Jeff Thompson

New paper led by @aniekebrombacher.bsky.social using x-ray CT and laser ablation to detect plastic environmental responses in fossil individuals www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2421549122 featuring @jamesmulqueeney.bsky.social @clivetrue.bsky.social @thefosterlab.bsky.social

A new Cambrian stem-group echinoderm reveals the evolution of the anteroposterior axis Woodgate et al. describe a new bilaterally symmetrical echinoderm, Atlascystis acantha, from the Cambrian of Morocco. Comparisons of plate growth with other echinoderms reveal that Atlascystis possess...

🌟 Fossil find of the week!

@echinerd.bsky.social new paper in Current Biology reveals how Cambrian echinoderms evolved from bilateral ancestors to the star-shaped sea creatures we know today. 🧬🌊

🔗 Read more: www.cell.com/current-biol...

#Echinoderms #Evolution #Cambrian

I’m obsessed with brittle stars: fish often nip off bits of their arms but they regenerate These starfish relatives have lots of remarkable features and are a keystone species. My hope is that we will recognise how vital these charismatic creatures are

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A new Cambrian stem-group echinoderm reveals the evolution of the anteroposterior axis Woodgate et al. describe a new bilaterally symmetrical echinoderm, Atlascystis acantha, from the Cambrian of Morocco. Comparisons of plate growth with other echinoderms reveal that Atlascystis possess...

Delighted to share our paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social iology.bsky.social‬ with a palaeo-evo-devo perspective on the evolution of symmetry in echinoderms. Led by Steffi Woodgate with Frankie Dunn, @echinerd.bsky.social, @laurentformery.bsky.social & Sam Zamora
www.cell.com/current-biol...-5

Our brittle star patterning study is now out at EvoDevo! 🥳
doi.org/10.1186/s132...

@lowelab.bsky.social

TLDR? In the Palaeozoic echinoid fossil record, fine grained and siliciclastic rocks are associated with higher quality preservation than coarse grained or carbonate rocks!

Taphonomic controls on a multi‐element marine skeletal fossil record Animals with multi-element skeletons, including the vertebrates, echinoderms and arthropods, are some of the most biodiverse and ecologically important animal groups. Understanding the relative impac...

Super happy to see this out! Ever wondered what regulates taphonomic quality in skeletal fossil records? New with @princessquatris.bsky.social , Tim Ewin, and Maddy Ford we identify the controls on preservational quality in Palaeozoic echinoids onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🚨🚨🚨!Post doc opportunity! 🚨🚨🚨
35 month post doc on niche modelling of migratory whales in my lab with Katrina Jones. Job advert below:
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Please get in touch with questions!

Just under two weeks left to apply for this 3 year postdoc looking at how signalling shapes skeletal development in sea urchins! Please reach out if you’re interested! For lovers of imaging, skeletal development, biomineralization, in situ hybridization, and marine invertebrates!

For any questions about the role please reach out to me! On here or via email.

Interested in Developmental biology? Imaging? Marine invertebrate body plans? Then this three year postdoc in my group @sotonbiosciences.bsky.social is for you! Join our team to decypher how signalling molecules shape skeletal phenotype in juvenile sea urchins. jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Poster: CEE Spring Symposium 2025, Evo Devo Palaeo: Using developmental biology to interpret evolution and palaeontology, and vice versa. Date: Wednesday 14th May 2025 Time: 1:00pm – 5:30pm Location: LG26 Lecture Room, Bentham House, UCL 4–8 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG This year’s symposium has been organised by Dr Qamariya Nasrullah (KCL), Dr Neal Anthwal (KCL), Dr Lucy Roberts (NHM), and Dr Marco Camaiti (NHM). We’ll be exploring the powerful intersections between development, evolution, and the fossil record. This interdisciplinary conference brings together researchers working across these areas to share insights on how developmental biology informs our understanding of evolutionary history, and how fossils, in turn, illuminate developmental processes. Expect exciting talks, cutting-edge research, and vibrant discussions from scientists and emerging leaders who are shaping the future of the field. Confirmed Speakers: • Jeff Thompson– Fossils and Developmental Biology Shed Light on the Divergence of Echinoderm Body Plans • Margarida Cardoso Moriera– The Evolution of New Organs • Fatima Iftikhar– The Soft Tissue Behaviour Behind Tooth Resorption in Living Teiids and Fossil Mosasaurs • Agnese Lanzetti– Developing a New Habit: Ontogeny Tracks the Evolution of Aquatic Adaptations in Baleen and Toothed Whales • Luke Barlow– Development of the Pterygoid Complex Sheds Light on the Evolution of Suckling in Mammals • Rory Cooper– Evolving Patterns: How Molecules and Mechanics Sculpt Diverse Skin Appendages • Tahlia Pollock– Sharp Insights: Untangling Constraints on Pointed Tooth Form in Tetrapods Tickets: Reserve your free ticket now via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cee-spring-symposium-2025-tickets-1323634589689

CEE Spring Symposium 2025, "Evo Devo Palaeo: Using developmental biology to interpret evolution and palaeontology, and vice versa."

Three people stand talking in front of a cliff made up of distinct bands of light and dark coloured chalk.

A fossil echinoderm in white chalk. A finger for scale!

The impression of a large fossil Nautilus in grey chalk. A black and white scale bar is at the top of the photo.

A tiny star-shaped ossicle from a fossil crinoid in the chalk. With a finger for scale.

Lovely day in the field at Culver Cliff (Isle of Wight) with @echinerd.bsky.social and PhD student Chia-Hsin Hsu. We looked at the beautifully bedded Cenomanian-Turonian #chalk, finding plenty of echinoderms, bivalves, serpulids and even a nice nautilid!

The structure of the end-Cretaceous dinosaur fossil record in North America Dean et al. examine the fossil record of North American dinosaurs prior to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Estimates of detection probability from occupancy models decrease prior to the extinction...

🚨 I'm super happy to announce that our new paper is finally out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social! 🚨

We used the ecological approach of occupancy modelling to investigate the structure of the dinosaur fossil record prior to the K/Pg mass extinction!

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Cover of Elements Issue entitled Biomineral Geochemistry: Windows into Past Climates and Calcification. The picture shows amorphous calcium carbonate particles - the precursors to many biominerals

Very pleased to have co-edited the latest version of Elements Magazine (www.elementsmagazine.org) "Biomineral Geochemistry" with @amoeba-lab.bsky.social and Ros Rickaby. Topics range from controls on CaCO3 polymorph to the role of amorphous intermediate phases and "vital effects". 🧪🌊🪸⚒️

An image of a live foraminifera around 200 microns in diameter with long pseudopodia

Today in the Amoeba lab - an initial step on our path to building a new dedicated foraminifera culturing facility. Here are our first images of live foraminifera!

This is part of a collaborative project between my group at Southampton and Liz Petsios' at Baylor University aiming to understand the role of functional performance in the evolution of echinoid feeding structures. Please reach out if you have any questions or are interested in the position!

Like morphometrics, micro-CT scanning, and morphological evolution? Then please consider applying for our 18 month postdoc position at the university of Southampton! Details here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMF402/r...

New preprint out with @echinerd.bsky.social et al. on total-evidence dating showcasing:

1) Sea urchins (the best clade)
2) Lyrics by Peter Gabriel-era Genesis (the best prog band)
3) Extreme effect of the type of relaxed clock on phylogenetic and macroevolutionary inferences (a bit scary honestly)

Museum ‘dark data’ show variable impacts on deep-time biogeographic and evolutionary history | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences The age of digitally accessible datasets has transformed palaeontology, enabling previously impossible macroevolutionary insights. However, a substantial reservoir of generally inaccessible ‘dark data...

Very excited to use my first @bsky.app post to announce @echinerd.bsky.social and I's new paper in Proc B! 🎉

We used a dataset of Palaeozoic echinoids from 33 museums worldwide to see the impact museum ‘dark data’ has on biogeographic and evolutionary patterns in deep time!

doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

A slab preserving over 100 specimens of the Middle Jurassic crinoid Isocrinus nicoleti.

For #FossilFriday, I'm delighted to share this amazing new specimen donated to the NHM. The slab preserves over 100 specimens of the Middle Jurassic crinoid Isocrinus nicoleti. This is the subject of ongoing research with Tim Ewin, Ebony Cutcliffe, @egmitchell.bsky.social & @echinerd.bsky.social .

It’s essentially figuring out the oldest node in which a gene was likely to be present. Agree, given my background it seems a mis-use of the word “stratigraphy”. See it a lot on the evo-devo/comparative genomics lit.

Director of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History at University of Oxford Recruiting now: Director of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on jobs.ac.uk. Click for details and explore more academic job opportunities on the top job board

Job alert! Director of Oxford University Museum of Natural History: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DKV017/d...

3-D computer model of a fossil starfish showing five arms and a central disc.

For #FossilFriday, here is a quick volume rendering of a 450-million-year-old fossil starfish from the Lady Burn Starfish Beds of Girvan, Scotland. Scanned by @agneselanzetti.bsky.social at the Natural History Museum.

Poster showing Jake sporting a tache advertising his attempt to bake 200 banana bread loaves in 24 hours. Includes links to donate and live stream

My PhD student Jake Kleboe is not only an awesome Raman wrangler but he also regularly bakes to raise money for Movember. Today he is going to bake 200 loaves of banana bread in 24 hours! Live stream starts at 10am UK m.twitch.tv/kleboes_kitc... please donate here: uk.movember.com/mospace/1337...

Migrating back to the good place... and speaking of good places, why not consider coming to the University of Southampton to do a PhD in coral reef palaeoecology??!

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