open access – Sarah Z. Gibson

It’s a Hard-Knock Life for an Ichthyosaur | PLOS Paleo Community

A new study published last week in PLOS ONE highlights just how many broken bones and traumatic injuries and infections a species of ichthyosaur can take.

PLOS Paleo Top 10 OA Fossil Vertebrates #3: Lunaophis aquaticus

We’ve made it to the top 3 winners of the PLOS Paleo Top 10 Open Access Fossil Vertebrates of the year. And I am very pleased that one of the top 3 is not a dinosaur, but a snake! And an aquatic snake to boot. Lunaophis aquaticus, from the Cretaceous La Luna Formation of Venezuela, was recentlyContinue reading “PLOS Paleo Top 10 OA Fossil Vertebrates #3: Lunaophis aquaticus”

Snakes in a Burrow: Fossil Rattles Origin of Snakes

Last week, paleontologists published a study in the journal Science Advances revealing a possible habitat origin for modern snakes. This study was based on an exciting morphological discovery in a fossil snake that could help scientists understand why snakes developed limbless bodies and distinct sensory systems. The habitat of ancestral snakes has been debated betweenContinue reading “Snakes in a Burrow: Fossil Rattles Origin of Snakes”