Riley Black 🏳️⚧️ 🦕
@restingdinoface.bsky.social
Bronto-queen, big cat, best-selling and award-winning author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, When the Earth Was Green, and Tyrant Lizard Queen (2026). 🔞 she/they/it. Skreeonk. https://linktr.ee/restingdinoface
Pinned
But this is what I am talking about. Yes, anti-slavery. And yes still racist, promiting the idea that races were real, unequal, and reflected evolutionary change from lower to higher. Darwin saw genocide as equivalent to natural selection. And there was pushback on this at the time.
Darwin on race and gender
Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In Descent of man, he tried to explain the origin of human races, and many of the differences between the sexes...
www.darwinproject.ac.uk
February 12, 2026 at 2:31 PM
But this is what I am talking about. Yes, anti-slavery. And yes still racist, promiting the idea that races were real, unequal, and reflected evolutionary change from lower to higher. Darwin saw genocide as equivalent to natural selection. And there was pushback on this at the time.
Every time Biollante isn’t on screen everyone should be asking “Where’s Biollante?”
February 12, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Every time Biollante isn’t on screen everyone should be asking “Where’s Biollante?”
It’s awful how much his behavior was known but ignored. It really demonstrates how the systems that exist protect predators as people are abused and driven out with no power to get change or justice.
February 12, 2026 at 2:12 PM
It’s awful how much his behavior was known but ignored. It really demonstrates how the systems that exist protect predators as people are abused and driven out with no power to get change or justice.
I’m so sorry that’s what you wanted into. It happens far too much and I wonder how many people have been discouraged or run out of the field by behavior like what you mention.
February 12, 2026 at 2:10 PM
I’m so sorry that’s what you wanted into. It happens far too much and I wonder how many people have been discouraged or run out of the field by behavior like what you mention.
We maintain the mythology of great men of science at our peril.
February 12, 2026 at 2:05 PM
We maintain the mythology of great men of science at our peril.
Darwin keeps his image of a sweet old man tortured by his brilliance, his racism and sexism excused as symptoms of his time.
Too many scientists get defensive about Darwin, partly because fights against creationism prompted such reactions. As if to criticize Darwin was to criticize evolution.
Too many scientists get defensive about Darwin, partly because fights against creationism prompted such reactions. As if to criticize Darwin was to criticize evolution.
February 12, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Darwin keeps his image of a sweet old man tortured by his brilliance, his racism and sexism excused as symptoms of his time.
Too many scientists get defensive about Darwin, partly because fights against creationism prompted such reactions. As if to criticize Darwin was to criticize evolution.
Too many scientists get defensive about Darwin, partly because fights against creationism prompted such reactions. As if to criticize Darwin was to criticize evolution.
I don’t like Darwin day. Yes, he’s an important figure in science history.
He was also a spoiled rich boy who got daddy to put him on a colonialist mission, part of which was returning Indigenous people the Beagle’s captain had previously taken hostage. Part of England’s attempt to claim by naming.
He was also a spoiled rich boy who got daddy to put him on a colonialist mission, part of which was returning Indigenous people the Beagle’s captain had previously taken hostage. Part of England’s attempt to claim by naming.
February 12, 2026 at 2:05 PM
I don’t like Darwin day. Yes, he’s an important figure in science history.
He was also a spoiled rich boy who got daddy to put him on a colonialist mission, part of which was returning Indigenous people the Beagle’s captain had previously taken hostage. Part of England’s attempt to claim by naming.
He was also a spoiled rich boy who got daddy to put him on a colonialist mission, part of which was returning Indigenous people the Beagle’s captain had previously taken hostage. Part of England’s attempt to claim by naming.
Exactly. He’s so deluded that he thinks this is just about the one thing and doesn’t realize everyone else can see the repeating emphasis on a particular abusive theme.
February 12, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Exactly. He’s so deluded that he thinks this is just about the one thing and doesn’t realize everyone else can see the repeating emphasis on a particular abusive theme.
An absolutely pathetic man.
February 12, 2026 at 1:00 PM
An absolutely pathetic man.
And minor point in all this, but just before all of this broke Horner put out a new paper with fellow Epstein files friend Nathan Myhrvold.
peerj.com/articles/204...
Horner benefitting from this network wasn’t just some one time lapse seeking funding.
peerj.com/articles/204...
Horner benefitting from this network wasn’t just some one time lapse seeking funding.
Former Microsoft executive’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein comes under scrutiny
Seattle Times business reporter Alex Halverson has written about connections between Epstein and former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold.
www.kuow.org
February 12, 2026 at 12:59 PM
And minor point in all this, but just before all of this broke Horner put out a new paper with fellow Epstein files friend Nathan Myhrvold.
peerj.com/articles/204...
Horner benefitting from this network wasn’t just some one time lapse seeking funding.
peerj.com/articles/204...
Horner benefitting from this network wasn’t just some one time lapse seeking funding.
Keep the focus, and keep the pressure on. It’s irrelevant whether Horner was wrong about T. rex or Torosaurus or sexual selection or whatever. There is a clear pattern of behavior here and making this about theoretical disputes is a distraction. Paleontology has to get serious about cleaning house.
February 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Keep the focus, and keep the pressure on. It’s irrelevant whether Horner was wrong about T. rex or Torosaurus or sexual selection or whatever. There is a clear pattern of behavior here and making this about theoretical disputes is a distraction. Paleontology has to get serious about cleaning house.
Horner isn’t an isolated case. Some of the bullies and harassers in dinosaur paleo have been found out and kept their jobs, because academia leans on their side. Many other bullies and abusive men continue to do damage because they haven’t been named. This isn’t one man. This is systemic in paleo.
February 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Horner isn’t an isolated case. Some of the bullies and harassers in dinosaur paleo have been found out and kept their jobs, because academia leans on their side. Many other bullies and abusive men continue to do damage because they haven’t been named. This isn’t one man. This is systemic in paleo.
And Horner had a rep as a creep well before this. Marrying a 19 year-old-student when he was 65, then treating it as some kind of joke or unserious. Women MSU students who told me they were interested in paleo, until their interactions with him. Not to mention how got his fame by claim jumping.
For people outside of paleontology:
This senior paleontologist, who married a 19-year-old, visited a convicted pedophile in 2012 & 2016. Is beefing over a conference argument from 13 years ago, angry because he was banned from a family-friendly event across the Atlantic. The level of petty.
This senior paleontologist, who married a 19-year-old, visited a convicted pedophile in 2012 & 2016. Is beefing over a conference argument from 13 years ago, angry because he was banned from a family-friendly event across the Atlantic. The level of petty.
February 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM
And Horner had a rep as a creep well before this. Marrying a 19 year-old-student when he was 65, then treating it as some kind of joke or unserious. Women MSU students who told me they were interested in paleo, until their interactions with him. Not to mention how got his fame by claim jumping.
Joey loves noodle.
February 12, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Joey loves noodle.
Brought to you by the fact lungfish cocoons are not just excreted mucus but are living tissues that help stave off infections as the animals wait for water to come back.
The lungfish cocoon is a living tissue with antimicrobial functions
The mucus cocoon of terrestrialized African lungfish is a living tissue with potent antimicrobial functions.
www.science.org
February 12, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Brought to you by the fact lungfish cocoons are not just excreted mucus but are living tissues that help stave off infections as the animals wait for water to come back.
Goo morning, monsters.
The living slime waits.
Hardened,
swaddling,
it will only answer to the rain
when fat drops knock
and the cells die in ecstasy.
The living slime waits.
Hardened,
swaddling,
it will only answer to the rain
when fat drops knock
and the cells die in ecstasy.
February 12, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Goo morning, monsters.
The living slime waits.
Hardened,
swaddling,
it will only answer to the rain
when fat drops knock
and the cells die in ecstasy.
The living slime waits.
Hardened,
swaddling,
it will only answer to the rain
when fat drops knock
and the cells die in ecstasy.
Reposted by Riley Black 🏳️⚧️ 🦕
Artists, quote with something silly!
February 12, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Artists, quote with something silly!
Reposted by Riley Black 🏳️⚧️ 🦕
"Anatomical Heart, Inhabited – Shallow" / "棲みかとなった心臓 ― 浅" (2026)
Cabinet of Curiosities
Feb 1–22, 2026
Beinart Gallery (Australia)
This soft sculpture is available on the gallery’s online preview.
オーストラリアのBeinart Galleryで現在開催中の展覧会出品作。
お問合せ＆ご購入はギャラリーのプレビューリストからどうぞ。
beinart.org/collections/...
Cabinet of Curiosities
Feb 1–22, 2026
Beinart Gallery (Australia)
This soft sculpture is available on the gallery’s online preview.
オーストラリアのBeinart Galleryで現在開催中の展覧会出品作。
お問合せ＆ご購入はギャラリーのプレビューリストからどうぞ。
beinart.org/collections/...
February 12, 2026 at 6:31 AM
"Anatomical Heart, Inhabited – Shallow" / "棲みかとなった心臓 ― 浅" (2026)
Cabinet of Curiosities
Feb 1–22, 2026
Beinart Gallery (Australia)
This soft sculpture is available on the gallery’s online preview.
オーストラリアのBeinart Galleryで現在開催中の展覧会出品作。
お問合せ＆ご購入はギャラリーのプレビューリストからどうぞ。
beinart.org/collections/...
Cabinet of Curiosities
Feb 1–22, 2026
Beinart Gallery (Australia)
This soft sculpture is available on the gallery’s online preview.
オーストラリアのBeinart Galleryで現在開催中の展覧会出品作。
お問合せ＆ご購入はギャラリーのプレビューリストからどうぞ。
beinart.org/collections/...
Reposted by Riley Black 🏳️⚧️ 🦕
Reposted by Riley Black 🏳️⚧️ 🦕
Lake monsters, what inspires cryptid reports, giant squid, what we don’t know about life in the oceans, the history of aquariums, how recently whalefalls were discovered, one thing leads to another and her head’s on my chest while I talk about what worms and bacteria do in the dark.
February 12, 2026 at 3:54 AM
Lake monsters, what inspires cryptid reports, giant squid, what we don’t know about life in the oceans, the history of aquariums, how recently whalefalls were discovered, one thing leads to another and her head’s on my chest while I talk about what worms and bacteria do in the dark.
I show affection by talking about snotworms.
February 12, 2026 at 3:54 AM
I show affection by talking about snotworms.
Ooo neck skin!
February 11, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Ooo neck skin!
Reposted by Riley Black 🏳️⚧️ 🦕
Did someone say dinosaur skin?
February 11, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Did someone say dinosaur skin?