portsmouth! I’m speaking tomorrow in Session 1 (10:15) on “Big Birds, Big Data: Palaeognath Phylogeny Tested Using Morphology, DNA & Ancient Collagen.” Coauthored with Ed Moody, Andrew Kitchener & Mike Buckley.

OPal is recruiting! We are looking for a Managing Editor and 2* Steering Committee members. Apply if you want to shape the future of open-access palaeo. Please share widely!

As a graduate of Geology with Palaeobiology from Leicester, I would be heartbroken to see the centre close, especially knowing the amazing work my colleagues continue to do there.

Please consider supporting this petition to save the Centre for Palaeobiology and Biosphere Evolution at the University of Leicester. Leicester palaeontologists have made huge contributions to the field, including identifying the first Ediacaran fossils and the conodont animal!
tinyurl.com/t3zesk88

An ontological morphological phylogenetic framework for living and extinct ray‐finned fishes (Actinopterygii) The ray-finned fishes include one out of every two species of living vertebrates on Earth and have an abundant fossil record stretching 380 million years into the past. The division of systematic kno...

Thread on today's paper, which is 3/4 from my dissertation on the evolution of fishes and using morphological data for phylogenetic analyses. Come with me, on a journey on phylogenetics and fishes.
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The official home of the Python Programming Language

TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
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Found the end of the rainbow. Its on the M5 just north of Exeter.

'Hundreds of ladybirds are taking over my house and have started peeing on me' A horrified woman shared a video of ladybirds swarming over her windows and walls after they invaded her home but it became too much when one had a smelly wee on her hand

www.mirror.co.uk/news/hundred...

Researchers Discover Shocking Truth About Chicago's 'Rat Hole' Ah, rats.

www.huffpost.com/entry/resear...

Police in Derbyshire solve mystery of crocodile found in canal The escapade seems to have entertained Derbyshire police's social media followers, with one commenting: "Brilliant! Really made me smile once it was revealed what it was!"

news.sky.com/story/police...

PalAss abstract accepted!
Here's a cheeky spoiler...

Reconstruction of an early shark relative, a fish with a blunt head and with fins supported by spines. Image by Plamen Andreev.

Images of growth of the bony plate of an early shark relative.

Living sharks have innumerable tiny scales, but their earliest relatives somehow grew larger bony plates. In our new Biology Letters @royalsocietypublishing.org, we work try and out how, arguing they grew by fusing and remodelling spines and scales.

doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...

Rest in Peace Pierre. I will miss your insights, humour and unwavering positivity.

Donate Now « Royal Saskatchewan Museum World's largest T. rex lives here. Two locations Regina, Saskatchewan and Eastend, Saskatchewan.

To donate, please visit: www.royalsaskmuseum.ca/donate/donate-now and indicate the "Pierre Cockx fund" in the notes field above the payment details. Your donations will be managed by the Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, a non-profit group supporting student research.