Featured Image: Holotype of Mesembrinella caenozoica sp. nov. From Cerretti et al. (2017). Papers (All Open Access): Heterogenous oceanic redox conditions through the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary limited the metazoan zonation (Scientific Reports) First fossil of an oestroid fly (Diptera: Calyptratae: Oestroidea) and the dating of oestroid divergences (PLOS ONE) Redefining the extinct orders Miomoptera and Hypoperlida asContinue reading "Fossil Friday Roundup: August 25, 2017"
The Man on the Hill: A Geologic Mystery Solved over Breakfast
A historic photo from my hometown opens up a mystery of geologic proportions.
New Paper: Evolution of multicuspid teeth in a Triassic fish from Utah
An enigmatic holostean from the Triassic of Utah possesses an unusual tooth morphology. What was the purpose of these teeth?
Behind the Research: Identifying a New Species of Fossil Fish
How does a paleontologist identify a new species?
Fossil Friday Roundup: August 18, 2017
Featured Image: Lower jaw of Anatoliadelphys maasae, from Maga et al. 2017. CC-BY. Papers (All Open Access): Quid est Clea helena? Evidence for a previously unrecognized radiation of assassin snails (Gastropoda: Buccinoidea: Nassariidae) (PeerJ) Telychian (Llandovery, Silurian) conodonts from the LaPorte City Formation of eastern Iowa, USA (East-Central Iowa Basin) and their implications for global TelychianContinue reading "Fossil Friday Roundup: August 18, 2017"
Fossil Friday Roundup: August 11, 2017
Featured Image: The skull of Moschops capensis AM4950 in photograph and reconstruction showing neural structures. From Benoit et al (2017). Papers (All Open Access): The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) (Fossil Record) The late Maastrichtian Belemnella kazimiroviensis group (Cephalopoda, Coleoidea) in the Middle Vistula valley (Poland) and the Maastricht area (the Netherlands, Belgium) – taxonomyContinue reading "Fossil Friday Roundup: August 11, 2017"
Fossil Friday Roundup: August 4, 2017
Featured Image: Plate 40, drawn by Mary Morland, from W. Buckland (1824b) showing the lectotype right dentary of Megalosaurus. From Howlett et al. (2017). Papers (All Open Access): First discovery of the charophycean green alga Lychnothamnus barbatus (Charophyceae) extant in the New World (American Journal of Botany) Evolutionary response to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau uplift: phylogeny andContinue reading "Fossil Friday Roundup: August 4, 2017"
Fossil Friday Roundup: July 28, 2017
Featured Image: Maevia eureka from Riquelme and Menéndez-Acuña (2017) Papers (All Open Access): A Burmese amber fossil of Radula (Porellales, Jungermanniopsida) provides insights into the Cretaceous evolution of epiphytic lineages of leafy liverworts (Fossil Record) An exceptionally preserved 110 million years old praying mantis provides new insights into the predatory behaviour of early mantodeans (PeerJ) Geometric morphometricsContinue reading "Fossil Friday Roundup: July 28, 2017"
Shark Week: 2nd Annual Fossil Shark Hall of Fame
Okay, folks, it's that time of year again. The week that either fills you with elation or dread. It's....SHARK WEEK. This week brings an opportunity for people to celebrate an oft misunderstood group of organisms, even if it is in the form of "Must-See-TV." As I mentioned last year in my first Shark Week post,Continue reading "Shark Week: 2nd Annual Fossil Shark Hall of Fame"
Fossil Friday Roundup: July 21, 2017
Featured Image: Illustration of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis drawn by Mr. Masato Hattori. From Tsogtbaatar et al. (2017). CC-BY. Papers (All Open Access): Early evolution of radial glial cells in Bilateria (ProcB) Ecological interactions in Cloudina from the Ediacaran of Brazil: implications for the rise of animal biomineralization (Scientific Reports) Classical and new bioerosion trace fossils in CretaceousContinue reading "Fossil Friday Roundup: July 21, 2017"
Sarah Z. Gibson 