Ben Miller
@extinctmonsters.bsky.social
Mostly posts about the art history of paleontology in museums. Exhibit developer at the Field Museum, opinions my own. he/him
Website: extinctmonsters.net
Website: extinctmonsters.net
Pinned
Ben Miller
@extinctmonsters.bsky.social
· Nov 19
I’m closing in on 2k followers (thanks!) so I think I should clarify what I mean in my profile when I say the fun dinosaur pictures I post are a form of art history (besides wanting to sound elitist or something). 🧵
Reposted by Ben Miller
Not to get political, but America is very pretty and has a lot of nice folks making cool things, and I think if we had a president who wasn’t actively trying to murder us, we could have a pretty good time
January 30, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Not to get political, but America is very pretty and has a lot of nice folks making cool things, and I think if we had a president who wasn’t actively trying to murder us, we could have a pretty good time
This is the exact context where I first heard the (incorrect!) version of the Apatosaurus head switch. Thanks for finding it!
This section of the 1985 More Dinosaurs (which we watched about a billion times as kids) youtu.be/FMxO5b2e5V4?... stands out to me.
The VHS that Made Me Fall in Love with Dinosaurs
YouTube video by The90sKid
youtu.be
January 31, 2026 at 5:39 PM
This is the exact context where I first heard the (incorrect!) version of the Apatosaurus head switch. Thanks for finding it!
Sounds awesome—anyone got photos?
Very cool new exhibits at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History featuring some cool dinosaurs, including Archaeopteryx and Dodos, as well as learning lessons about extinction.
January 31, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Sounds awesome—anyone got photos?
Reposted by Ben Miller
Very special #FossilFriday, pleased to announced that we have a new paper out on reconstructing the ecosystem of Dry Mesa Quarry in the Morrison Formation
We used modern ecological techniques to quantity and model the ecosystem
Feel sorry for the baby Sauropods 😞 🦕🦕
Sergey Krasovskiy +Pedro Salas
We used modern ecological techniques to quantity and model the ecosystem
Feel sorry for the baby Sauropods 😞 🦕🦕
Sergey Krasovskiy +Pedro Salas
January 30, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Very special #FossilFriday, pleased to announced that we have a new paper out on reconstructing the ecosystem of Dry Mesa Quarry in the Morrison Formation
We used modern ecological techniques to quantity and model the ecosystem
Feel sorry for the baby Sauropods 😞 🦕🦕
Sergey Krasovskiy +Pedro Salas
We used modern ecological techniques to quantity and model the ecosystem
Feel sorry for the baby Sauropods 😞 🦕🦕
Sergey Krasovskiy +Pedro Salas
A lot of people on this site are nuts but I genuinely enjoy getting replies from strangers casually dropping the most obscure references 😂
Someone should ask Dr. Barnaby Fulton. 😁
January 30, 2026 at 6:31 PM
A lot of people on this site are nuts but I genuinely enjoy getting replies from strangers casually dropping the most obscure references 😂
Hmm, sounds like we need a refresher. The issue of whether everyone's favorite long-neck is called Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus (or both) has *nothing* to do with which skull was historically included on museum mounts! 🧵#FossilFriday
January 30, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Hmm, sounds like we need a refresher. The issue of whether everyone's favorite long-neck is called Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus (or both) has *nothing* to do with which skull was historically included on museum mounts! 🧵#FossilFriday
Reposted by Ben Miller
I’m advising an illustrated paleo book and a significant part of the work has been saying “do not use that reference, it’s ai.”
January 30, 2026 at 12:41 PM
I’m advising an illustrated paleo book and a significant part of the work has been saying “do not use that reference, it’s ai.”
Reposted by Ben Miller
Absolutely thrilled to have seen the new Chicago Archaeopteryx exhibit. This specimen never ceases to amaze me. Featuring my fanart of said dead bird.
#chicagoarchaeopteryx #fieldmuseum
#chicagoarchaeopteryx #fieldmuseum
January 29, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Absolutely thrilled to have seen the new Chicago Archaeopteryx exhibit. This specimen never ceases to amaze me. Featuring my fanart of said dead bird.
#chicagoarchaeopteryx #fieldmuseum
#chicagoarchaeopteryx #fieldmuseum
Reposted by Ben Miller
We finished prep on the Tylosaurus that we excavated in May! 28 linear feet of murder lizard.
January 29, 2026 at 7:10 PM
We finished prep on the Tylosaurus that we excavated in May! 28 linear feet of murder lizard.
Reposted by Ben Miller
This beautiful woolly rhino skull comes from Belgium. Not much more was recorded about its provenance, because it was effectively bycatch on the 1934 Marshall Field Anthropological Expedition to the Near East.
January 28, 2026 at 4:42 PM
This beautiful woolly rhino skull comes from Belgium. Not much more was recorded about its provenance, because it was effectively bycatch on the 1934 Marshall Field Anthropological Expedition to the Near East.
This sand thing is exactly the kind of drama I’m here for
January 28, 2026 at 10:32 PM
This sand thing is exactly the kind of drama I’m here for
This beautiful woolly rhino skull comes from Belgium. Not much more was recorded about its provenance, because it was effectively bycatch on the 1934 Marshall Field Anthropological Expedition to the Near East.
January 28, 2026 at 4:42 PM
This beautiful woolly rhino skull comes from Belgium. Not much more was recorded about its provenance, because it was effectively bycatch on the 1934 Marshall Field Anthropological Expedition to the Near East.
Reposted by Ben Miller
Quick reminder to anyone unsure. Yes, the US can still have major cold blasts with record low temperatures in a warming climate. 🧪
Here's why:
(image credit: NOAA)
Here's why:
(image credit: NOAA)
January 28, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Quick reminder to anyone unsure. Yes, the US can still have major cold blasts with record low temperatures in a warming climate. 🧪
Here's why:
(image credit: NOAA)
Here's why:
(image credit: NOAA)
The default iphone focal length isn’t doing it complete justice, but this nanmu rex is really something
January 26, 2026 at 9:37 PM
The default iphone focal length isn’t doing it complete justice, but this nanmu rex is really something
Reposted by Ben Miller
The Art and Science of #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge ... a new discussion from @skeletoncrewpaleo.bsky.social on YouTube, featuring me and Framestore's Russ and Dorothy youtu.be/IVu9Mfc38Es?...
The Art and Science of Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
YouTube video by Skeleton Crew
youtu.be
January 25, 2026 at 11:34 AM
The Art and Science of #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge ... a new discussion from @skeletoncrewpaleo.bsky.social on YouTube, featuring me and Framestore's Russ and Dorothy youtu.be/IVu9Mfc38Es?...
If you've got 20 minutes and some imagination, here's a tour of the new museum/showroom BHIGR is planning in a repurposed winery. The buried lede is that they're planning a room with *seven* mounted rexes (2 original, 5 cast).
Guess this is where that UAE/Stan money is going...
Guess this is where that UAE/Stan money is going...
Tour of the Future Museum Building for The Natural History Museum of the Black Hills!
YouTube video by Black Hills Institute of Geological Research
youtu.be
January 23, 2026 at 5:51 PM
If you've got 20 minutes and some imagination, here's a tour of the new museum/showroom BHIGR is planning in a repurposed winery. The buried lede is that they're planning a room with *seven* mounted rexes (2 original, 5 cast).
Guess this is where that UAE/Stan money is going...
Guess this is where that UAE/Stan money is going...
(sub) #FossilFriday: For a change of pace, here are some mostly-uncataloged remains of aurochs, bison, goats, etc from Jarmo, a 9,000 year-old agricultural village in Iraq. 🐃🦬🐐
January 23, 2026 at 4:53 PM
(sub) #FossilFriday: For a change of pace, here are some mostly-uncataloged remains of aurochs, bison, goats, etc from Jarmo, a 9,000 year-old agricultural village in Iraq. 🐃🦬🐐
lousy smarch weather
January 22, 2026 at 4:02 PM
lousy smarch weather
Interesting approach to allowing students to use ai during an open-laptop exam. Now how do we go about requiring this accountability everywhere? ploum.net/2026-01-19-e...
January 22, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Interesting approach to allowing students to use ai during an open-laptop exam. Now how do we go about requiring this accountability everywhere? ploum.net/2026-01-19-e...
I love buying a used book and discovering gift notes and author inscriptions inside.
January 21, 2026 at 11:46 PM
I love buying a used book and discovering gift notes and author inscriptions inside.
Check out this cutie: an extinct Myotragus (“mouse goat”) from southern France.
January 21, 2026 at 8:51 PM
Check out this cutie: an extinct Myotragus (“mouse goat”) from southern France.
Reposted by Ben Miller
Gorgeous #paleoart: Prototaxites towering over an expanse of early land plants. Great work @matt-humpage.bsky.social!
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Gorgeous #paleoart: Prototaxites towering over an expanse of early land plants. Great work @matt-humpage.bsky.social!