Matt Friedman

Stylized black fish set within a triangular frame. Background of the tile is orange-brown.

Fantastic tile featuring an early bony fish with strong Cheirolepis vibes. One of many stylized animals on the floor of the entryway rotunda at the KU Natural History Museum.

Xiphactinus audax

The Big Angry Fish that Ate Kansas

No, not yet. I'm unsure if I should be sad or relieved about that.

Tower of Dyche Hall, home of the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, in fading evening light.

Rock Chalk etc.

Gray stone roofing slates seen above a cottage entry clad in honey colored Cotswold stone.

Yup! Tried to get a better look, but much of it was too high for a decent view.

Hash of broken marine invertebrate hard parts in a golden colored limestone.

Articulated bivalve fossil in cross section.

Quaint stone cottage.

A window into the English Jurassic . . . in Michigan. This 17th century stone cottage from the Cotswolds was relocated to Greenfield Village by Henry Ford in 1930. Marine fossils including bivalves and echinoderms are easy to find in its walls.

New study reveals surprising jaw diversity in early ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)!
Using XCT, researchers analyzed mandibles of 19 Devonian species—showing considerable variation in size, structure, and teeth.
Research by Ben Igielman et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Elliptical fossil preserved in tan rock. Raised features on the surface of this mold record different aspects of internal anatomy.

For #FossilFriday, the Silurian jawless fish ("ostracoderm") Americaspis. Mold of inner surface of dorsal shield w/ features marking position of gills (paired series of elliptical shapes), inner ear (the " > <" between the branchial features), and pineal gland (small prominence on the midline).

University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology in the "news" again 🤣

Small metal fluid tank with a variety of preserved sharks.

Variety pack.

V. dapper.

Hand holding a model of a jawless fish.

Coming to a Silurian display case near you.

Fossil fish bones mounted in lined depressions in a block of foam.

V. satisfying cavity mount.

What I said earlier.

Y’all!!! Our comparative anatomy textbook is out!!! Free, open access, and just in time for the fall semester!

Lepidaspis by Nobu Tomura

New palaeo-PhD opportunity! Will you be the one to figure out the anatomy and function of fossil jawless fish? Come join the team! Application Deadline August 22nd, funding for UK student only (sorry)
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Display case with large text "What were they thinking? Revealing ancient minds."

Close-up of components of display, showing photograph of Dean Falk and one of Dean's notebooks.

Close-up of display showing a variety of endocasts.

Close-up of case featuring materials relating to the Taung Child.

New exhibit @ U-M Museum of Natural History highlights Dean Falk, U-M alum and prominent scholar of hominin brain evolution. A few years ago, Dean donated her outstanding reference collection of endocasts to the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology. UMMP assisted with photogrammetry & 3D printing.

Large fragments of a pectoral girdle and fin in a cardboard tray.

Monday fish bits.

Plastic fish skeleton on plaque reading "BIG MOUTH BILLY BONES." When activated, it wiggles and "sings." Loudly.

Important (re)acquisition.

Brown toothy mosasaur jaw on a red tablecloth

I've been working hard on preparing out Winnie the mosasaur for #FossilFriday so here is a good portion of the lower jaw

Not only is it huge for a low chalk plioplatecarpine at 22 inches (56cm) long, it has a pathological hole as well on the bottom of the surangular 🧪

This is one of the most stunning crinoids in my collection. Gennaeocrinus mourantae from the Devonian Arkona Fm. of Ontario. A large pocket of these were found decades ago and very few have been found since.

#FossilFriday

A Shortnose Gar headshot is pictured against the backdrop of the Minnesota River. Obviously on the lookout for potential GARduate students.

JOIN US!!!

@garlab.bsky.social is looking for a PhD and MS student to join our team studying ecology & conservation of gars, bowfin, and other non-game native fishes beginning Spring 2026!

Posting & more info coming soon. Please DM or email srdavid@umn.edu with CV if interested!

The research lab space continues to get upgraded. Finally got my Brian Engh art prints hung up! Depictions of the Kayenta Fm (Sarah’s Fish Bed), Aquilops, and the Chinle Fm (featuring several fishies I described!).

Brian’s a great paleoartist, check out his work: www.livingrelicproductions.com

Unsolicited listicle: My list of the most criminally underused/underappreciated phylogenetic comparative methods. Note, I am not involved in ANY of these methods; but I see them as things people are often asking of comparative data but have been surprised at how infrequently they have been cited.

Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, Careers At Field Museum Position Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Zoology FLSA Status Exempt Department Negaunee Integrative Research Center Our Mission Since the 1893 World Columbian Exposition our organization has aimed...

A rare job opportunity for Invertebrate Zoology: fieldmuseum.hrmdirect.com/employment/j...

Devonian ray-finned fishes were not particularly species rich, particularly compared to their lobe-finned cousins. This implies early actinopts might've also been anatomically monotonous. But a deep dive into their jaw anatomy w/ µCT reveals subtle but important structural diversity.

I'll have more info in a few weeks when I get back from fieldwork but I'll be recruiting 2 graduate students to begin in 2026 (1 PhD, 1 MS). My lab investigates macroevolutionary dynamics using phylogenetic methods & the fossil record. Please share with students having strong research interests!

Panels c-f of Figure 1 depicting the lower jaw of Devonian actinopterygian Gogosardina coatesi

Curious about Devonian actinopterygian lower jaws? Look no further--our new paper provides comprehensive descriptions for 19 species in a tidy ~50 page summary! anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

EvoDevotees, if you are at #PASEDB2025 and interested in either of these job opportunities for Fish Facility Manager or Presidential Postdoc at Michigan State U, let’s grab a coffee and chat

#EndlessFishMostBeautiful

@evodevopanam.bsky.social

An illustration of an Atlantic Silver Hatchetfish (also called the Lovely Hatchetfish). The fish is very silvery and reflective and the body is shaped like the head of an axe, with the tail being the thinnest part (like the handle of an axe). The fins are light in color and mostly transparent, and they eye is large and faces upwards.

This is the first time in a while that I've had time to draw for fun, so for an early #SundayFishSketch, I finished my drawing of an Atlantic Silver Hatchetfish 🐡