Andrew Flynn
LightNews LightNews
flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn
@flynnpaleo.bsky.social
130 followers 83 following 14 posts

Paleobotany | Paleoclimate | Paleomagnetism | Focused mostly on the Late Cretaceous through early Paleogene in western North America

Assistant Professor in Department of Geological Sciences at New Mexico State University

https://www.andrewgflynn.com/ .. more

Videos
Environmental science 29%
Agriculture 20%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Andrew G. Flynn

danpeppe.bsky.social
Dan Peppe @danpeppe.bsky.social · 1d
My student, Evan Cerna presenting at #2025SVP on a new Cretaceous dinosaur trackway in the Glen Rose Formation in central Texas!

Reposted by Jamie Woodward, Andrew G. Flynn

stevebrusatte.bsky.social
Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 6d
What do we know about the last surviving dinosaurs, living right before the asteroid? And is Nanotyrannus a tiny tyrannosaur species or juvenile T. rex?

Lindsay Zanno & I talk through the big questions with Ira Flatow on today's @scifri.bsky.social !

www.sciencefriday.com/segments/din...
Were Dinos On Their Way Out Before The Asteroid Hit? Maybe Not
Two new studies suggest that, contrary to longstanding beliefs, dinosaurs were not on the decline before the Chicxulub asteroid impact.
www.sciencefriday.com

Reposted by Andrew G. Flynn

nataliajagielska.bsky.social
Natalia Jagielska @nataliajagielska.bsky.social · 21d
Had the pleasure of working on the press release image for this groundbreaking research!
A streak of white in the sky startles a large sauropod with ceratopsian and theropods under its legs

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
Not even here is safe from Leafs jokes...

Reposted by Andrew G. Flynn

arctomet.bsky.social
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · 21d
Dinosaur diversity before the asteroid | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Dinosaur diversity before the asteroid
Evidence for low dinosaur diversity ahead of extinction event grows dimmer
www.science.org

Reposted by Andrew G. Flynn

restingdinoface.bsky.social
Riley Black - When the Earth Was Green out now 🌱 @restingdinoface.bsky.social · 21d
New dates on fossils from New Mexico reveal a community of dinosaurs that were thriving right before the asteroid strike, including 80-foot-long, 30-ton giants like Alamosaurus. I’ll tell you more in my latest for NatGeo. 🧪
New evidence reveals dinosaurs were thriving right up to the moment the asteroid hit
Newly dated fossils from New Mexico challenge the idea that dinosaurs were in decline—and suggest instead they had formed flourishing communities.
www.nationalgeographic.com

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
This work not have been possible without the generous support of NSF-EAR, @acs.org PRF, Bureau of Land Management, and @baylor.bsky.social

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
This has been truly collaborative study. I am grateful to @stevebrusatte.bsky.social, @danpeppe.bsky.social, Matt Heizler for co-leading this study, to all my co-authors for their hard work, and @nataliajagielska.bsky.social for her awesome artwork.

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
Lastly, this N-S bioprovincialism persists after the mass extinction and is seen in early Paleocene mammalian communities suggesting that the biogeographic structure was not destroyed by the mass extinction event.

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
We then used ecological modeling to show dinosaur communities were partitioned into two different bioprovinces during the terminal Cretaceous across western North America, driven by differences in climate. This suggests dinosaurs in North America diverse & thriving leading up to the K/Pg boundary.

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
This Naashoibito dinosaur community was dominated by the giant sauropod Alamosaurus and crested Lambeosaurine hadrosaurs, which is a marked difference than the coeval Hell Creek Formation.

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
Using magnetostratigraphy and Ar/Ar geochronology, we were able to constrain the age of Naashoibito Member deposition, and the major vertebrate fossil localities, to no older than 66.38 Mya.
Four panel figure. Panel A shows map of western north ameria indicating major Laramide basins and hightlight the study area in the San Juan Basin of NW New Mexico. Panel B shows geologic map of the San Juan

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
We provide new age constraints on the Naashoibito Member in the San Juan Basin of NW New Mexico showing these rocks, and their unique dinosaurs, are among the last non-avian dinosaurs from the last 340 Kyr of the Cretaceous, contemporaneous with the famous Hell Creek fauna. doi.org/10.1126/scie...
doi.org

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 21d
Our new paper is out in @science.org #ScienceResearch
Our understanding of the dinosaurs at the very end of the Cretaceous is limited by few localities. What dinosaur biogeographic patterns were present leading up the K/Pg boundary? What can these tell us about end Cretaceous dinosaur communities

Reposted by Andrew G. Flynn

stevebrusatte.bsky.social
Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 22d
Something explosive is coming tomorrow...

(Science by Andrew Flynn and team; art by @nataliajagielska.bsky.social )

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · 27d
Looking for a graduate program in paleobotany, paleoclimatology, and/or terrestiral sedimentology? Attending #GSA2025 next week? Please reach out so we can chat!

Recruiting MS students for Fall 2026 for projects focused on the late Cretaceous - early Paleogene of western North America.
Landscape picture of rocks in the San Juan Basin of northern New Mexico. Lower, drab colored rocks overlain by gold and tan sandstones plus fossilized trees.

Reposted by Andrew G. Flynn

ingrid-pollen.bsky.social
Ingrid Romero (Ph.D.) @ingrid-pollen.bsky.social · Sep 26
Thanks to @smithsonianmag.bsky.social for highlighting the
Fossil Pollen collection at NMNH and the research we are developing with this collection
Meet the Scientist Digitizing Millions of Fossilized Pollen Grains to Reveal Earth’s Climate History - smithsonianmag.com/blogs/nation...
Meet the Scientist Digitizing Millions of Fossilized Pollen Grains to Reveal Earth’s Climate History
Smithsonian researcher Ingrid Romero studies fossil pollen to reconstruct ancient climates and predict future changes
smithsonianmag.com

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · Sep 16
I am recruiting MS students to join my research group at New Mexico State University starting Fall of 2026! Any students interested in late Cretaceous-early Paleogene fossil plants, terrestrial paleoclimate, Earth surface processes, or magnetostratigraphy, please reach out!
www.andrewgflynn.com
Andrew G. Flynn
www.andrewgflynn.com

Reposted by Andrew G. Flynn

botsocamerica.bsky.social
Botanical Society of America @botsocamerica.bsky.social · Aug 11
Estimating carbon assimilation rates from #fossil #leaves & application to the mid-Miocene Clarkia #forest

New #AJB research by Melanie Cham, Alexander Lowe, Dana Royer, Sophia Ronan, William Rember & Caroline Strömberg

doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
#botany #plantscience #paleobotany #photosynthesis
Violin plots depicting estimated assimilation rates ranges for nine fossil plant taxa.

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · Jun 2
Rainy but productive day collecting Paleocene - Eocene fossil leaves out of the lower San Jose Formation in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Also found some super cool soft sediment deformation and sedimentary structures!

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · May 30
Day two of collecting earliest Eocene plants from the lower San Jose Formation in the San Juan Basin. Found lots of legumes including some attached!

flynnpaleo.bsky.social
Andrew Flynn @flynnpaleo.bsky.social · May 30
Successful day collecting earliest Eocene fossil plants from the lower San Jose Formation in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico!