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oupaleobiology.bsky.social
Paleobiology Research Group at OU
@oupaleobiology.bsky.social
260 followers 190 following 13 posts
Our labs investigate the diversity, ecology, & evolution of fossil invertebrates @ The University of Oklahoma (Geosciences) & Sam Noble Museum of Natural History
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oupaleobiology.bsky.social
Paleobiology Research Group at OU @oupaleobiology.bsky.social · Nov 19
Welcome! This account is dedicated to promoting research, education, & outreach in paleobiology at the University of Oklahoma and Sam Noble Museum of Natural History!

Professors/Curators of Invertebrate Paleontology: @daveyfwright.bsky.social and Lena Cole
Invertebrate Paleontology - Sam Noble Museum
With nearly one million specimens from every major invertebrate fossil group, the invertebrate paleontology collection is among the most scientifically important in North America. It contains nearly 3,000 primary type specimens and about 7,000 figured specimens. The majority of samples in the collection include detailed ancillary information on geographic and stratigraphic occurrence. The collection represents
samnoblemuseum.ou.edu
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · 10d
New paper!

"Fossil tip-dating reveals novelties on evolutionary and diversification trends in three Late Ordovician brachiopod genera (Atrypida, Anazygidae)" Yay for brachiopods! 🧪
Fossil tip-dating reveals novelties on evolutionary and diversification trends in three Late Ordovician brachiopod genera (Atrypida, Anazygidae) | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core
Fossil tip-dating reveals novelties on evolutionary and diversification trends in three Late Ordovician brachiopod genera (Atrypida, Anazygidae) - Volume 99 Issue 2
www.cambridge.org
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oupaleobiology.bsky.social
Paleobiology Research Group at OU @oupaleobiology.bsky.social · 27d
Huge congrats to @crowleyk.bsky.social (Wright lab) and colleagues on publishing a major taxonomic revision of Paleocene gastropods!
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Sep 5
As a paleontologist, here's something incredible about the geosciences program at OU:

1. Overall freshmen enrollment has been * increasing * in recent years.
2. We have more students in our * Paleobiology * Bachelor of Science program than any other option (including the general geosciences path)
Undergraduate Programs
The University of Oklahoma
www.ou.edu
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Sep 2
New updated preprint! Many thanks to reviewers for their suggestions and helpful advice for improving our manuscript. Check it out if you're interested in fossils, phylogenies, and modeling morphologic evolution! 🧪
Assessing the impact of character evolution models on phylogenetic and macroevolutionary inferences from fossil data
Understanding the evolution and phylogenetic distribution of morphologic traits is fundamental to macroevolutionary research. Despite decades of major advances and key insights from molecular systemat...
www.biorxiv.org
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Sep 2
I'm hoping to take 1 MSc & 1 PhD student next year in the areas of Phylogenetic, Computational, and/or Evolutionary Paleobiology. Please reach out if you are interested in joining the @oupaleobiology.bsky.social, especially if interested in working on fossil echinoderms. Link for more info below. 🧪
News
PhD and MSc positions in Phylogenetic, Computational, and/or Evolutionary Paleobiology [Posted September 2025. Deadline is January 15, 2026. See below for information about the lab, student opportu…
daveyfwright.wordpress.com
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oupaleobiology.bsky.social
Paleobiology Research Group at OU @oupaleobiology.bsky.social · Aug 29
Congratulations to @crowleyk.bsky.social (Wright lab) and colleagues on their new publication examining niche evolution in gastropods across the K-Pg extinction!
Global climate model comparisons of niche evolution in turritelline gastropods across the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Global climate model comparisons of niche evolution in turritelline gastropods across the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction
www.cambridge.org
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Aug 23
New @oupaleobiology.bsky.social logo just dropped
An extinct crinoid forms the "stem" of a non-ultrametric phylogeny. Text says "OU Paleobiology" with a similar form to the University of Oklahoma logo where the O is slightly above and to the left of the U, just like a radianal posterior plate is to the C-ray radial plate in many eucladid crinoids
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Aug 21
Very proud of @oupaleobiology.bsky.social graduate students @crowleyk.bsky.social & Alysha Zazubec for their contributions to the 2025 field season on Anticosti Island. I'm particularly excited about the fantastic echinoderm fossils they found this year!
daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Aug 8
Another day in the field with the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History team on Anticosti Island. Here, Lena and I are joined by OU Geosciences grad students Kiera Crowley (Wright lab) and Alysha Zazubec (Cole lab)
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Aug 13
Mandatory airport photo of the combined Anticosti Island field teams of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and the American Museum of Natural History. Grateful for the assistance of students and staff. The core team remains for another week of field work 🧪
A happy group of 8 people...most of them wearing fossil-themed shirts
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oupaleobiology.bsky.social
Paleobiology Research Group at OU @oupaleobiology.bsky.social · Jul 25
New paper for #FossilFriday by Sam Noble Museum / OU paleontologists Lena Cole and Davey Wright, with AMNH collaborator Melanie Hopkins. Check it out!
daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jul 24
New paper! The 1st publication from our NSF grant investigating local to global biodiversity patterns in marine invertebrates across the O-S boundary is out! Here, we describe a new crinoid from Anticosti Island & use Bayesian tip-dating approaches to quantify uncertainty in its stratigraphic age 🧪
Phylogenetic position and stratigraphic uncertainty of a new flexible crinoid from the Ordovician–Silurian boundary of Anticosti Island (Québec, Canada) | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core
Phylogenetic position and stratigraphic uncertainty of a new flexible crinoid from the Ordovician–Silurian boundary of Anticosti Island (Québec, Canada)
www.cambridge.org
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jul 24
Flexible crinoids are really cool group of rare & morphologically distinct fossil echinoderms. They originated during the Ordovician but substantially increase in diversity, disparity, & abundance in the Silurian after the mass extinction, so a new taxon near the boundary is a significant discovery.
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jul 22
I'll have more info in a few weeks when I get back from fieldwork but I'll be recruiting 2 graduate students to begin in 2026 (1 PhD, 1 MS). My lab investigates macroevolutionary dynamics using phylogenetic methods & the fossil record. Please share with students having strong research interests!
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jul 17
Need to include "future leader of the National Academy of Sciences" on the list of possibilities when paleobiology students ask where their careers may take them
daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jul 16
Is this bringing paleontology to the "high table"?
Paleontologist to lead U.S. national academy
The prestigious organization faces funding challenges and political controversies
www.science.org
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jul 16
TFW you're about to leave for fieldwork so you create t-shirts for the team of researchers, staff, and students. This year's intrepid, multi-institutional team involves folks from the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History & the American Museum of Natural History. Does anyone else do this? 🧪
A gray t-shirt which a drawing of an enrolled trilobite that says, "Anticosti Island 2025 Research Team | OMNH x AMNH Paleontology"
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jul 15
i'm a broken record on this topic but god i love being a paleontologist 🧪
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oupaleobiology.bsky.social
Paleobiology Research Group at OU @oupaleobiology.bsky.social · Jul 10
Celebrating 2 years since Lyndsey Farrar joined the Invertebrate Paleontology team at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History! Lyndsey manages day-to-day collections operations & improvement, coordinates volunteers, engages in public outreach, & helps curators care for millions of specimens
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jun 23
📰 Assistant Professor in OU Mewbourne + Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology @samnoblemuseum, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 has received a Junior Faculty Fellowship 🧪

👀 OU News: ou.edu/news/article...
📮Wright's feature in The Norman Transcript: link.ou.edu/4jXPPrG
A man with glasses in a plaid shirting holding a fossil crinoid
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jun 20
Happy to be working these jaw dropping beautifully preserved fossil echinoderms on #FossilFriday 🧪
daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jun 18
Having a great time visiting the Musée de paléontologie et de l'évolution. The Neuville Formation (Ordovician) contains one the most spectacularly preserved echinoderm Lagerstätte I've ever seen. Very excited to be working on this! Here's a beautiful Ectenocrinus w/ rhombiferan blastozoans attached
Lightly pyritized disparid crinoid with long, slender arms and rambles. Multiple small specimens of complete rhombiferan blastozoans are attached to the base of the crinoid stem with their steles wrapping around the column
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jun 11
New paper! 🧪

Phylogeny and macroevolution of a “dead clade walking”: a systematic revision of the Paragaricocrinidae (Crinoidea)
Phylogeny and macroevolution of a “dead clade walking”: a systematic revision of the Paragaricocrinidae (Crinoidea) | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core
Phylogeny and macroevolution of a “dead clade walking”: a systematic revision of the Paragaricocrinidae (Crinoidea)
www.cambridge.org
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jun 14
Ancient catastrophes could provide keys to climate future 🧪

"The future is what we put in it now," Wright said. “We can make comparisons with what we know has happened...and use our knowledge of history as a baseline for what could happen in the future."
Ancient catastrophes could provide keys to climate future
New funding in Norman could help scientists understand how to preserve biodiversity in a world that has alarming similarities to one mass extinction in particular.
www.normantranscript.com
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jun 6
"The fossil record effectively provides a set of natural experiments," Wright said. "By studying these historical events, we gain insights into how ecosystems respond when pushed past their breaking points, which has direct implications for understanding biodiversity loss today." 🧪 #FossilFriday
Recovering From Disaster: OU Professor Awarded Junior Faculty Fellowship to Study Life After Mass Extinctions
Understanding how life recovers in the aftermath of a mass extinction is critical to unraveling the broad patterns of evolutionary development that have shaped Earth’s history.. To further this unders...
ou.edu
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · May 16
The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History has an absolutely spectacular collection of fossil crinoids, including these beautiful late Paleozoic eucladids #FossilFriday🧪
A beautiful specimen of the calyx and arms of the fossil crinoid Agalocrinus oklahomensis (OU 7337) a museum drawer full of fossil crinoids
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · May 13
Very excited to have Melanie Hopkins, trilobite paleontologist extraordinaire and Curator & Chair of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, and her student Gabe visit our collections here at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History! #TrilobiteTuesday
Two people closely in the museum collections looking closely a trilobite specimens from a drawer full of fossils sitting on a table
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oupaleobiology.bsky.social
Paleobiology Research Group at OU @oupaleobiology.bsky.social · May 9
Congratulations to OU Paleobiology graduate students Kiera Crowley (Wright lab) and Nicolas Bell (Cole lab) for successfully defending their graduate research proposals to their committees this week! Well done!
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daveyfwright.bsky.social
Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · May 2
Although fossils from nearly all major intervals of the Phanerozoic can be found in Oklahoma, it's a veritable Paleozoic paradise at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History #FossilFriday 🧪
Very large as aphid trilobite from the Bromide Formation of Oklahoma Museum drawer full of trilobite specimens
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