Joshua Lively, PhD
@jlivelypaleo.bsky.social
Curator of Paleontology - dinosaur digger, Alabamian in Utah, birder, I like turtles - personal account, opinions my own. #WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
Pinned
Now that #WalkingWithDinosaurs is out in the UK, let’s not forget about the real stars of the show: the actual FOSSILS in MUSEUMS! While critics wax poetic about the CGI and us “talking heads,” the real Gastonia & Utahraptor need your support more now than ever before.
#FossilFriday #WWD2025
#FossilFriday #WWD2025
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
Hey everyone! I’m excited to share that one of my thesis projects was just published in @currentbiology.bsky.social and featured on phys.org! In this paper, we use an old statistical approach developed by the US Navy in WW2 to predict the aquatic habits of various dinosaurs and marine reptiles 🦖🐊
November 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Hey everyone! I’m excited to share that one of my thesis projects was just published in @currentbiology.bsky.social and featured on phys.org! In this paper, we use an old statistical approach developed by the US Navy in WW2 to predict the aquatic habits of various dinosaurs and marine reptiles 🦖🐊
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
If you're a #teacher interested in a great #openaccess write up on reading #phylogenetic trees, check out www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/system... created by @jonhendricks.bsky.social and Elizabeth Hermsen.
2.1 Reading Trees
Chapter contents: Systematics — 1. Taxonomy — 2. Phylogenetics —— 2.1 Reading trees ← —— 2.2 Building trees —— 2.3 Character mapping —— 2.4 Phylogenetic trees and classificationParts of a tree A phylo...
www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:05 PM
If you're a #teacher interested in a great #openaccess write up on reading #phylogenetic trees, check out www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/system... created by @jonhendricks.bsky.social and Elizabeth Hermsen.
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
Coming to the end of another University of Birmingham Palaeontology undergraduate fieldtrip to Utah & Colorado. Thanks to the incredible @jlivelypaleo.bsky.social & @prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social team - we had an amazing time digging dinosaurs in the Cedar Mountain Formation.
September 27, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Coming to the end of another University of Birmingham Palaeontology undergraduate fieldtrip to Utah & Colorado. Thanks to the incredible @jlivelypaleo.bsky.social & @prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social team - we had an amazing time digging dinosaurs in the Cedar Mountain Formation.
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
MORE CRETACEOUS FIELDWORK! I'm back out in the Cedar Mountain Formation with @prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social, digging up dozens of ankylosaurs and streaming each day at 1pm Pacific
Tune in @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing to see what we're finding and ask some questions!
Tune in @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing to see what we're finding and ask some questions!
September 22, 2025 at 5:04 PM
MORE CRETACEOUS FIELDWORK! I'm back out in the Cedar Mountain Formation with @prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social, digging up dozens of ankylosaurs and streaming each day at 1pm Pacific
Tune in @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing to see what we're finding and ask some questions!
Tune in @ twitch.tv/paleontologizing to see what we're finding and ask some questions!
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
We lost Mark Norell today. Dinosaur hunter extraordinaire. The coolest dude alive. My PhD supervisor.
Wherever you are, raise a glass of your favorite lager or single malt, as it is what Mark would want.
Wherever you are, raise a glass of your favorite lager or single malt, as it is what Mark would want.
September 9, 2025 at 4:36 PM
We lost Mark Norell today. Dinosaur hunter extraordinaire. The coolest dude alive. My PhD supervisor.
Wherever you are, raise a glass of your favorite lager or single malt, as it is what Mark would want.
Wherever you are, raise a glass of your favorite lager or single malt, as it is what Mark would want.
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
Anderson BM, Allmon WD. Punctuated equilibria remains the dominant pattern of morphospecies origin in the fossil record: an analysis using the “persistence of ancestor” criterion. Paleobiology. doi.org/10.1017/pab....
Punctuated equilibria remains the dominant pattern of morphospecies origin in the fossil record: an analysis using the “persistence of ancestor” criterion | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Punctuated equilibria remains the dominant pattern of morphospecies origin in the fossil record: an analysis using the “persistence of ancestor” criterion
doi.org
August 2, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Anderson BM, Allmon WD. Punctuated equilibria remains the dominant pattern of morphospecies origin in the fossil record: an analysis using the “persistence of ancestor” criterion. Paleobiology. doi.org/10.1017/pab....
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
Keep sciencing. We are living through a time when looking at a rock and wondering how old it is qualifies as an act of resistance.
August 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Keep sciencing. We are living through a time when looking at a rock and wondering how old it is qualifies as an act of resistance.
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
The reproductive system of birds is an evolutionary marvel. Their only functioning oviduct is a fantastic conveyor belt of weirdness, of which parts are still mysterious. An illustration made for a pet bird magazine.
You can read more on my Cara page: cara.app/post/e9f92d4...
You can read more on my Cara page: cara.app/post/e9f92d4...
July 19, 2025 at 12:48 PM
The reproductive system of birds is an evolutionary marvel. Their only functioning oviduct is a fantastic conveyor belt of weirdness, of which parts are still mysterious. An illustration made for a pet bird magazine.
You can read more on my Cara page: cara.app/post/e9f92d4...
You can read more on my Cara page: cara.app/post/e9f92d4...
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
ICYMI, the Great Salt Lake has dropped to a low that triggers forced conservation measures under a new Utah law: www.fox13now.com/news/great-s... #utpol #Utah
July 30, 2025 at 2:36 PM
ICYMI, the Great Salt Lake has dropped to a low that triggers forced conservation measures under a new Utah law: www.fox13now.com/news/great-s... #utpol #Utah
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
The first planned migration of an entire country due to climate change is happening! Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation, is at risk of being submerged under rising sea level, so it has signed an agreement with Australia to allow 280 Tuvaluans to settle in Australia as permanent residents each year.
The First Planned Migration of an Entire Country Is Underway
The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu could be submerged in 25 years due to rising sea levels, so a plan is being implemented to relocate its population to Australia.
www.wired.com
July 26, 2025 at 10:20 AM
The first planned migration of an entire country due to climate change is happening! Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation, is at risk of being submerged under rising sea level, so it has signed an agreement with Australia to allow 280 Tuvaluans to settle in Australia as permanent residents each year.
Spent yesterday checking on access to various sites in the Cretaceous-Paleocene North Horn Formation, including a new site with adult and juvenile ceratopsian material we’ll be opening next month. Paleo can be challenging at 8000-10,000’!
And of course there are turtles. 🐢🥰
#FossilFriday
And of course there are turtles. 🐢🥰
#FossilFriday
July 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Spent yesterday checking on access to various sites in the Cretaceous-Paleocene North Horn Formation, including a new site with adult and juvenile ceratopsian material we’ll be opening next month. Paleo can be challenging at 8000-10,000’!
And of course there are turtles. 🐢🥰
#FossilFriday
And of course there are turtles. 🐢🥰
#FossilFriday
July 18, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
NEW: After spending millions on a legal and PR campaign, the state of Utah might ultimately drop its lawsuit laying claims to millions of acres of public lands: www.fox13now.com/news/politic... #utpol #Utah
Utah may ultimately abandon lawsuit over control of public lands
The state of Utah might not re-file a controversial lawsuit demanding the federal government hand over control of millions of acres of public lands.
www.fox13now.com
July 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
NEW: After spending millions on a legal and PR campaign, the state of Utah might ultimately drop its lawsuit laying claims to millions of acres of public lands: www.fox13now.com/news/politic... #utpol #Utah
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
New paper today about the evolution of the wrist along the dinosaur to bird transition: a bird-like configuration appeared in predatory dinosaurs first, as suggested by new exceptionally preserved hands of oviraptors and troodontids
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reorganization of the theropod wrist preceded the origin of avian flight - Nature
The forelimbs of two Late Cretaceous theropod dinosaurs show the presence of the pisiform bone, previously thought to have been lost early in theropod evolution and regained in birds during the evolut...
www.nature.com
July 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
New paper today about the evolution of the wrist along the dinosaur to bird transition: a bird-like configuration appeared in predatory dinosaurs first, as suggested by new exceptionally preserved hands of oviraptors and troodontids
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
New #RSOS paper: The earliest #fossil cetacean with Osedax borings: narrowing the spatiotemporal gap between Cretaceous marine reptiles and late Cenozoic #whales. Read more: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... #palaeontology @plesiosarahs.bsky.social @pdmannion.bsky.social
June 29, 2025 at 3:02 PM
New #RSOS paper: The earliest #fossil cetacean with Osedax borings: narrowing the spatiotemporal gap between Cretaceous marine reptiles and late Cenozoic #whales. Read more: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... #palaeontology @plesiosarahs.bsky.social @pdmannion.bsky.social
@prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social staff and volunteers put a TON of effort into this dig, from permitting to the actual excavation. No mention of the museum in the book, so our gift shop won’t be carrying it!
Got myself a copy of the Walking with Dinosaurs' companion book. I'm pretty surprised there was no focus on Prehistoric Museum's Gastonia dig, but instead focused on Utahraptor megablock project. Grand County, Utah, got a great shout-out. @paleontologizing.bsky.social @jlivelypaleo.bsky.social
June 26, 2025 at 2:47 PM
@prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social staff and volunteers put a TON of effort into this dig, from permitting to the actual excavation. No mention of the museum in the book, so our gift shop won’t be carrying it!
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
For #FossilFriday, trace fossils (nest & coprolites) & body fossil (petrified wood) of the oldest termite nest in Australia (Early Cretaceous, ~127 million years old), from the Wonthaggi Formation of Victoria. For more info & images, here's a 🧵. 1/n
June 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM
For #FossilFriday, trace fossils (nest & coprolites) & body fossil (petrified wood) of the oldest termite nest in Australia (Early Cretaceous, ~127 million years old), from the Wonthaggi Formation of Victoria. For more info & images, here's a 🧵. 1/n
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
European mammal turnover driven by a global rapid warming event preceding the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
European mammal turnover driven by a global rapid warming event preceding the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum | PNAS
A brief global warming event known as the Pre-Onset Excursion (POE) occurred just
before the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56 Mya). The d...
www.pnas.org
June 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
European mammal turnover driven by a global rapid warming event preceding the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
Have you seen the Band of Brothers episode of Walking With Dinosaurs yet? Last year it was an absolute pleasure to dig at the site with our University of Birmingham undergraduates - thanks so much to @jlivelypaleo.bsky.social & @prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social for an amazing experience!
June 18, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Have you seen the Band of Brothers episode of Walking With Dinosaurs yet? Last year it was an absolute pleasure to dig at the site with our University of Birmingham undergraduates - thanks so much to @jlivelypaleo.bsky.social & @prehistoricmuseum.bsky.social for an amazing experience!
Honestly one of the most challenging sites I’ve ever worked. We can’t even jacket most individual bones (or groups of bones) because they are so dense. Thankfully, all those smaller osteoderms are robust and pop out in one piece!
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
If you missed us on @pbs.org, you can stream the Band of Brothers episode of #WalkingWithDinosaurs online!
#WWD2025 #FossilFriday
www.pbs.org/video/band-o...
#WWD2025 #FossilFriday
www.pbs.org/video/band-o...
Walking with Dinosaurs | Band of Brothers | Episode 3
Follow a gang of armored dinosaurs battle to reach adulthood, pursued by ferocious raptors
www.pbs.org
June 18, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Honestly one of the most challenging sites I’ve ever worked. We can’t even jacket most individual bones (or groups of bones) because they are so dense. Thankfully, all those smaller osteoderms are robust and pop out in one piece!
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
If you missed us on @pbs.org, you can stream the Band of Brothers episode of #WalkingWithDinosaurs online!
#WWD2025 #FossilFriday
www.pbs.org/video/band-o...
#WWD2025 #FossilFriday
www.pbs.org/video/band-o...
Walking with Dinosaurs | Band of Brothers | Episode 3
Follow a gang of armored dinosaurs battle to reach adulthood, pursued by ferocious raptors
www.pbs.org
June 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM
If you missed us on @pbs.org, you can stream the Band of Brothers episode of #WalkingWithDinosaurs online!
#WWD2025 #FossilFriday
www.pbs.org/video/band-o...
#WWD2025 #FossilFriday
www.pbs.org/video/band-o...
Tonight is the night! Tune in to watch our crew excavate the world’s largest concentration of armored dinosaurs and see both Gastonia and Utahraptor come to life on @pbs.org
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
We’re less than 24 hours away from the premiere of our episode of #WalkingWithDinosaurs!
Our excavations of Gastonia and Utahraptor will air Tuesday night at 7 pm on PBS Utah. Check your local listings for show times on your PBS station.
#WWD25
Our excavations of Gastonia and Utahraptor will air Tuesday night at 7 pm on PBS Utah. Check your local listings for show times on your PBS station.
#WWD25
June 17, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Tonight is the night! Tune in to watch our crew excavate the world’s largest concentration of armored dinosaurs and see both Gastonia and Utahraptor come to life on @pbs.org
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
#WalkingWithDinosaurs #WWD2025
Reposted by Joshua Lively, PhD
We’re less than 24 hours away from the premiere of our episode of #WalkingWithDinosaurs!
Our excavations of Gastonia and Utahraptor will air Tuesday night at 7 pm on PBS Utah. Check your local listings for show times on your PBS station.
#WWD25
Our excavations of Gastonia and Utahraptor will air Tuesday night at 7 pm on PBS Utah. Check your local listings for show times on your PBS station.
#WWD25
June 17, 2025 at 2:15 AM
We’re less than 24 hours away from the premiere of our episode of #WalkingWithDinosaurs!
Our excavations of Gastonia and Utahraptor will air Tuesday night at 7 pm on PBS Utah. Check your local listings for show times on your PBS station.
#WWD25
Our excavations of Gastonia and Utahraptor will air Tuesday night at 7 pm on PBS Utah. Check your local listings for show times on your PBS station.
#WWD25
Speaking of, pretty bummed to see ZERO mention of the museum excavating and taking care of these fossils in the new #WalkingWithDinosaurs book. Plenty about @paleojim.bsky.social’s “megablock” though.
#WWD2025
#WWD2025
June 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Speaking of, pretty bummed to see ZERO mention of the museum excavating and taking care of these fossils in the new #WalkingWithDinosaurs book. Plenty about @paleojim.bsky.social’s “megablock” though.
#WWD2025
#WWD2025