Benjamin Mohler

Benjamin Mohler

@ptpaleo.bsky.social

Paleontologist, Research Technician, Independent science writer. Keep up with my work: https://discord.gg/hZbqC2vVPx patreon.com/PTPALEO

154 Followers 398 Following 86 Posts Joined Nov 2024
3 weeks ago
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Examining Elephant Bird Eggshell! | Microstream #55 YouTube video by Benjamin Mohler

Microstream is on! Today, I am photographing fragments of eggshell from the gigantic bird Aepyornis! These birds lived on the island of Madagascar, and went extinct only around a thousand years ago. www.youtube.com/live/C74PcMA...

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3 weeks ago
Title slide for a conference talk: First Report of Coprolites from the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation, New Mexico, USA. Image at the center of the slide shows a turd-shaped fossil the size and shape of a baby carrot.

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new people at this year's WAVP! My team is presenting on new developments in the Cretaceous-aged Menefee Fm. of New Mexico...

I'm speaking at 9:45am on Saturday, sharing the very first report of coprolites (that's fossil poop!) from this unit.

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1 month ago
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PTPALEO - Twitch Paleontologist, independent science writer, and creator of the free virtual museum SHADOWBOX.

Today, I'm showing off what's new in the latest update to SHADOWBOX.

Virtual Fossil Museum Update! | Introducing the Triassic Ammonite Xenoceltites | SHADOWBOX Beta 2.1.1

LIVE now: www.twitch.tv/ptpaleo

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1 month ago

3 days later, the Horner - Epstein timeline has been viewed 114,000 times.

Thanks to everyone who shared to help ensure that this information was not buried. I do not have power to enact change on my own, but I do have the research skills to bring facts to light.

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1 month ago
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From the Paleontology community on Reddit: Timeline of Jack Horner - Jeffrey Epstein contact per DOJ's newest releases (see comments) Explore this post and more from the Paleontology community

3 hours ago, I shared my results of having combed through ~470 DOJ Epstein files that mention Jack Horner, his MSU email, or "Dinochicken". I posted a copy, w/ screenshots and receipts, to r/Paleontology. It has been pinned by moderators and thus far viewed 38k times.

www.reddit.com/r/Paleontolo...

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1 month ago

Yes, but having gone through them all, I only earmarked 104 as worthy of archiving. The files contain numerous duplicate emails as well as *tons* of google calendar alerts for identical events.

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1 month ago

Post is now sitting at 58,000 views... people are demanding an adequate response from @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social

A commenter has pointed to Ghislane's 7/25 testimony (p. 241) which places the Maxwell/Epstein/Kennedy/Horner North Dakota dig back in 1993-1994!!!

www.justice.gov/storage/audi...

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1 month ago

It had to be done, happy to lend some time and sanity to make it so. And agreed on that one, makes my skin crawl.

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1 month ago

I've heard there's a meeting for @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social tomorrow. Hopefully they're planning on responding to this in more earnest than their email this morning.

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1 month ago

πŸ’™ I'm happy to sacrifice some of my time and sanity if it increases the odds, even by a little, that he finally faces accountability for his choices and actions.

46,000 views on that post now, many commenters dragging SVP for their weak response. This isn't going away. Not this time.

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1 month ago

I hope to never understand what makes men behave this way

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1 month ago

Thank you!

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1 month ago

🧡CC: @gondwannabe.bsky.social @tweetisaurus.bsky.social @chinleana.bsky.social @arctomet.bsky.social @davehone.bsky.social @vjcheng.bsky.social @notthatmarsh.bsky.social @vertanatomist.bsky.social @t-s-sci.bsky.social @ejrpaleo.bsky.social @formorphology.bsky.social @dinochick.bsky.social

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1 month ago

🧡CC: @renpoole.bsky.social @paleojim.bsky.social @paleowin.bsky.social @nataliajagielska.bsky.social @skyemcdavid.com @kulindadromeus.bsky.social @stevebrusatte.bsky.social @shaena.bsky.social @arminreindl.bsky.social @raptorchatter.bsky.social @paleorob.bsky.social @cambriancam.bsky.social

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1 month ago

In addition, I've download 104 of those files for posterity from the DOJ website and zipped them.

I also curated a Zotero collection of these files, with links to the DOJ pages I downloaded them from. Both are available for anyone who would like; DM me an email address and I'll send them over.

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1 month ago
Conclusions: 1. Horner and Epstein had repeated direct and indirect contact throughout 2012. Horner initiated contact again in 2016. Unclear which man first initiated contact and the extent to their communication not revealed in current DOJ releases. Reminder: Epstein was first convicted of attempting to hire a minor for sex in 2008. 

2. Horner visited Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico on the weekend of August 3rd, 2012, to fossil hunt alongside Epstein and Danny Hillis. We have his exact flight numbers and departure/landing times. This was originally set for late July, but Epstein's scheduling issues with Woody Allen bumped the Ranch event by several days.

3. Afterwards, Horner solicited Epstein for funds to host a Dinochicken project conference at MSU from October 24-25 of that year. It is confirmed that Epstein cut a check to make this happen.

4. Afterwards, Horner sends a thank you message to Epstein and offers to add him to a dropbox of conference videos and photos, but mentions that this will make Epstein's name and email publicly visible, and asks Epstein if he has another email that is "less conspicuous".

5. In his correspondence with Epstein, Horner repeatedly mentions "the girls" to whom he offers best wishes, and calls Epstein someone "whom I envy".

6. Horner attempted to return to Zorro Ranch with a student in September of 2016, and it is unclear whether this took place. No emails more recent than 9/2016 mentioning Horner are publicly available from the DOJ.

7. An exchange between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in August of 2012 confirms that the two of them, alongside Bobby Kennedy, went looking for fossils with Horner during a previous, separate trip to North Dakota.

You can read my breakdown of the Horner - Epstein contact timeline starting with this comment: www.reddit.com/r/Paleontolo...

You can read a shorter summary of my conclusions here: www.reddit.com/r/Paleontolo...

Screenshot of the short summary below.

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1 month ago
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From the Paleontology community on Reddit: Timeline of Jack Horner - Jeffrey Epstein contact per DOJ's newest releases (see comments) Explore this post and more from the Paleontology community

3 hours ago, I shared my results of having combed through ~470 DOJ Epstein files that mention Jack Horner, his MSU email, or "Dinochicken". I posted a copy, w/ screenshots and receipts, to r/Paleontology. It has been pinned by moderators and thus far viewed 38k times.

www.reddit.com/r/Paleontolo...

67 25 9 7
1 month ago
YouTube
Photographing Ancient Algae from Estonia! | Microstream #54 YouTube video by Benjamin Mohler

It's Microstream Monday! Today, I am photographing specimens of Leveilleites, a type of ancient algae. These fossils come from the Nurmekund Formation of Estonia, and date back 437 million years, to the Silurian Period! www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf9w...

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1 month ago

There is no man, no scientist, no legacy that is so important that they cannot face consequences for their actions.

There is no research that is so important that it must be carried out, even if it can only be done with funding from wealthy pedophiles.

Rescind Horner's Romer-Simpson medal. Ban him

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1 month ago
The first attempt to reconstruct Tyrannosaurus rex, in the 1905 paper in which Osborn named it and a panel mount of the skeleton (middle), from the 1916 paper in which Osborn described and named it.

Founders of modern paleontology, and their contributions to systemic racism, classism and sexism (🧡)

Henry Osborn (1857–1935), responsible for naming of Tyrannosaurus & Velociraptor; president of ANHM.
Co-founder of the American Eugenics Society. Contributing to books later praised by Hitler.

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1 month ago

(11) In 2013, Horner was awarded the Romer-Simpson Medal by the @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social (its highest honor). I was at the meeting and saw his acceptance speech. Given this, I would urge those still in SVP to perhaps call on the Society to RESCIND the Medal and suspend his membership...

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1 month ago
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A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, now 20 years old Interest in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation has exploded over the past month even as President Donald Trump urged the public and media to move on from a saga he sees as β€œpretty borin...

Yep, ~4 years after he was first convicted and sentenced for soliciting paid sex from a minor: apnews.com/article/trum...

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1 month ago

Nope, the date says this is after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida. Funding is hard to come by, but there was no reason not to know Epstein was a problematic funding source in 2012.

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1 month ago
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Jack Horner in the Epstein File trying to raise money to fund dinosaur research. When I discovered we had rich nazis on our dig in 2008, I dropped them like a rancid turd; ask Don. There will never be a Trumpasaurus with my name attached! @paleontologizing.bsky.social @utahpaleo-ufop.bsky.social

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1 month ago

www.justice.gov/epstein/file...

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1 month ago
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400+ Million Year Old Plant Fossils! | Microstream #53 YouTube video by Benjamin Mohler

Today, I am photographing two specimens of Cooksonia, one of the earliest land plants known! They are approximately 423 million years old, hailing from what is now Poland in eastern Europe. www.youtube.com/live/Reuzqpx...

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1 month ago
YouTube
I'm on display at the Arizona Museum of Natural History! #AzMNH YouTube video by Benjamin Mohler

Did you know? I'm on display at the Arizona Museum of Natural History! youtube.com/shorts/_nkn3...

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1 month ago
YouTube
Photographing Ordovician Trilobites from Missouri! | Microstream #52 YouTube video by Benjamin Mohler

Today is another photography day on Microstream! I will be examining several examples of the trilobite Amphyxina bellatula, which were recovered from the Orodovician-aged Maquoketa Formation of Missouri. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyzq...

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2 months ago
YouTube
Photographing Lanternfish Fossils! | Microstream #51 YouTube video by Benjamin Mohler

Today, for my first Microstream of 2026, I'll be photographing lanternfish fossils. These little guys are around 10 million years old and come from Los Angeles County, California! www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-0J...

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2 months ago
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Virtual Museum UPDATE: 7 New Exhibits! SHADOWBOX Beta 1.65 Dev Stream YouTube video by Benjamin Mohler

Virtual Museum UPDATE: 7 New Exhibits! SHADOWBOX Beta 1.65 Dev Stream www.youtube.com/live/Y94P-Mg...

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