Robert Sansom
@fossilrob.bsky.social
Palaeobiologist in Manchester | Fossils, Parenting, Animal Evolution, Fish, Phylogeny, Existential Despair, Taphonomy, and occasionally Eurovision
This is amazing 🥲
To mark the 85th Annual SVP Meeting 2025, we've curated a special open access collection.
Next up is jawless vertebrates: Phylogeny, classification and character polarity of the Osteostraci (Vertebrata) by Sansom (2009) buff.ly/M6bXNzx #2025SVP #PaleoSky @fossilrob.bsky.social #FossilFish #SVP2025
Next up is jawless vertebrates: Phylogeny, classification and character polarity of the Osteostraci (Vertebrata) by Sansom (2009) buff.ly/M6bXNzx #2025SVP #PaleoSky @fossilrob.bsky.social #FossilFish #SVP2025
November 15, 2025 at 2:40 PM
This is amazing 🥲
Reposted by Robert Sansom
The fossil files is at #SVP2025 to bring you all the hot gossip. First episode “Nanotyrannus and vertebrate origins” is out today with @jgn-paleo.bsky.social, @stevebrusatte.bsky.social and Yara Haridy
November 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
The fossil files is at #SVP2025 to bring you all the hot gossip. First episode “Nanotyrannus and vertebrate origins” is out today with @jgn-paleo.bsky.social, @stevebrusatte.bsky.social and Yara Haridy
👀 one of these “Landmarks Papers in Vertebrate Palaeontology” looks familiar! #SVP2025 @systbiol.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 3:11 PM
👀 one of these “Landmarks Papers in Vertebrate Palaeontology” looks familiar! #SVP2025 @systbiol.bsky.social
I’d prefer not to be making the final finessing touches to tomorrows talk whilst on the train to Birmingham for #SVP2025, but that is where we are
November 11, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I’d prefer not to be making the final finessing touches to tomorrows talk whilst on the train to Birmingham for #SVP2025, but that is where we are
Reposted by Robert Sansom
#Fossil Fans! A new #FossilFiles pod just dropped! It's on that super cool and exciting recent dinosaur paper in Nature!! .... Nooo... not that one... Zavacephale of course! Check out mine and @fossilrob.bsky.social's take wherever you get your podcasts: fossils.libsyn.com/a-new-head-b...
The Fossil Files: A new head banging dinosaur
A newly discovered fossil from the Cretaceous of Mongolia tells us an interesting story about the purported head butting behaviour of dinosaurs. Pachycephalosaurs are famous for their thick domed heads but it has been disputed how or when this evolved. The beautifully preserved Zavacephale rinpoche has a well preserved skull and dome but also loads of details of the body and tail as well. What is suprising is that this individual is much smaller, and occurs much earlier, than other pachycephalosaurs. We take a look at this new fossil and what this means for interpreting the evolution of dinosaur behaviour. This week's paper is "A domed pachycephalosaur from the early Cretaceous of Mongolia" by Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig and colleagues from Mongolia and North Carolina, published in Nature in September 2025. Wide screen palaeoart by Masaya Hattori.
fossils.libsyn.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
#Fossil Fans! A new #FossilFiles pod just dropped! It's on that super cool and exciting recent dinosaur paper in Nature!! .... Nooo... not that one... Zavacephale of course! Check out mine and @fossilrob.bsky.social's take wherever you get your podcasts: fossils.libsyn.com/a-new-head-b...
Reposted by Robert Sansom
How did pachycephalosaurs get their head-butting dome? In the new episode out today, we take a look at Zavacephale, a lovely new dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia
November 3, 2025 at 10:19 AM
How did pachycephalosaurs get their head-butting dome? In the new episode out today, we take a look at Zavacephale, a lovely new dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia
Reposted by Robert Sansom
Because #Halloween is for zombies and this year it falls on #FossilFriday, let's talk about fossil signs of zombification! Ophiocordyceps, the ant-zombifying fungus that inspired the last of us, compels an infected ant to leave its colony, climb a leaf and bite down, leaving distinctive marks 1/
October 31, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Because #Halloween is for zombies and this year it falls on #FossilFriday, let's talk about fossil signs of zombification! Ophiocordyceps, the ant-zombifying fungus that inspired the last of us, compels an infected ant to leave its colony, climb a leaf and bite down, leaving distinctive marks 1/
When fossil hunting is too easy: sneak preview of Tuesday’s episode @thefossilfiles.bsky.social on new pachycephalosaur Zavacephale youtube.com/shorts/qhIpd...
How to find a #dinosaur fossil #paleontology #podcast
YouTube video by The Fossil Files Podcast
youtube.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:52 AM
When fossil hunting is too easy: sneak preview of Tuesday’s episode @thefossilfiles.bsky.social on new pachycephalosaur Zavacephale youtube.com/shorts/qhIpd...
If you can’t beat them join them. My demon hunters inspired pumpkin for this year
October 31, 2025 at 11:46 AM
If you can’t beat them join them. My demon hunters inspired pumpkin for this year
Well that is an alarming email to start one’s day.
🐿️ Half?!?!?!
🐿️ Half?!?!?!
October 25, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Well that is an alarming email to start one’s day.
🐿️ Half?!?!?!
🐿️ Half?!?!?!
How much work can get done when pre-teen girls are downstairs dancing to K-POP demon hunters soda pop AGAIN #InsetDay
a screenshot of a game called soda pop with a green background .
ALT: a screenshot of a game called soda pop with a green background .
media.tenor.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:16 AM
How much work can get done when pre-teen girls are downstairs dancing to K-POP demon hunters soda pop AGAIN #InsetDay
Reposted by Robert Sansom
Not only can a nasty fungus take over an ant or spider's brain causing behaviour changes before it explodes as spores out of the animal's head 🐜 🍄, but it seems this nightmarish behaviour can be captured in the fossil record.
New episode: "Cretaceous Zombie Ants" new episode out today!
New episode: "Cretaceous Zombie Ants" new episode out today!
October 21, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Not only can a nasty fungus take over an ant or spider's brain causing behaviour changes before it explodes as spores out of the animal's head 🐜 🍄, but it seems this nightmarish behaviour can be captured in the fossil record.
New episode: "Cretaceous Zombie Ants" new episode out today!
New episode: "Cretaceous Zombie Ants" new episode out today!
Can anyone help me with a PDF? I should have access, but the library isn't playing ball. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Shibboleth Authentication Request
www-nature-com.manchester.idm.oclc.org
October 20, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Can anyone help me with a PDF? I should have access, but the library isn't playing ball. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
New Dinosaur trackways happening at #MorphUpNorth at Man Met with @peterfalkingham.com with lots of fancy rotating models
October 15, 2025 at 3:13 PM
New Dinosaur trackways happening at #MorphUpNorth at Man Met with @peterfalkingham.com with lots of fancy rotating models
Reposted by Robert Sansom
In Fes, Morocco, today with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social for a conference at USMBA organised by our collaborator Abdessalam El Khanchoufi on the challenges of protecting palaeontological and archaeological heritage.
October 13, 2025 at 10:01 AM
In Fes, Morocco, today with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social for a conference at USMBA organised by our collaborator Abdessalam El Khanchoufi on the challenges of protecting palaeontological and archaeological heritage.
Lecture etiquette question: you accidentally left something in a lecture theatre you were teaching in, but there is another lecture going on in that room now. Do you interrupt to retrieve said item?
October 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Lecture etiquette question: you accidentally left something in a lecture theatre you were teaching in, but there is another lecture going on in that room now. Do you interrupt to retrieve said item?
Reposted by Robert Sansom
🚨 Time for a #FossilFriday round up: our selection of some recent research highlights. THREAD
October 10, 2025 at 9:54 AM
🚨 Time for a #FossilFriday round up: our selection of some recent research highlights. THREAD
Reposted by Robert Sansom
We cover a lot of ground in this one: the ethics of publishing on Myanmar amber, article retraction, and whether Rob has any credibility. It's a good one. Give it a listen 👇
#Fossil Files podcast fans!! Today sees the release of Fossil Fails II: The tiny dinosaur with the massive flaw... Get our take on that whole Oculudentavis thing - available now on libsyn and wherever you get your podcasts! @thefossilfiles.bsky.social fossils.libsyn.com/fossil-fails...
The Fossil Files: Fossil Fails: The tiny dino with a massive flaw
Discovery of the smallest ever dinosaur acheived quite a splash when it was publised on the front cover of Nature in 2020. The new critter, Oculodentavis, was the size of a hummingbird and reconstruct...
fossils.libsyn.com
October 8, 2025 at 9:54 AM
We cover a lot of ground in this one: the ethics of publishing on Myanmar amber, article retraction, and whether Rob has any credibility. It's a good one. Give it a listen 👇
The story of Oculudentavis is wild. It was named "eye-teeth-bird" but had neither the eyes nor teeth of a bird, and indeed it wasn't even a bird. And the fossil may have come from a war zone 1/2
October 7, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The story of Oculudentavis is wild. It was named "eye-teeth-bird" but had neither the eyes nor teeth of a bird, and indeed it wasn't even a bird. And the fossil may have come from a war zone 1/2
University challenge fossils alert!!
October 6, 2025 at 7:55 PM
University challenge fossils alert!!
How do you select a name for a new dinosaur? Sneak peek on #FossilFriday of the next @thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out on Tuesday with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/5Cbz9...
How do you choose a name for a new #dinosaur ? #thefossilfiles #taxonomy
YouTube video by The Fossil Files Podcast
youtube.com
October 3, 2025 at 10:57 AM
How do you select a name for a new dinosaur? Sneak peek on #FossilFriday of the next @thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out on Tuesday with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/5Cbz9...
I am glad I caught that typo
October 1, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I am glad I caught that typo
Fossil fails for this #FossilFriday youtu.be/6avVFs2LwKk?...
Fossil Fails part 1: Bees!
YouTube video by The Fossil Files Podcast
youtu.be
September 26, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Fossil fails for this #FossilFriday youtu.be/6avVFs2LwKk?...