AshPoust
@ashpoust.bsky.social
Paleontology, Anatomy, Evolutionary Medicine, Travel.
Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln
Grazing with the dinosaurs and dear old horses.
-What I'm about to show you may shock and educate you
Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln
Grazing with the dinosaurs and dear old horses.
-What I'm about to show you may shock and educate you
Reposted by AshPoust
Taught this morning and then got to do some fieldwork and boy howdy did I hit the weather and location jackpot! While we didn’t find the marine mammals we were hoping for, the invertebrates and geology were so spectacular as to more than make up for it!
February 12, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Taught this morning and then got to do some fieldwork and boy howdy did I hit the weather and location jackpot! While we didn’t find the marine mammals we were hoping for, the invertebrates and geology were so spectacular as to more than make up for it!
Reposted by AshPoust
Our museum is part of the University's fund-drive: pardon the NPR-style interruption, but consider donating if you want to support public science.
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Archie the Mammoth's Champion Profile | Glow Big Red 2026
Help Archie the Mammoth's champion efforts for Glow Big Red 2026
go.unl.edu
February 11, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Our museum is part of the University's fund-drive: pardon the NPR-style interruption, but consider donating if you want to support public science.
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Our museum is part of the University's fund-drive: pardon the NPR-style interruption, but consider donating if you want to support public science.
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Archie the Mammoth's Champion Profile | Glow Big Red 2026
Help Archie the Mammoth's champion efforts for Glow Big Red 2026
go.unl.edu
February 11, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Our museum is part of the University's fund-drive: pardon the NPR-style interruption, but consider donating if you want to support public science.
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Reposted by AshPoust
Not everyone in the Jurassic Period was a giant.
This tiny jaw of teeth was collected from the Mygatt-Moore dinosaur bonebed. It belonged to no dino, but instead to a small, lizard-like animal called a rhynchocephalian. Today, this group is represented by the Tuataras of New Zealand.
#FossilFriday
This tiny jaw of teeth was collected from the Mygatt-Moore dinosaur bonebed. It belonged to no dino, but instead to a small, lizard-like animal called a rhynchocephalian. Today, this group is represented by the Tuataras of New Zealand.
#FossilFriday
February 6, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Not everyone in the Jurassic Period was a giant.
This tiny jaw of teeth was collected from the Mygatt-Moore dinosaur bonebed. It belonged to no dino, but instead to a small, lizard-like animal called a rhynchocephalian. Today, this group is represented by the Tuataras of New Zealand.
#FossilFriday
This tiny jaw of teeth was collected from the Mygatt-Moore dinosaur bonebed. It belonged to no dino, but instead to a small, lizard-like animal called a rhynchocephalian. Today, this group is represented by the Tuataras of New Zealand.
#FossilFriday
Reposted by AshPoust
Published these specimens in 2024 with @ashpoust.bsky.social, @tetrameryx.bsky.social and Morgan Churchill in JVP. Read it here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Tusked walruses (Carnivora: Odobenidae) from the Miocene–Pliocene Purisima Formation of Santa Cruz, California (U.S.A.): a new species of the toothless walrus Valenictus and the oldest records of Odob...
Currently limited to cold climates near the Arctic circle, living walruses are the sole survivors of a previously much more diverse clade that occupied coastal waters throughout the northern hemisp...
www.tandfonline.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Published these specimens in 2024 with @ashpoust.bsky.social, @tetrameryx.bsky.social and Morgan Churchill in JVP. Read it here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by AshPoust
#fossilfriday Walrus bones from Santa Cruz, California. A partial femur and astragalus (ankle bone) of the early Pliocene (4-5 myo) 'toothless' walrus Valenictus sheperdi from the Purisima Formation. Specimens donated by Dave Landes and Wayne Thompson to Santa Cruz NHM and UCMP. 🐬🦖
February 6, 2026 at 5:23 PM
#fossilfriday Walrus bones from Santa Cruz, California. A partial femur and astragalus (ankle bone) of the early Pliocene (4-5 myo) 'toothless' walrus Valenictus sheperdi from the Purisima Formation. Specimens donated by Dave Landes and Wayne Thompson to Santa Cruz NHM and UCMP. 🐬🦖
Reposted by AshPoust
See you all at Darwin Day next week on our beautiful @sandiegostate.bsky.social campus, featuring Dr. Jim McGuire's keynote lecture on "Darwin, Wallace, and my Own Studies on the Magical Island of Sulawesi, Indonesia"! Deets in the flyer - but please DM me if you have any questions.
February 5, 2026 at 11:03 PM
See you all at Darwin Day next week on our beautiful @sandiegostate.bsky.social campus, featuring Dr. Jim McGuire's keynote lecture on "Darwin, Wallace, and my Own Studies on the Magical Island of Sulawesi, Indonesia"! Deets in the flyer - but please DM me if you have any questions.
Reposted by AshPoust
In the frontspiece of a book, sadly I forget which:
Interviewer: Who is your favourite contemporary author?
Author: Shakespeare
Interviewer: No; contemporary author
Author: Shakespeare, always Shakespeare
Interviewer: Who is your favourite contemporary author?
Author: Shakespeare
Interviewer: No; contemporary author
Author: Shakespeare, always Shakespeare
February 5, 2026 at 7:07 PM
In the frontspiece of a book, sadly I forget which:
Interviewer: Who is your favourite contemporary author?
Author: Shakespeare
Interviewer: No; contemporary author
Author: Shakespeare, always Shakespeare
Interviewer: Who is your favourite contemporary author?
Author: Shakespeare
Interviewer: No; contemporary author
Author: Shakespeare, always Shakespeare
Reposted by AshPoust
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
All other dinosaurs are streets behind.
T. rex has been cool cool cool since at least 2005 when this graphic was published.
#sixseasonsandamovie #community 🦕
T. rex has been cool cool cool since at least 2005 when this graphic was published.
#sixseasonsandamovie #community 🦕
February 3, 2026 at 6:47 PM
All other dinosaurs are streets behind.
T. rex has been cool cool cool since at least 2005 when this graphic was published.
#sixseasonsandamovie #community 🦕
T. rex has been cool cool cool since at least 2005 when this graphic was published.
#sixseasonsandamovie #community 🦕
Reposted by AshPoust
2016 ➡️ 2026
Museum displays aren’t something we usually think about, but the supports beneath fossils and artifacts are essential. 10 years ago, this mount was created for this ~5400 yr old steppe bison skull by Restoration and Reproduction Specialist, Gisli. Read on to learn how he created it 👇
Museum displays aren’t something we usually think about, but the supports beneath fossils and artifacts are essential. 10 years ago, this mount was created for this ~5400 yr old steppe bison skull by Restoration and Reproduction Specialist, Gisli. Read on to learn how he created it 👇
February 3, 2026 at 4:53 PM
2016 ➡️ 2026
Museum displays aren’t something we usually think about, but the supports beneath fossils and artifacts are essential. 10 years ago, this mount was created for this ~5400 yr old steppe bison skull by Restoration and Reproduction Specialist, Gisli. Read on to learn how he created it 👇
Museum displays aren’t something we usually think about, but the supports beneath fossils and artifacts are essential. 10 years ago, this mount was created for this ~5400 yr old steppe bison skull by Restoration and Reproduction Specialist, Gisli. Read on to learn how he created it 👇
Reposted by AshPoust
The Columbian mammoth fossil I worked from for this painting was found in Lincoln county, Nebraska (the map depicted). I was inspired by the state’s Highway Paleontology Program.
Lincoln County Mammoth, Acrylic & charcoal on paper, 12”x12”
#mammoth #Pleistocene #megafauna #fossil 🦣 🐡 #paleoart
Lincoln County Mammoth, Acrylic & charcoal on paper, 12”x12”
#mammoth #Pleistocene #megafauna #fossil 🦣 🐡 #paleoart
February 1, 2026 at 12:02 AM
The Columbian mammoth fossil I worked from for this painting was found in Lincoln county, Nebraska (the map depicted). I was inspired by the state’s Highway Paleontology Program.
Lincoln County Mammoth, Acrylic & charcoal on paper, 12”x12”
#mammoth #Pleistocene #megafauna #fossil 🦣 🐡 #paleoart
Lincoln County Mammoth, Acrylic & charcoal on paper, 12”x12”
#mammoth #Pleistocene #megafauna #fossil 🦣 🐡 #paleoart
Reposted by AshPoust
New vegaviids Vegavis geitononesos and Vegavis notopothousa (the latter based on the skull described last year): www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/18... 🪶🧪 (📷Irazoqui et al.)
January 30, 2026 at 4:20 PM
New vegaviids Vegavis geitononesos and Vegavis notopothousa (the latter based on the skull described last year): www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/18... 🪶🧪 (📷Irazoqui et al.)
Reposted by AshPoust
It’s cold enough for walruses in New Jersey this week! But it wouldn't be the first time! During the Late Pleistocene (over 30,000 years ago) the area that is now New Jersey had walruses! We still dredge their fossils along the coast today.
January 30, 2026 at 2:16 AM
It’s cold enough for walruses in New Jersey this week! But it wouldn't be the first time! During the Late Pleistocene (over 30,000 years ago) the area that is now New Jersey had walruses! We still dredge their fossils along the coast today.
Reposted by AshPoust
Imagine driving down the Miracle Mile in 1967 and seeing this in your rearview mirror...
Fear not, it's just sculptor Howard Ball in a VW towing one of his fiberglass mammoths to be installed at the La Brea Tar Pits.
Fear not, it's just sculptor Howard Ball in a VW towing one of his fiberglass mammoths to be installed at the La Brea Tar Pits.
January 29, 2026 at 8:08 PM
Imagine driving down the Miracle Mile in 1967 and seeing this in your rearview mirror...
Fear not, it's just sculptor Howard Ball in a VW towing one of his fiberglass mammoths to be installed at the La Brea Tar Pits.
Fear not, it's just sculptor Howard Ball in a VW towing one of his fiberglass mammoths to be installed at the La Brea Tar Pits.
On top of this being egregious lies, I actually think there *are* landscapes that need protection on aesthetic grounds - and this is actually going to make that harder in the long run.
BIG SCOOP @heatmap.news: The Trump administration is now going after renewable energy projects on both public and private lands by indefinitely delaying water permits … on grounds that the projects might have bad “aesthetics”
Yes, they’re hurting renewable energy projects by calling them ugly
Yes, they’re hurting renewable energy projects by calling them ugly
The Trump Administration Is Now Delaying Renewable Projects It Thinks Are Ugly
The Army Corps of Engineers is out to protect “the beauty of the Nation’s natural landscape.”
heatmap.news
January 30, 2026 at 12:04 AM
On top of this being egregious lies, I actually think there *are* landscapes that need protection on aesthetic grounds - and this is actually going to make that harder in the long run.
Ooh, I like these. They look like real animals, while still being the weirdos they were.
“Oreodonts” ... On the left the somewhat hippopotamus-like Promerycochoerus, on the right the tapir-like Brachycrus.
January 29, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Ooh, I like these. They look like real animals, while still being the weirdos they were.
Reposted by AshPoust
January 27, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by AshPoust
Just finished updating my review on the evolution and fossil record of the eared seals (Otariidae) given the new paper that came out on the early Pleistocene Otaria josefinae from Peru 😅 #blog #paleo #paleontology 🦖🐬🧪 Read it here:
January 27, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Just finished updating my review on the evolution and fossil record of the eared seals (Otariidae) given the new paper that came out on the early Pleistocene Otaria josefinae from Peru 😅 #blog #paleo #paleontology 🦖🐬🧪 Read it here:
Reposted by AshPoust
ICYMI 🦣 We're proud to announce the creation of the Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, which will be the scientific and research backbone of the reimagined La Brea #TarPits, bringing Ice Age research and the museum into the future! Learn more: go.nhm.org/reimagine
January 26, 2026 at 8:09 PM
ICYMI 🦣 We're proud to announce the creation of the Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, which will be the scientific and research backbone of the reimagined La Brea #TarPits, bringing Ice Age research and the museum into the future! Learn more: go.nhm.org/reimagine
Reposted by AshPoust
🦖 Big news about a ‘little’ tyrant: new research finds that Nanotyrannus wasn’t a baby T. rex after all!
Through examining the throat bone of the Nanotyrannus, researchers found that while smaller, the species was a fully grown and distinct predator during its time.
Through examining the throat bone of the Nanotyrannus, researchers found that while smaller, the species was a fully grown and distinct predator during its time.
January 25, 2026 at 10:41 PM
🦖 Big news about a ‘little’ tyrant: new research finds that Nanotyrannus wasn’t a baby T. rex after all!
Through examining the throat bone of the Nanotyrannus, researchers found that while smaller, the species was a fully grown and distinct predator during its time.
Through examining the throat bone of the Nanotyrannus, researchers found that while smaller, the species was a fully grown and distinct predator during its time.
Reposted by AshPoust
A classic.
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
January 23, 2026 at 4:39 PM
A classic.
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
A classic.
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
January 23, 2026 at 4:39 PM
A classic.
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
Our cast of one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex know, UCMP 118742.
As large as this is, it's merely the maxilla. The teeth are 15 cm (6 in) long, and that's just the exposed part!
#FossilFriday 🧪🦕
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social
@unsmmorrillhall.bsky.social
Reposted by AshPoust
#FossilFriday‼️ We have hundreds of unstudied Cretaceous bony fish and shark coprolites in the University of Alabama Museums paleontology collection. Some have bone inclusions visible from the outside. 😲 Here's a ~82 million-year-old shark turd I found at Harrell Station, Alabama, in 2025.
January 23, 2026 at 4:26 PM
#FossilFriday‼️ We have hundreds of unstudied Cretaceous bony fish and shark coprolites in the University of Alabama Museums paleontology collection. Some have bone inclusions visible from the outside. 😲 Here's a ~82 million-year-old shark turd I found at Harrell Station, Alabama, in 2025.
Reposted by AshPoust
JOB: SEASONAL PALEONTOLOGIST
BADLANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM (DICKINSON, ND)
2026 summer tourist season. May/June start, 15wks, end Aug/Sept. Full-Time, 40 hrs/wk, $19.84hr. 50% working with public, 50% lab/collections. See link in comms for info. Come work with us!
BADLANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM (DICKINSON, ND)
2026 summer tourist season. May/June start, 15wks, end Aug/Sept. Full-Time, 40 hrs/wk, $19.84hr. 50% working with public, 50% lab/collections. See link in comms for info. Come work with us!
January 22, 2026 at 11:07 PM
JOB: SEASONAL PALEONTOLOGIST
BADLANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM (DICKINSON, ND)
2026 summer tourist season. May/June start, 15wks, end Aug/Sept. Full-Time, 40 hrs/wk, $19.84hr. 50% working with public, 50% lab/collections. See link in comms for info. Come work with us!
BADLANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM (DICKINSON, ND)
2026 summer tourist season. May/June start, 15wks, end Aug/Sept. Full-Time, 40 hrs/wk, $19.84hr. 50% working with public, 50% lab/collections. See link in comms for info. Come work with us!