Neil Kelley
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kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
Neil Kelley
@kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
630 followers 970 following 100 posts
A vertebrate paleontologist in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University with an affinity toward salty reptiles and an irreverent internet presence. Like Nardwuar meets AS Romer minus the fame & charisma.
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kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · Feb 5
Famed paleontologist Alfred Romer stands inside the jaws of a mounted fossil skeleton of the giant marine reptile Kronosaurus with a bemused look on his face.
Reposted by Neil Kelley
dinochick.bsky.social
New seasonal paleontology positions available for Dinosaur National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park and Fossil Butte National Monument. Apply soon, they close after they receive a certain number of apps! #NPSpaleo #PaleoJobs

www.usajobs.gov/job/850816000

www.usajobs.gov/job/850816700
USAJOBS connects job seekers with federal jobs across the United States and around the world as the official employment site for the federal government
These positions may be filled for a six month seasonal period, but can vary due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: <strong>April 2026</strong> <p>For more par...
www.usajobs.gov
November 24, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
erikklemetti.bsky.social
Here is a hastily constructed animated gif from different NASA satellites showing the progression of the Hayli Gubbi eruption. Note the tall ash plume spreading NE (right) and a lower, light tan ash flow(?) moving NNW. #eruption #volcano
November 23, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Kestrels are such handsome birds. Lots out and about today, their plumage even more striking than usual. This shot captures the colors and patterns well.
A male kestrel mid-flight above a meadow in late fall. His blue-gray wings, accented with dark tips and white dots, are spread wide; his coppery red tail, dipped in black, is fanned out. His back is copper flecked black, his head blue, his face white, his black beak small and sharply curved. He appears to be glancing over his shoulder at the viewer.
November 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
valdosaurus.bsky.social
A pliosaur vertebra from the Etches Collection sporting a notochordal boss, an embryonic remnant. These are common in ankylosaur verts but not uncommon in #IsleofWight posterior dorsal and early caudal iguanodontian centra. Rarely reported elsewhere it seems. #FossilFriday
November 14, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
brianapobiner.bsky.social
Are you local to the DC area and want to be a public engagement volunteer with us in the Hall of Human Origins? Apply now! naturalhistory.si.edu/join-us/volu...
Volunteering
Get information about volunteering at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
naturalhistory.si.edu
November 21, 2025 at 9:44 PM
kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
Here is Vanderbilt's cast (minus the skull 😭), purchased around 1875 and recently rediscovered in a basement: www.vanderbilt.edu/evolution/re...

Hoping we can restore and display someday -- museum conservationists, on anyone with a spare skull, DM me!

#FossilFriday @evolutionvu.bsky.social
Disassembled cast of Rhomaleosaurus in a storage facility.
November 21, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
caleb-m-gordon.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Neil Kelley
coastalpaleo.bsky.social
#fossilfriday Sarah stands in for scale against the surprisingly large skeleton of the Jurassic pliosaur Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni, on display in the "Mary Anning hall" at @nhm-london.bsky.social. This is a cast of the type, from the Whitby Mudstone of Yorkshire. @tetrameryx.bsky.social #2025SVP
Skeleton of a short necked plesiosaur mounted on a wall: it has a large, ~meter long head, a two meter long neck, a fusiform two meter long ribcage, and four ~1.5 meter long flippers - the entire damn thing is preserved in articulation.
November 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
uglyfossils.bsky.social
Alas, this article on our reptile decomposition research does not come in a scratch-and-sniff format. However, if you'd like to see what my students, colleagues, and I have been up to with our decomposing lizards and crocodylians, here's your chance. 🧪
CSI: Cretaceous. A reptile body farm is shedding light on how dinosaurs died.
Here’s how scientists are solving the “dinosaur death pose” mystery and others.
www.nationalgeographic.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
biodiversitypix.bsky.social
🕸️ Histoire naturelle des fourmis, .
Paris, De l'impr. de Crapelet, 1802..

[Source]
Historical illustration titled "Histoire naturelle des fourmis," depicting detailed, labeled anatomical drawings of various ant species and body parts. The image shows ants in different postures, with some winged, highlighting segmented bodies, antennae, legs, and mandibles. Close-up views of specific head and mouthparts emphasize structural features. The insect drawings are arranged in figures 56 to 60, each with multiple components marked by letters for study. The illustration combines detailed coloration and line work typical of 19th-century natural history documentation, focusing on the morphology and taxonomy of ants, an arthropod group related to Arachnida by classification context.
November 19, 2025 at 7:23 PM
kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Portable toilet and construction equipment in a parking lot at night
November 19, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
christhorogood.bsky.social
Rafflesia hasseltii: a plant seen more by tigers than people. Watching this flower open by night was the closest thing to magic:
November 19, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
biodiversitypix.bsky.social
🌱 Hortus gramineus Woburnensis: London: Printed by B. McMillan, 1816.

[Source]
Illustration of a single stalk of annual-bearded rye-grass (Lolium temulentum) centered on a pale background. The grass has a long, slender green stem with narrow, pointed leaves curling slightly. At the top, a spike-like seed head with small pointed spikelets is depicted, showing a natural brownish hue. Two labels are visible: one near the middle identifies the species as "Lolium temulentum," and another near the base reads "Annual-bearded Rye-grass." The page number "299" is printed at the top center. The style is detailed and botanical, typical of early 19th-century scientific plant illustrations.
November 19, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
roadside.xor.blue
montana de oro state park, los osos, california, 1985
montana de oro state park, los osos, california, 1985
November 18, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
biodiversitypix.bsky.social
🦉 Die Raubvögel Deutschlands und des angrenzenden Mitteleuropas;.
Cassel [Germany]Verlag von Theodor Fischer, 1876..

[Source]
Illustration of a Strix uralensis owl perched on a moss-covered tree stump in a natural clearing. The owl features detailed brown and cream streaked feathers, prominent facial disc, and intense forward gaze. In the background, trees and a flying bird are visible under a cloudy sky. The artwork is a vintage 1876 chromolithograph from "Die Raubvögel Deutschlands und des angrenzenden Mitteleuropas," showcasing the owl in its typical woodland habitat.
November 17, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
cintylee.bsky.social
Billion year old shallow water stromatolitic carbonates contact metamorphosed. Green layers with diopside and occasional grossular garnet. Sedimentary layers are preserved, including ripples! Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas.
November 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM
kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞
I'm trying to be less terminally online
Maybe it's easy in the sense that
The constellation of bullshit
Seems evermore beyond my grasp
So, I'm like the doomed astronaut
Drifting away from the discourse
But then there's the terminal part
November 13, 2025 at 10:52 PM
kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
Always love a paper full of scrappy fossils!
November 13, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
amniotalab.bsky.social
Don’t miss our colleague Tomás Fornari at #2025SVP! He is presenting about tooth replacement patterns in marine reptiles🦷
November 13, 2025 at 9:43 AM
kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
Nice view of the deepwater laminated argillaceous limestone facies of the Hermitage Formation! See: tennesseefossils.com/Formations/M...
November 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
lapworthmuseum.bsky.social
Our new temporary exhibition Feeding Without Jaws is open TODAY!

Come and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of ancient fish.

We are open 10am-4pm Mon-Fri, 12pm-5pm Sat-Sun and are free to visit 🐟

#LapworthRocks #FeedingWithoutJaws #NewExhibition #SVP2025 #Palaeontology #Paleontology
November 12, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
biodiversitypix.bsky.social
🦌 Animal guide, North American wild animals
Worcester, Mass.: C. K. Reed, 1915.

[Source]
Illustration of a large North American moose standing on a forested riverbank. The moose is depicted in profile, showing its broad, flat antlers with multiple tines, dark brown fur, and muscular build. In the background, dense coniferous trees and misty hills are visible, suggesting a natural wilderness habitat. The scene conveys the moose's size and presence in a serene, wild environment.
November 11, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
sylvia-plath-bot.bsky.social
The blue sisters sent me to another school.
November 9, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by Neil Kelley
biodiversitypix.bsky.social
🦖 A monograph of the fossil Reptilia of the Liassic formations
London, Printed for the Palæontographical society, 1861-81.

[Source]
Illustration of the fossilized skeleton of Plesiosaurus rostratus embedded in rock, showing a long neck, broad ribcage, four flipper-like limbs, and an elongated skull with sharp teeth. Surrounding the main specimen are detailed close-ups of various reptilian teeth and jaw fragments, numbered for reference. The engraving is from an 1861-81 monograph on fossil Reptilia of the Liassic formations, emphasizing anatomical features and scale for scientific study.
November 7, 2025 at 11:23 AM
kelleypaleolab.bsky.social
I spotted this albino/leucistic alligator gar at @tnaquarium.bsky.social yesterday! Very auspicious omen for #garweek
An albino alligator gar floating in an aquarium.
November 6, 2025 at 7:17 PM