Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
@deadbovids.bsky.social
SUNY Oneonta Assistant Professor
Paleontologist, anthropologist, naturalist, forager. Views my own 🏳️🌈
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xAy15BUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Paleontologist, anthropologist, naturalist, forager. Views my own 🏳️🌈
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xAy15BUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Pinned
I finished 87 books this year, and it's time to rank my top ten! #booksky
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
Reptile Handler At Birthday Party Ruthlessly Heckled By 6-Year-Old For Showing Amphibian https://theonion.com/reptile-handler-at-birthday-party-ruthlessly-heckled-by-6-year-old-for-showing-amphibian/
February 3, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Reptile Handler At Birthday Party Ruthlessly Heckled By 6-Year-Old For Showing Amphibian https://theonion.com/reptile-handler-at-birthday-party-ruthlessly-heckled-by-6-year-old-for-showing-amphibian/
Convincing paper--though I caution against assuming any introgression came from the hyper-primitive floresiensis (or luzonensis) when Javan Homo erectus was right there.
February 3, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Convincing paper--though I caution against assuming any introgression came from the hyper-primitive floresiensis (or luzonensis) when Javan Homo erectus was right there.
Honestly not a surprising statement from someone who writes like an AI chatbot
February 3, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Honestly not a surprising statement from someone who writes like an AI chatbot
Another reason to get rid of lawns globally. Literally the easiest form of rewilding.
Imagine how much deeper the NO2 reductions would be if we ban gas powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/top...
January 31, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Another reason to get rid of lawns globally. Literally the easiest form of rewilding.
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
I'm Kat Abughazaleh and I approve this message.
January 31, 2026 at 4:53 PM
I'm Kat Abughazaleh and I approve this message.
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
I went to Minneapolis to see what it means when ICE occupies a city. And I left with one unmistakable realization: ICE is not broken. It is working exactly as President Donald Trump wants it to.
It cannot be reformed or retrained. It must be abolished.
It cannot be reformed or retrained. It must be abolished.
El Sayed: It's time to abolish ICE
After the violence of the last year, abolishing ICE is not extreme; it is the necessary next step.
www.detroitnews.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:59 PM
I went to Minneapolis to see what it means when ICE occupies a city. And I left with one unmistakable realization: ICE is not broken. It is working exactly as President Donald Trump wants it to.
It cannot be reformed or retrained. It must be abolished.
It cannot be reformed or retrained. It must be abolished.
Writing up a systematic paleontology for a very strange Miocene Impala! #FossilFriday
January 30, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Writing up a systematic paleontology for a very strange Miocene Impala! #FossilFriday
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
I know all eyes are on Minneapolis, but there's a fast-approaching nightmare in Springfield, Ohio.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
January 28, 2026 at 11:38 PM
I know all eyes are on Minneapolis, but there's a fast-approaching nightmare in Springfield, Ohio.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
Day 1 of the semester! Let's goooo
January 27, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Day 1 of the semester! Let's goooo
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
Image credited to Garrett Peterson, CRNA colleague of Alex Pretti, of his colleagues at the VA hospital where he worked.
January 27, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Image credited to Garrett Peterson, CRNA colleague of Alex Pretti, of his colleagues at the VA hospital where he worked.
"This is the polio vaccine of bird phylogeny" -me, 5 minutes ago
MAJOR NEWS! We just launched an awesome new tool! The illustrated Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer lets users trace any bird’s lineage, compare species relationships, and explore major evolutionary milestones with a click of a button. SHARE and EXPLORE! birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/phy...
January 27, 2026 at 1:50 AM
"This is the polio vaccine of bird phylogeny" -me, 5 minutes ago
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
New paper out, possibly one of the most tedious projects of my life... it's working name was Project ARDUOUS and boy howdy did it live up to its name 🧪🏺
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Global compilation of bioavailable strontium isotope data - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Global compilation of bioavailable strontium isotope data
www.nature.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:01 PM
New paper out, possibly one of the most tedious projects of my life... it's working name was Project ARDUOUS and boy howdy did it live up to its name 🧪🏺
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Friends don't let friends use the Biological Species Concept
January 26, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Friends don't let friends use the Biological Species Concept
Defend. Abolish. Prosecute. Imprison. Every single person responsible for or complicit in terrorizing our communities.
Abolish ICE is not enough.
Stern words for Greg Bovino or Kristi Noem is not enough.
We need prosecutions and trials.
Anything short of this position fails to address the gravity of this moment.
Stern words for Greg Bovino or Kristi Noem is not enough.
We need prosecutions and trials.
Anything short of this position fails to address the gravity of this moment.
January 26, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Defend. Abolish. Prosecute. Imprison. Every single person responsible for or complicit in terrorizing our communities.
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
The first Minnesota murder, they refused to let a medical professional help the woman they shot. The second Minnesota murder, they simply shot the medical professional.
January 24, 2026 at 10:03 PM
The first Minnesota murder, they refused to let a medical professional help the woman they shot. The second Minnesota murder, they simply shot the medical professional.
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
Alex Pretti, the man killed by federal agents today in Minneapolis, appears to have been a registered nurse, an athlete, a son and a brother, with ties to Colorado and Wisconsin.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
January 24, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Alex Pretti, the man killed by federal agents today in Minneapolis, appears to have been a registered nurse, an athlete, a son and a brother, with ties to Colorado and Wisconsin.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
Here is a photo he used for several accounts.
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
ICE agents are America's failures, basically indistinguishable from lazy school shooters, losers who want to play Call of Duty on our streets against people who can't fight back. They have unlimited ammo and toss tear gas like they're pressing L1. They have to be defunded and jailed. All of them.
MS NOW news crew capturing ICE/DHS agents firing pepper balls, flash bangs, and tear gas at non violent protesters.
file:///C:/Users/Nikki/Downloads/Velshi-2026-01-24.mp4
file:///C:/Users/Nikki/Downloads/Velshi-2026-01-24.mp4
January 24, 2026 at 5:13 PM
ICE agents are America's failures, basically indistinguishable from lazy school shooters, losers who want to play Call of Duty on our streets against people who can't fight back. They have unlimited ammo and toss tear gas like they're pressing L1. They have to be defunded and jailed. All of them.
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
"In St. Paul, at least one-fourth of students from Spanish-speaking homes have missed every day of school since Dec. 12."
8 weeks under siege in Minnesota • Minnesota Reformer
Frank has a hard time explaining to his 8-year-old daughter why they rarely leave their home in the Twin Cities. Why she can’t go to school, and why he can’t work. “The only thing we tell her is that ...
minnesotareformer.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:42 PM
"In St. Paul, at least one-fourth of students from Spanish-speaking homes have missed every day of school since Dec. 12."
A Deinotherium tooth from the Pliocene of western Kenya, along with a reconstruction of these giants by Mauricio Antón
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
January 23, 2026 at 7:32 PM
A Deinotherium tooth from the Pliocene of western Kenya, along with a reconstruction of these giants by Mauricio Antón
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
This #FossilFriday we are pleased to have published the new younginid taxon Scyllacerta from the late Permian of South Africa 🇿🇦
This beautiful aggregation has the holotype and has been in the literature for 30 years as “juvenile Youngina”.
Photo taken before scanning at the @esrf.fr
This beautiful aggregation has the holotype and has been in the literature for 30 years as “juvenile Youngina”.
Photo taken before scanning at the @esrf.fr
January 23, 2026 at 7:25 PM
This #FossilFriday we are pleased to have published the new younginid taxon Scyllacerta from the late Permian of South Africa 🇿🇦
This beautiful aggregation has the holotype and has been in the literature for 30 years as “juvenile Youngina”.
Photo taken before scanning at the @esrf.fr
This beautiful aggregation has the holotype and has been in the literature for 30 years as “juvenile Youngina”.
Photo taken before scanning at the @esrf.fr
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
Using multiple lines of evidence, we show that feral cats and red foxes are strongly implicated in most Australian mammal extinctions and in the ongoing imperilment of numerous extant species. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
January 21, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Using multiple lines of evidence, we show that feral cats and red foxes are strongly implicated in most Australian mammal extinctions and in the ongoing imperilment of numerous extant species. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
The ICE deaths we're not talking about
Trump's biggest concentration camp in Texas is rocked by 3 deaths in 33 days - one deemed 'homicide' after a violent encounter with guards. The ICE detention death rate is 10X (!!) Biden's final year
My new column on a crisis www.inquirer.com/opinion/deat...
Trump's biggest concentration camp in Texas is rocked by 3 deaths in 33 days - one deemed 'homicide' after a violent encounter with guards. The ICE detention death rate is 10X (!!) Biden's final year
My new column on a crisis www.inquirer.com/opinion/deat...
People are dying in Trump’s squalid concentration camps | Will Bunch
People are dying in ICE detention facilities at nearly 10 times the rate of the Biden years. It will likely get worse.
www.inquirer.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:51 PM
The ICE deaths we're not talking about
Trump's biggest concentration camp in Texas is rocked by 3 deaths in 33 days - one deemed 'homicide' after a violent encounter with guards. The ICE detention death rate is 10X (!!) Biden's final year
My new column on a crisis www.inquirer.com/opinion/deat...
Trump's biggest concentration camp in Texas is rocked by 3 deaths in 33 days - one deemed 'homicide' after a violent encounter with guards. The ICE detention death rate is 10X (!!) Biden's final year
My new column on a crisis www.inquirer.com/opinion/deat...
⚠️ 📢 🚨 Afar Paranthropus! ⚠️ 📢 🚨
I am really excited to share news of this new jaw...until now Paranthropus had been conspicuously absent from the Afar.
Fieldwork at Mille-Logya is not easy, and this fossil is the result of years of very hard work (and a lot of days of dry screening by our team)!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fieldwork at Mille-Logya is not easy, and this fossil is the result of years of very hard work (and a lot of days of dry screening by our team)!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Afar fossil shows broad distribution and versatility of Paranthropus - Nature
With its attribution to Paranthropus, a 2.6-million-year-old partial mandible expands the range of the genus into the Afar region of Ethiopia and adds to our understanding of hominin evolution in east...
www.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:01 PM
⚠️ 📢 🚨 Afar Paranthropus! ⚠️ 📢 🚨
Reposted by Kaedan O'Brien, Ph.D.
I am really excited to share news of this new jaw...until now Paranthropus had been conspicuously absent from the Afar.
Fieldwork at Mille-Logya is not easy, and this fossil is the result of years of very hard work (and a lot of days of dry screening by our team)!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fieldwork at Mille-Logya is not easy, and this fossil is the result of years of very hard work (and a lot of days of dry screening by our team)!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Afar fossil shows broad distribution and versatility of Paranthropus - Nature
With its attribution to Paranthropus, a 2.6-million-year-old partial mandible expands the range of the genus into the Afar region of Ethiopia and adds to our understanding of hominin evolution in east...
www.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:14 PM
I am really excited to share news of this new jaw...until now Paranthropus had been conspicuously absent from the Afar.
Fieldwork at Mille-Logya is not easy, and this fossil is the result of years of very hard work (and a lot of days of dry screening by our team)!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fieldwork at Mille-Logya is not easy, and this fossil is the result of years of very hard work (and a lot of days of dry screening by our team)!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...