@diplotomodon.bsky.social
paleontology | museums | Philadelphia | storytelling | 𓅽
Reposted
"A study published today in Science reveals that cycads, tropical plants that resemble palms, attract beetles using infrared radiation generated by their conelike reproductive structures."
#Pollination #Plants #Cycads
#Pollination #Plants #Cycads
Before Flowers Existed, Ancient Cycad Plants Lured Insects with Heat
New research on strange cycad plants offers a glimpse into the prehistoric origins of pollination
www.scientificamerican.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:35 PM
"A study published today in Science reveals that cycads, tropical plants that resemble palms, attract beetles using infrared radiation generated by their conelike reproductive structures."
#Pollination #Plants #Cycads
#Pollination #Plants #Cycads
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TIL FEMA flood maps do not account for rainfall-induced flooding. Which is absolutely mind-boggling.
The exclusion of pluvial flooding from FEMA flood maps is a good reason for the shift away from flood maps for flood insurance premium setting in Risk Rating 2.0. These locations might not be mapped into flood zones, but will still see their risk reflected in rising insurance costs.
December 14, 2025 at 1:31 AM
TIL FEMA flood maps do not account for rainfall-induced flooding. Which is absolutely mind-boggling.
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New #paleoart on #FossilFriday: #Tiktaalik sees the world. Discussions of early #tetrapods often focus on limbs and lungs, but major changes also took place in their eyes. Seeing further and clearer than any animal before, they were the first to clearly see sunsets, stars, and the moon. #sciart
December 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM
New #paleoart on #FossilFriday: #Tiktaalik sees the world. Discussions of early #tetrapods often focus on limbs and lungs, but major changes also took place in their eyes. Seeing further and clearer than any animal before, they were the first to clearly see sunsets, stars, and the moon. #sciart
I too have made this face whilst confronted with Tiktaalik...on many occasions actually
Tetrapoda*: how it started vs. how it's going.
*OK, OK: stem-Tetrapoda. But it's not as snappy.
*OK, OK: stem-Tetrapoda. But it's not as snappy.
December 10, 2025 at 11:19 PM
I too have made this face whilst confronted with Tiktaalik...on many occasions actually
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SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
'Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey.'
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
Reposted
Plant communication is not a fantasy; it's a biological response to specific cues.
www.zmescience.com/science/news...
www.zmescience.com/science/news...
The More We Study Forests, the More It Seems Like Plants Might Be Cooperating and "Talking" to Each Other
Trees may look still and silent, but they’re engaged in a constant, complex dialogue—through air, soil, and even electricity.
www.zmescience.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Plant communication is not a fantasy; it's a biological response to specific cues.
www.zmescience.com/science/news...
www.zmescience.com/science/news...
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Just heard disappointing news that @warren.senate.gov will co-sponsor the Kids Online Safety Act again despite overwhelming opposition from LGBTQ, human rights, abortion rights, and racial justice groups.
This is a horrific betrayal of her constituents, particularly trans youth and their families.
This is a horrific betrayal of her constituents, particularly trans youth and their families.
Why Are Some Democrats Backing MAGA's Anti-LGBTQ+ Censorship?
From late-night host cancellations to removing LGBTQ+ history from government sites, politicians in both parties are contributing to the overwriting of the internet — a place where lots of queer and t...
www.teenvogue.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Just heard disappointing news that @warren.senate.gov will co-sponsor the Kids Online Safety Act again despite overwhelming opposition from LGBTQ, human rights, abortion rights, and racial justice groups.
This is a horrific betrayal of her constituents, particularly trans youth and their families.
This is a horrific betrayal of her constituents, particularly trans youth and their families.
Reposted
Seeming: The World
our 4th LP
This record was hard to make. It wriggled, bit, shapeshifted, ran away from home, yelped from bad dreams, scared off friends and family, and refused to play nice. But kicking and screaming, it is born today. Welcome to the World.
seeming.bandcamp.com/album/the-wo...
our 4th LP
This record was hard to make. It wriggled, bit, shapeshifted, ran away from home, yelped from bad dreams, scared off friends and family, and refused to play nice. But kicking and screaming, it is born today. Welcome to the World.
seeming.bandcamp.com/album/the-wo...
The World, by Seeming
11 track album
seeming.bandcamp.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Seeming: The World
our 4th LP
This record was hard to make. It wriggled, bit, shapeshifted, ran away from home, yelped from bad dreams, scared off friends and family, and refused to play nice. But kicking and screaming, it is born today. Welcome to the World.
seeming.bandcamp.com/album/the-wo...
our 4th LP
This record was hard to make. It wriggled, bit, shapeshifted, ran away from home, yelped from bad dreams, scared off friends and family, and refused to play nice. But kicking and screaming, it is born today. Welcome to the World.
seeming.bandcamp.com/album/the-wo...
Reposted
As a geologist (who knows the actual geologists in the photo they used) I am obligated to say:
December 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
As a geologist (who knows the actual geologists in the photo they used) I am obligated to say:
Reposted
Very excited to share that our latest paper is out in Science! We show that the type specimen of Nanotyrannus—an isolated skull—is fully grown, showing that it is not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex but a distinct species (1/12)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Very excited to share that our latest paper is out in Science! We show that the type specimen of Nanotyrannus—an isolated skull—is fully grown, showing that it is not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex but a distinct species (1/12)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Some things never change
December 3, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Some things never change
Dreaming of warmer climes
December 2, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Dreaming of warmer climes
Reposted
Watching people “discover” environmental racism, and then double down on doing it has been depressing.
It’s so wild how the wealthy are destroying the Amazon that potentially has the cure for all the cancers in favor of an Amazon that’s creating new types of cancers
December 1, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Watching people “discover” environmental racism, and then double down on doing it has been depressing.
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Watched S5 E1 ("The Crawl") of #StrangerThings last night & was thrilled to see gorgeous examples of drill holes made by a yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) in the trunk of what's likely a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda); Will Byers (Noah Schnapps) for scale. 🧪🌲🪵🐦🕳️
November 30, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Watched S5 E1 ("The Crawl") of #StrangerThings last night & was thrilled to see gorgeous examples of drill holes made by a yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) in the trunk of what's likely a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda); Will Byers (Noah Schnapps) for scale. 🧪🌲🪵🐦🕳️
Reposted
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
November 29, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
Reposted
I understand that the Natural History Museum of Abu Dhabi spent a truly wild amount of money to purchase Stan the T.rex, which makes it all the odder that its mount of two fighting tyrannosaurs is so utterly sauceless
November 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I understand that the Natural History Museum of Abu Dhabi spent a truly wild amount of money to purchase Stan the T.rex, which makes it all the odder that its mount of two fighting tyrannosaurs is so utterly sauceless
Very funny to consider any form of graduate school when your 1st choice of advisor gets their funding pulled for being a serial academic harasser, your 2nd choice becomes a mouthpiece for a venture capitalist startup, and your 3rd choice starts working for the UAE out of nowhere
November 22, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Very funny to consider any form of graduate school when your 1st choice of advisor gets their funding pulled for being a serial academic harasser, your 2nd choice becomes a mouthpiece for a venture capitalist startup, and your 3rd choice starts working for the UAE out of nowhere
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What might be my favourite fossil has been just published by Kiat et al. 2025. Years ago I saw a pic of this Anchiornis specimen in nat geo article and I audibly gasped.preserving not only the feathers but also the original patterns as well. I made this drawing on the spot. Maybe its time to do v2.0
November 21, 2025 at 7:27 PM
What might be my favourite fossil has been just published by Kiat et al. 2025. Years ago I saw a pic of this Anchiornis specimen in nat geo article and I audibly gasped.preserving not only the feathers but also the original patterns as well. I made this drawing on the spot. Maybe its time to do v2.0
Reposted
🚨New paper alert!🚨🤩
🧪⚒️Welcome the first filter-feeding pterosaur from Brazil: Bakiribu waridza, from the Araripe Basin!! 🥳
The new species is AWESOME and was discoverd inside a regurgitalite 😱🤍
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪⚒️Welcome the first filter-feeding pterosaur from Brazil: Bakiribu waridza, from the Araripe Basin!! 🥳
The new species is AWESOME and was discoverd inside a regurgitalite 😱🤍
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A regurgitalite reveals a new filter-feeding pterosaur from the Santana Group - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - A regurgitalite reveals a new filter-feeding pterosaur from the Santana Group
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:23 AM
🚨New paper alert!🚨🤩
🧪⚒️Welcome the first filter-feeding pterosaur from Brazil: Bakiribu waridza, from the Araripe Basin!! 🥳
The new species is AWESOME and was discoverd inside a regurgitalite 😱🤍
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪⚒️Welcome the first filter-feeding pterosaur from Brazil: Bakiribu waridza, from the Araripe Basin!! 🥳
The new species is AWESOME and was discoverd inside a regurgitalite 😱🤍
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted
Of course the big paper on Azhdarchoid phylogeny comes out while I'm at a museum on a research visit (looking at Azhdarchoid cervicals, obviously) but now I'm back at the hotel so it's time to write a proper thread! 1/28
November 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Of course the big paper on Azhdarchoid phylogeny comes out while I'm at a museum on a research visit (looking at Azhdarchoid cervicals, obviously) but now I'm back at the hotel so it's time to write a proper thread! 1/28
Reposted
JUST PUBLISHED!!!! A major azhdarchoid phylogeny paper coauthored with @skyemcdavid.com - the fruit of years of work - is now out in @journalsystpal.bsky.social! New clades, reconstruction of size evolution, and more. Full thread to come soon!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Enter the dragons: the phylogeny of Azhdarchoidea (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) and the evolution of giant size in pterosaurs
Azhdarchidae is a clade of pterosaurs which includes the largest-ever flying animals. The evolutionary history of this clade and its closest relatives remains incompletely understood and highly deb...
www.tandfonline.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
JUST PUBLISHED!!!! A major azhdarchoid phylogeny paper coauthored with @skyemcdavid.com - the fruit of years of work - is now out in @journalsystpal.bsky.social! New clades, reconstruction of size evolution, and more. Full thread to come soon!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted
Sometimes, to paraphrase Terry Pratchett, you hear the voice of the electorate. And it growls
the entire twitter and group chat poisoned elite of American society who decided Trump winning an election by 1.5% heralded a thousand year reich may have miscalculated a bit
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Sometimes, to paraphrase Terry Pratchett, you hear the voice of the electorate. And it growls
Reposted
BREAKING: Colorado voters approved a ballot measure that would raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals for all public school students.
Follow AP for live updates.
Follow AP for live updates.
Live updates: US voters head to the polls in first general election since Trump's return to power
One year after Donald Trump retook the presidency, 2025 Election Day includes closely watched races for New York City mayor, New Jersey governor and California's Proposition 50.
bit.ly
November 5, 2025 at 3:33 AM
BREAKING: Colorado voters approved a ballot measure that would raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals for all public school students.
Follow AP for live updates.
Follow AP for live updates.
Reposted
I’ll never escape the fucking Phillies bullpen.
November 2, 2025 at 3:51 AM
I’ll never escape the fucking Phillies bullpen.
Reposted
