WitmerLab at Ohio University

Photo of an 8-week-old kitten named Pinky on a shelf in WitmerLab among a number of skulls of thyreophoran dinosaurs. She is staring at Pinacosaurus. Tarchia is also pictured as are a couple stegosaurs. Her little body is blocking the skull of Gastonia.

Today is both #NationalKittenDay and #ThyreophoranThursday so here's another photo from when 8-week-old Pinky visited WitmerLab and shared a moment with Pinacosaurus. Also in attendance were Tarchia & a couple stegosaurs.
#PinkysDinosaurAdventure

Since some folks on social media seemed a little freaked about yesterday's vid ⬇️ of me rolling these skulls out of the lab so the floors could be cleaned & waxed, I'll use #NationalSelfieDay as an opportunity to show you that all is well! They're all back with no mishaps! 🦖

Here’s the “after” photo with the floors all nicely waxed and ready for us to mess them up again!

#FossilFriday Getting the floors cleaned & waxed in all the lab spaces is no small task, which is why it hardly ever happens. I had to move out everything I possibly could. Also forced some decisions on what got moved to the dumpster. Kinda fun to see freshly waxed floors again!

Images of the brain endocast of Pachyrhinosaurus lakustae in canonical views. From Witmer, L. M., and R. C. Ridgely. 2008. Structure of the brain cavity and inner ear of the centrosaurine ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus based on CT scanning and 3D visualization. Pp. 117–144 in P. J. Currie (ed.), A New Horned Dinosaur From an Upper Cretaceous Bone Bed in Alberta National Research Council of Canada Monograph Series, Ottawa. https://bit.ly/4jTiNJf

Stereoscopic images of the brain endocast of Pachyrhinosaurus lakustae shown within the transparent braincase (top) and at bottom, the braincase without the endocast to show the labeled foramina. From Witmer, L. M., and R. C. Ridgely. 2008. Structure of the brain cavity and inner ear of the centrosaurine ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus based on CT scanning and 3D visualization. Pp. 117–144 in P. J. Currie (ed.), A New Horned Dinosaur From an Upper Cretaceous Bone Bed in Alberta National Research Council of Canada Monograph Series, Ottawa. https://bit.ly/4jTiNJf

Hypothesis of facial integumentary (skin) structures in Pachyrhinosaurus showing various bones, histological slices, and restorations for a project led by Tobin Hieronymus as part of his PhD dissertation in our lab. From Hieronymus, T. L., L. M. Witmer, D. H. Tanke, and P. J. Currie. 2009. The facial integument of centrosaurine ceratopsids: morphological and histological correlates of novel skin structures. Anatomical Record 292:1370–1396. DOI:10.1002/ar.20985 https://bit.ly/447xCC1

Here are a couple more Pachyrhinosaurus images from our 2008 brain endocast article (bit.ly/4jTiNJf) as well as an image from the Hieronymus et al. 2009 facial integument article (bit.ly/447xCC1).

Loved the #WalkingWithDinosaurs ep on Pachyrhinosaurus. Didn't do anything for the show but provided brain endocast viz for the #WWD book from our 2008 pub—https://bit.ly/4jTiNJf. Here's also our Hieronymus et al. article on centrosaurine facial skin—https://bit.ly/447xCC1. More images in the reply⬇️

Digging the new #WalkingWithDinosaurs on PBS. Fun to see a 3D print of our T. rex brain endocast show up, plus a clip from a vid we did for a museum (youtube.com/watch?v=WcR2...). @kakapojay.bsky.social at the BBC contacted me in 2023 for permission. 3D print your own T. rex endocast: skfb.ly/Mqsq !

Happy #JurassicParkDay, marking the 32nd anniversary of the release of the original and arguably still the best film in the JP-JW series. It's a crazy world right now, so maybe it's healthy to take some time to celebrate the silly. And yes, my vintage JP puppet also has a vintage JP puppet! 🦖

Now here's a book to sink my teeth into! 🦖
#FossilFriday @markwitton.bsky.social

CT-based volume rendering of subadult Corythosaurus skull and neck with its brain endocast and expanding airway & sinuses within its narial crest. Research was published with David Evans and Ryan Ridgely in 2009 (https://bit.ly/3kh7fRG) but this is a new visualization.

Every day is #DinosaurDay for us, but here's an old friend, a young Corythosaurus, flirting with that difficult transition to adulthood, showing its brain endocast & expanding airway & sinuses within its narial crest. Published w/
@DavidEvans_ROM in 2009: bit.ly/3kh7fRG

A senior scientist (Witmer) stands in front of an old-fashioned radiographic light box holding a magnifying glass as he studies CT scan images on film of the holotype skull of the ankylosaur Edmontonia rugosidens (USNM 11868). On the surface in front of him is more x-ray film, three casts of other ankylosaur skulls, and a laptop displaying more modern CT scan data of a different specimen.

Color photographs of the holotype skull of the ankylosaur Edmontonia rugosidens (USNM 11868) in left lateral (top) and right lateral (bottom) views. Given the rudimentary nature of the digital cameras in 1998, these images were shot on color slide film and then scanned professionally.

Stereoscopic photographs of ventral views of the holotype skull of the ankylosaur Edmontonia rugosidens (USNM 11868). Given the rudimentary nature of the digital cameras in 1998, these images were shot on B&W film and then scanned professionally later. Stereopairs can be viewed with a special viewer or by kind of crossing your eyes (like with an old Magic Eye poster) to restore three dimensionality.

1998 was a still near enough to the dawn of the digital revolution that when I CT scanned this Edmontonia skull, I left with a big stack of film—no contrast adjustment, no 3D viz. But 27 years later, it's better than nothing when you gotta check out a feature or two. #FossilFriday

Really important review of dinosaur physiology out today led by @stephanopteryx.bsky.social & @paleofox.bsky.social w/
Jason Bourke & ‪‪@rockjock80.bsky.social‬‬: bit.ly/43I1gxJ. Cool to see this old ankylosaur friend as Figure 1, from a collab w/ former PhD students Jason Bourke & Ruger Porter.

Really important review of dinosaur physiology out today led by @stephanopteryx.bsky.social & @paleofox.bsky.social w/
Jason Bourke & ‪‪@rockjock80.bsky.social‬‬: bit.ly/43I1gxJ. Cool to see this old ankylosaur friend as Figure 1, from a collab w/ former PhD students Jason Bourke & Ruger Porter.

Two dinosaur specimens sit atop a cabinet in front of an open window. Pinky the cat glances at one of the dinosaur skulls when not looking out at the birds.

#FossilFriday Sometimes dinosaurs follow me home for research on a lovely spring day. Here are a ~2-year-old Tarbosaurus (3D print of MPC-D 107/7) and a subadult/teenage Tarbosaurus (cast of PIN 553-3/1, right half of braincase), with Pinky for scale. 🦖
#PinkysDinosaurAdventure

Sure, some dinosaurs could have had facial muscles akin to those of mammals. (Almost) anything’s possible, and dinosaurs were a diverse group with their own novelties. But for me it comes down to evidence. Is there evidence of such muscles? I’m always open to evidence-based inferences of novelty!

Nicely done! I count 17 different theropods (there’s a 3D print of part of Big Al next to the cast, which I don’t count). No Daspletosaurus (I wish!) but the others are spot on!

A chaotic assemblage of carnage-bringing theropods cover a table, providing a world-weary Witmer with solace in the joys of dinosaur anatomy.

As chaos and carnage seem to dominate the headlines these days, I sometimes seek sanctuary in the Mesozoic Era, when the chaos and carnage was somehow more comprehensible. #FossilFriday

Volume render of the microCT-scanned skull of a very young black bear cub in side view (above) along with (below) a simulated x-ray showing the replacement (adult) dentition within the jaws along with the deciduous (baby) teeth in place. Pro tip: For the lower image, I digitally deleted the left half of the skull so the right half would be clearer and not cluttered by the superimposition of left and right hand structures.

Volume-rendered images of the microCT-scanned skull of a very young black bear cub in (clockwise from top left), left rostrodorsolateral view, rostral (front) view, caudal (back) view, medial view of the left half of the skull after digital removal of the right half (sagittal section), ventral (bottom) view, and dorsal (top) view.

Volume renders of the baby black bear along with an adult male black bear, digitally replicating the analog photo image I presented previously and shared again in the next image.

Photo of the black bear cub skull along with the skull of an adult male black bear.

We microCT-scanned the young black bear cub we shared here last week. Undergrad Grace Vance's dissection was perfect so it's worth sharing here & eventually on MorphoSource. We had scanned the adult male skull years ago so for fun I recreated a digital version of the photo I had posted.🐻

CT-scan-based renderings of the tyrannosaur Gorgosaurus showing the transparent skull in dorsal & lateral views, revealing the brain endocast. Also shown is the braincase and the transparent braincase revealing the endocast and pneumatic sinuses.

Photo of lead author Jared Voris looking at a computer screen and holding a 3D print of a Gorgosaurus endocast. Coauthors Ryan Ridgely (standing) and Witmer (seated) surround Jared as all three contemplate the CT scan data..

Graphical abstract generated by Jared Voris for the Journal of Comparative Neurology showing the restored brain within the endocast of the youngest Gorgosaurus specimen next to an adult specimen with a big question mark where the brain would be...indicating that juvenile dinosaur endocasts are more brainlike than are those of adults.

Happy to contribute to this new #OA article in JCompNeurol led by Jared Voris @carnivoris.bsky.social on brain endocast ontogeny in the tyrannosaur Gorgosaurus. The @romtoronto.bsky.social specimen was helpful but Jared's work on the Tyrrell Museum specimens is stunning. 🦖
doi.org/10.1002/cne....

Finishing undergrad Peter Rhynard in his new Virginia Tech sweatshirt poses next to Big Al the Allosaurus (MOR 693), the focus of his honors thesis research.

Peter Rhynard using Amira to segment the skull of Big Al the Allosaurus (MOR 693) as part of his honors thesis research.

Peter Rhynard with Witmer in the exhibits at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, studying their Allosaurus specimen CM 11844. Thanks to Sarah Davis for the photo!

Peter Rhynard may be heading off to Virginia Tech for his PhD, but he's still repping Ohio University and WitmerLab!

Not only did OHIO Honors student Peter Rhynard finish his awesome honors thesis on Allosaurus, we're happy to announce that, after he graduates in a week or so, he'll be starting PhD work with Michelle Stocker at Virginia Tech! Peter's been a great lab member & we wish him all the best! 🦖

I gotta say, this cub was cute throughout all phases, even dissected and covered in dermestid larvae. (It’s true that my cute-animal standards may be broader than most.) 🥹

A very young black bear cub skeleton just came out of the dermestid colony, showing how expanded the braincase is—like most baby heads, it's mostly brain and eyeballs. Also note how unfused the bones are...check out the humerus and axis (vertebra C2) in the foreground.

This photo compares the cub skull to an adult male skull, dramatically emphasizing the transformation that takes place during growth: the face expands to house the dentition and the back of the skull is no longer dominated by the brain but rather by the huge jaw muscles that form a bony sagittal crest.

A very young black bear cub skeleton just came out of the dermestid colony, showing how unfused the bones are. Comparing the cub to an adult male really emphasizes the transformation that takes place during growth. Both carcasses were donated to us from ODNR a couple decades ago. 🐻

Composite image of a traditional chocolate Easter bunny with a 3D-rendered skull of a microCT-scanned domestic rabbit inserted into its chocolatey head.

#HappyEaster🐰 from your friends at WitmerLab!
A crunchy take on that traditional favorite this #Easter — now with added calcium!

Modified skulls but conservative brains? The palaeoneurology and endocranial anatomy of baryonychine dinosaurs (Theropoda: Spinosauridae) Spinosaurids were unusual large-bodied tetanuran theropods with semi-aquatic ecologies. The neuroanatomy of baryonychine spinosaurids has yet to be studied, and may inform about the early evolution o....

Our open access article on early spinosaur brains and senses, coauthored by myself, @neilgostling.bsky.social, @tetzoo.bsky.social, @witmerlab.bsky.social and others, is apparently a #TopViewedArticle in the Journal of Anatomy. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Congratulations to undergrad Peter Rhynard on completing his awesome OHIO Honors thesis! He generated a skull atlas for the "Big Al" specimen of Allosaurus (MOR 693) & compared paranasal sinuses between A. jimmadseni & A. fragilis. 🦖
Thx to Museum of the Rockies & the Carnegie Museum of Nat. Hist.

Nice! You scored John Lee Hooker’s Charcot Sessions! Sold out here ☹️

It’s always been a question whether any nonavian theropods barfed up the equivalent of an owl pellet. A “rex pellet” would be something to behold!

Pinky the kitten raises a paw against the mighty mandible of T. rex!

It's both #NationalPetDay & #FossilFriday, so here's Pinky and Tyrannosaurus rex. Which is the better pet? Pinky threw up in multiple places this morning, so the competition is closer than you might think! 🦖>🐱?
#PinkysDinosaurAdventure

Another great #OUStudentExpo with lab students presenting their thesis research! Grace Vance won 1st place for her work on seal vasculature & physiology, Peter Rhynard presented his work on Big Al the Allosaurus, & Daniel Dunfee presented his work on Dryosaurus! Well done, team!
@BobcatsDiscover

Masters student Daniel Dunfee stands at a podium to give a presentation on his thesis, standing in front of a slide that depicts him in the Carnegie Museum exhibit photographing the Dryosaurus mount.

Masters student Daniel Dunfee working at the on a bench in the collections of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Spread out before him are the fossils of the dinosaur Dryosaurus, as he writes in his notebook.

Masters student Daniel Dunfee posing in front of the wall of in situ dinosaur bones at the famous Carnegie Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

Congratulations to Daniel Dunfee in our lab who did an awesome job today defending his Ohio University master's thesis on the ontogeny of the braincase & endocast in the small ornithopod dinosaur Dryosaurus based on specimens collected from Dinosaur Natl. Monument at the Carnegie MNH. #FossilFriday