Adiel Klompmaker

🦈 ‼️Very rare fossil shark tooth discovery last year in Alabama. A Late Cretaceous, in-situ tooth of Ptychodus rugosus in near perfect condition. We have less than 10 of this rare species in the University of Alabama Museums paleontology collection. #FossilFriday #shark #fossil #paleontology

🦈 ‼️Very rare fossil shark tooth discovery last year in Alabama. A Late Cretaceous, in-situ tooth of Ptychodus rugosus in near perfect condition. We have less than 10 teeth of this rare crushing shark species in the University of Alabama Museums paleontology collection. #FossilFriday #shark #fossil

🦀 Crabby #FossilFriday‼️ Remarkably well-preserved claw of a crab from the Paleocene of Alabama. This is a propodus and dactylus of the family Palaeoxanthopsidae. Members of this family lived during the latest Cretaceous - early Eocene. 🦀 University of Alabama Museums Paleontology collection.

Last semester, undergraduate student Idelle Burgess did a Blount Scholars museum internship in paleontology. She prepared a Late Cretaceous turtle from Alabama and other curation projects.

Last semester, undergraduate student Idelle Burgess did a Blount Scholars museum internship in paleontology. She prepared a Late Cretaceous turtle from Alabama and other curation projects.

#FossilFriday student highlight‼️Last semester, undergraduate student Idelle Burgess did a Blount Scholars museum internship in paleontology. She prepared a Late Cretaceous turtle from Alabama and did other curation projects. Idelle also did a research project that is continuing into this semester. 🙂

#FossilFriday at the University of Alabama Museums' Department of Museum Research & Collections‼️ This nice nautiloid, Cimomia haltomi, found in Paleocene rocks from Alabama shows the infilled air chambers. Found and donated by an avocational paleontologist!

#FossilFriday at the University of Alabama Museums' Department of Museum Research & Collections‼️ This nice nautiloid, Cimomia haltomi, found in Paleocene rocks from Alabama shows the infilled air chambers. Found and donated by an avocational paleontologist! 😀 #fossil #paleontology

We have hundreds of unstudied Cretaceous bony fish and shark coprolites in the University of Alabama Museums paleontology collection. Some have bone inclusions visible from the outside. 😲 Here's a ~82 million-year-old shark turd I found at Harrell Station, Alabama, in 2025.

#FossilFriday‼️ We have hundreds of unstudied Cretaceous bony fish and shark coprolites in the University of Alabama Museums paleontology collection. Some have bone inclusions visible from the outside. 😲 Here's a ~82 million-year-old shark turd I found at Harrell Station, Alabama, in 2025.

It has been a while since posting last about mosasaurs, but this one was my second best Alabama mosasaur find of 2025. There is more of the jaw and skull but these are the best teeth. Late Cretaceous (Campanian). Specimen: University of Alabama Museums paleontology coll.

😀 It has been a while since posting last about mosasaurs, but this one was my second best Alabama mosasaur find of 2025. There is more of the jaw and skull but these are the best teeth. Late Cretaceous (Campanian). Specimen: University of Alabama Museums paleontology coll. #FossilFriday‼️ #fossil

🦀 #FossilFriday ‼️Concretions sometimes contain exquisitely preserved crustaceans. Here are some Eocene (~45 million-year-old) crabs from Oregon, USA. Collected, prepared, and donated by Bob Manley. Specimens: University of Alabama Museums' paleontology collection. #paleontology #fossil 🦀

🦀 🦞 🦐 Research alert‼️A special issue about arthropod paleontology was recently published in the Journal of Paleontology, honoring the late Dr. Rodney Feldmann. Specimens from the UA Museums' paleontology collection were also used. Read the short news story here: https://tinyurl.com/bdwp3v2j #FossilFriday Specimen of Hyphalocarcinus americanus (Rathbun, 1935)

🦀 🦞 🦐 Research alert‼️A special issue about arthropod paleontology was recently published in the Journal of Paleontology, honoring the late Dr. Rodney Feldmann. Specimens from the UA Museums' paleontology collection were also used. Read the short news story here: tinyurl.com/bdwp3v2j #FossilFriday

😲 Pterosaur discovery Alert‼️David Braswell found pterosaur vertebrae in ~82 million-year-old (Cretaceous) marls of Harrell Station Paleontological Site in Alabama at a trip I organized for the Alabama Paleo Society! These are now the first pterosaur vertebrae in UA's fossil collection. #FossilFriday

😲 Pterosaur discovery Alert‼️David Braswell found pterosaur vertebrae in ~82 million-year-old (Cretaceous) marls of Harrell Station Paleontological Site in Alabama at a trip I organized for the Alabama Paleo Society! These are now the first pterosaur vertebrae in UA's fossil collection. #FossilFriday

Carol Smith found a jaw of a rare bony fish in the ~82 million-year-old (Cretaceous) marls of Harrell Station Paleontological Site in Alabama last month during a trip I organized for the Alabama Paleontological Society! 😄 Specimen: UA Museums paleo collection.

Carol Smith found a jaw of a rare bony fish in the ~82 million-year-old (Cretaceous) marls of Harrell Station Paleontological Site in Alabama last month during a trip I organized for the Alabama Paleontological Society! 😄 Specimen: UA Museums paleo collection.

🐟 Fossil Fish Alert‼️Carol Smith found a jaw of a rare bony fish in the ~82 million-year-old (Cretaceous) marls of Harrell Station Paleontological Site in Alabama last month during a trip I organized for the Alabama Paleontological Society! 😄 Specimen: UA Museums paleontology collection #FossilFriday

🦞 Fossil Lobster Alert‼️Alabama Paleontological Society president and Research Associate Jim Braswell found remains of a rare lobster in the ~82 million-year-old (Cretaceous) marls of Harrell Station Paleontological Site in Alabama last month! 😄 Specimen: UA Museums' paleo collection. #FossilFriday

‼️Special volume about arthropod paleontology was published today in the Journal of Paleontology, honoring the late Dr. Rodney Feldmann.🦀🦞🦐 Many of the 20 articles are open access. @paleosoc.bsky.social #paleontology #fossil #crab #lobster #shrimp
Full volume:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Somewhat happy otoliths :).

Octopodoidea as predators near the end of the Mesozoic Marine Revolution Abstract. Octopodoidea are a highly versatile and diverse group of marine predators comprising > 200 species today; however, their diversity and ecology

#WorldOctopusDay! Octopuses including Octopodoidea don't preserved well in the fossil record, but their traces (predatory drill holes) can be found in some molluscan shells. Here's a Cretaceous example from a 2021 paper in collaboration with Neil Landman. #paleontology 🐙
doi.org/10.1093/biol...

‼️New paper on Paleocene (early Danian, ~65.3 mya) decapod crustaceans from Alabama. 🙂 Eight species (incl. 2 new) is more diverse than previously known for any early Danian site in North America. Thanks also to the @paleosoc.bsky.social for grant support. Paper:
sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiqu...

#FossilFriday! The Alabama Paleontological Society is the recipient of the 2025 Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award. It will be awarded on Saturday September 20 at the University of Alabama campus as part of Alabama's National Fossil Day (Alabama Fossil Fest) event:

tiny.cc/d6hs001

📊 new paper! The natural phenomenon of upwelling, which normally occurs every year in the Gulf of Panama, failed for the first time on record in 2025...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
[most co-authors not on bluesky except @javsdiaz.bsky.social @jonscibulski.bsky.social]...

News PhD and MSc positions in Phylogenetic, Computational, and/or Evolutionary Paleobiology [Posted September 2025. Deadline is January 15, 2026. See below for information about the lab, student opportu…

I'm hoping to take 1 MSc & 1 PhD student next year in the areas of Phylogenetic, Computational, and/or Evolutionary Paleobiology. Please reach out if you are interested in joining the @oupaleobiology.bsky.social, especially if interested in working on fossil echinoderms. Link for more info below. 🧪

Just one more week (till 5 Sept) to apply for the postdoc position with me at UA Museums' Department of Museum Research and Collections. NSF-project together with Jill Leonard-Pingel, @odealab.bsky.social, and @sethf.bsky.social focused on marine ecosystems in Panama.

bsky.app/profile/pale...

Last month, Kelly Griffiths found an ~84 million-year-old fossil of a crocodile. It's an osteoderm or scute, a bony plate sitting primarily on the back of the animal. Found during the same ALMNH trip for the public a hadrosaur tooth was found!

Last month, Kelly Griffiths found an ~84 million-year-old fossil of a crocodile. It's an osteoderm or scute, a bony plate sitting primarily on the back of the animal. Found during the same ALMNH trip for the public a hadrosaur tooth was found!

Croc Discovery Alert‼️🐊 Last month, Kelly Griffiths found an ~84 million-year-old fossil of a crocodile. It's an osteoderm or scute, a bony plate sitting primarily on the back of the animal. Found during the same @almnh.bsky.social trip for the public a hadrosaur tooth was found! 😀 #FossilFriday

Last month, Kelly Griffiths found an ~84 million-year-old fossil of a crocodile. It's an osteoderm or scute, a bony plate sitting primarily on the back of the animal.

Last month, Kelly Griffiths found an ~84 million-year-old fossil of a crocodile. It's an osteoderm or scute, a bony plate sitting primarily on the back of the animal.

Croc Discovery Alert‼️🐊 Last month, Kelly Griffiths found an ~84 million-year-old fossil of a crocodile. It's an osteoderm or scute, a bony plate sitting primarily on the back of the animal. Found during the same @almnh.bsky.social trip for the public this hadrosaur tooth was found! 😀 #FossilFriday

Mosasaur jaw found in an Alabama creek during an ALMNH trip for the general public. This Cretaceous (~84 million-year-old) specimen is now in the ALMNH paleontology collection.

In July, Kaylee Baize and Ava Broyles found a great piece of a mosasaur jaw in an Alabama creek during an ALMNH trip for the general public.

Discovery Alert‼️In July, Kaylee Baize and Ava Broyles found a great piece of a mosasaur jaw in an Alabama creek during an ALMNH trip for the general public. This Cretaceous (~84 million-year-old) specimen is now in the @almnh.bsky.social paleontology collection. #FossilFriday #paleontology #fossil

Postdoctoral Fellow opportunity. The NSF-funded project “Energetic Controls on Marine Benthic Community Structure in Space and Time” aims to (1) evaluate how productivity affects the energetic and trophic structure of marine benthic communities on either side of the modern Isthmus of Panama, where there is now a strong contrast between the high productivity, upwelling-dominated regime of the eastern Pacific and the low-productivity, low-seasonality regime of the Caribbean (2) use this knowledge to evaluate the fossil record of Caribbean benthic ecosystems before, during, and after the uplift of the isthmus during which planktonic productivity decreased in the Caribbean and (3) relate ecosystem changes driven by productivity shifts to the well documented Caribbean extinction event ~2 Ma. This is a project in collaboration with Ohio State U, UC Berkeley, and STRI. One key component of this project is to assess biotic interactions such as predation and possibly parasitism using fossil and modern molluscan assemblages from both sides of the Isthmus of Panama. I am recruiting a Postdoctoral Fellow with a background in paleontology and/or biology/ecology with strong quantitative skills, attention to detail and organization, and someone who can effectively supervise students. Conference support is provided. The postdoc will work with Dr. Adiel Klompmaker (aaklompmaker@ua.edu) within the University of Alabama Museums’ Department of Museum Research and Collections (https://collections.museums.ua.edu/). Initial appointment will be for 1 year, with renewal contingent upon funding. The deadline to apply is 5 September 2025 at 22:55 US Central Day Time. The salary will be $56,000 per year. Please upload a cover letter expressing your interest and qualifications, a CV, and contact details of at least two references. To apply and for more information see: https://careers.ua.edu/jobs/688232bd-b82e-49d3-90ea-06601c242dab

Job Alert‼️ Postdoctoral Fellow opportunity in paleontology/biology at the University of Alabama Museums:
careers.ua.edu/jobs/688232b... Aim: assess biotic interactions using mollusks from both sides of the Isthmus of Panama. Please share widely! @paleosoc.bsky.social @almnh.bsky.social

🦐 New article honoring my PhD advisor Dr. Rodney Feldmann, who passed away last year. Lobetelson feldmanni n. sp. is a ~305 million-year-old shrimp from New Mexico. Open access paper J Paleo: doi.org/10.1017/jpa.... @paleosoc.bsky.social Specimen @almnh.bsky.social collection. #FossilFriday #fossil

Discovery alert‼️A ~84 million-year-old hadrosaur dinosaur tooth was found by ALMNH director Dr. John Friel during a recent Alabama Museum of Natural History summer trip to shark tooth creek in western Alabama.
#FossilFriday! @friel.bsky.social @almnh.bsky.social #Cretaceous #paleontology #fossil 😀

Research Alert‼️ Why were ~50 enigmatic, small crustaceans from the Carboniferous Period found clustered together? Paper led by my good colleague Russell Bicknell. Here's a short news story: collections.museums.ua.edu/2025/07/03/o... Belated #FossilFriday #paleontology #fossil @almnh.bsky.social

#FossilFriday‼️🦀🦞🦐 Next week, together with Danish colleagues, I am organizing the 9th Symposium on Fossil Decapod Crustaceans in Faxe, Denmark. Abstract and program books are printed. We will welcome everyone starting on Monday! Website: tiny.cc/fx4m001 #fossil @almnh.bsky.social #paleontology

Lethal injuries on the scaphitid ammonoid Hoploscaphites nicolletii (Morton, 1842) in the Upper Cretaceous Fox Hills Formation, South Dakota, USA - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology Predator–prey relationships are considered a major driver for the evolution of organisms, and thus contributed to shaping morphology, ecology, and diversity. During the Late Cretaceous of North Americ...

The link above is a summary story, but here's a link to the original article led by Amane Tajika: doi.org/10.1186/s133...

‼️Research alert for #FossilFriday‼️ Well-preserved, ~69 million-year-old ammonites from South Dakota show two type of lethal injuries: lateral punch holes and ventral bite marks in 7.3% of the 1303 shells. Crustaceans and coleoids may be the predators. Read more: tiny.cc/wogl001 @almnh.bsky.social

#FossilFriday‼️ 😲 Remarkably large (~20" or 50 cm) ammonite from an Alabama creek exposing Upper Cretaceous sediments. The specimen is still underwater in this photo (see tadpoles 🐸). Specimen @almnh.bsky.social. Discovered by George Martin. #paleontology #fossil #Alabama