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James Lamsdell, PhD

@fossildetective.bsky.social

1.4K followers 240 following 550 posts

Palaeobiologist, Associate Professor at West Virginia University • Arthropod paleobiology, phylogenetic paleoecology • An Englishman in America Formerly: AMNH, Yale, U of Kansas, U of Bristol, U of Birmingham Opinions my own (he/him) jameslamsdell.com

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jun 11

It's finally out! 200 years since the description of Eurypterus remipes, the first eurypterid named in the scientific literature, I present a summary of the history of eurypterid research and an updated taxonomy of every known species.🧪⚒️

doi.org/10.1206/0003...

Codex Eurypterida: A Revised Taxonomy Based on Concordant Parsimony and Bayesian Phylogenetic Analyses

Eurypterids, also known as sea scorpions, were aquatic chelicerate arthropods that were important components of Paleozoic marine and freshwater ecosystems from the Ordovician to the Permian. The group...

doi.org

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 2d

Amanda looked up this reconstruction of Exaeretodon while going through papers for the podcast yesterday and I can only see one thing.

A strange reconstruction of a creature with a horse-like mane running down its back, pained human eyes, a cat-like face with a goatee, emaciated ribs, and a stubby tail. It looks like a creature from Bloodborne.

Nina Tucker in her second health bar form from Fullmetal Alchemist.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 2d

Got one last month saying I might live too long(!!) and that I really should consider what that means for retirement.

James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 5d

My understanding is that adults require a huge number of gallons and that they regular get stressed and need to be hand fed (which admittedly does sound kind of cute).

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 7d

Actual highlight of yesterday was having a woman in the botanical gardens overhear us talking about work and say "Oh, I didn't think paleontologists existed anymore".

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 7d

Somehow ended up becoming American.

A photograph of a man in a shirt picking up a naturalization certificate and looking nonplussed, next to the famous meme from the office of a very shellshocked looking Steve Carrell with long hair shaking the hand of a smiling man.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 12d

Shrimp update

A view of an aquarium with many blue shrimp moving around on the sand. A fossil brachiopod is partially buried, and multiple snails can be seen in the background alongside moss and wood.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 23

Turns out they're transferring all research corp employees to the university. This apparently has nothing to do with federal funding.

Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD

Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Meet Palaeocampa anthrax, a newly discovered Carboniferous lobopodian, and 150 year old mystery fossil!

Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵

Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 23

Waiting for a surprise webinar (we were told about it an hour ago) on "the future of the research corporation" to start which is called "Meeting with supervisors" on zoom.

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Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD

Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · Jul 21

Hey folks sizing up academic jobs, one thing I'd like you to know:

-Faculty at PUIs spend more time on research than most people realize.
-Faculty at R1s spend more time on teaching than most people realize.

I think the biggest difference between these jobs is the career stage of your mentees.

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Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD

James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 14

*nirnroot noises*

A picture of a plant that is likely a dandelion relative that looks just like a nirnroot from Oblivion.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 15

Having just finished reading Day of the Triffids I can recognize a potential society-ending event when I see it.

A screenshot from the news with the headline "Sheetz to offer free hot dogs for 'National Hot Dog Day' later this week.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 14

*nirnroot noises*

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Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD

Benoit Nabholz @benoitevol.bsky.social · Jul 10

Junior Professor Chair at MNHN Paris :
Integrative Taxonomy for Describing Biological Diversity

odyssee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/procedures/r...

filesender.renater.fr?s=download&t...

Odyssée

odyssee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr

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Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD

Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · Jul 10

Fellow educators: Please join me in co-signing!

Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · Jul 10

A strong statement of resistance to the relentless marketing of "AI" in education spaces. I encourage all educators to have a look and consider signing on:

openletter.earth/an-open-lett...

An open letter from educators who refuse the call to adopt GenAI in education

openletter.earth

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 10

Good start to the university replacing our phonelines with Zoom phones, I've already had a medical provider leave me a voicemail clearly intended for someone else disclosing patient information.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 4

Some neat fossils for mental health purposes on #FossilFriday⚒️🧪

Just a collection of some of my favourite eurypterid fossils I've encountered visiting museums across the US. Museums are critical sources of information and build important connections with our history and the natural world.

A photograph of a specimen of Eurypterus with its headshield popped up and the ventral plates open underneath. This specimen shows how the animals shed their exoskeleton.

A photograph of a fossil of a young Eurypterus next to the spiny leg of a much larger individual, showing just how much these animals grew over the course of their lifespan. The specimen is held in the American Museum of Natural History.

A wonderful side view of the back end of a Dolichopterus. This shows just how three-dimensional these animals, which are normally found as flattened specimens, truly were. The tail spine is also slightly curved. Specimen held in the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

A photograph of a specimen of Strobilopterus showing the head shield with little pale spirals on it. These spirals are microconchids, small worm tubes that attached to the surface of the exoskeleton. It is unclear whether these grew on the animal in life or attached to the shed exoskeleton, although it is considered more likely that they attached directly to the eurypterids as the exoskeleton would have likely been buried relatively rapidly after moulting. I always find it exciting to find examples of encrusting organisms on eurypterid exoskeletons, as there is not much evidence of such relationships from the fossil record. Specimen held in the Field Museum of Natural History.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 3

An understanding of the historical literature has been critical to my work, and my eurypterid monograph would have been impossible without access to the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Losing it would be devastating. Ignorance of the past doesn't help you generate novel ideas, it's just ignorance.

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2

In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2

Foundations: please step up and take over the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). This is an absolutely essential scanned archive of all of the old journals and books from the 1500s to about 1920. Has been indispensable for my research.
about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup...

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 2

I always thought toilets looked more like rudists - is this just convergence?

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jul 1

Glad I'm forcing myself to go for morning runs even if I never want to do it at the time.

A view of chicory, the most beautiful shade of blue flower.

A wonderful orange mushroom growing out of moss. It would probably liquids your liver or something so I am only 30% tempted to eat it.

A view of a pathway through trees with dark trunks and vibrant green leaves.

Some excellent mushrooms growing out of the side of a tree. These ones will probably kill you or something too. 50% desire to eat.

Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD

Get To Know Nature @gettoknownature.bsky.social · Jun 29

Just a horseshoe crab doing its thing. Its thing is heading back to the water after a volunteer rescued it from being stuck on its back and left behind by the tide. 😅 I love the scraping noise they make as they move along the sand.

#invertebrates 🦀 🌿

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jun 29

Giant Eagle is playing Evanescence.

James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jun 26

Finished my first multi-session piece of art for @bigfacecats.bsky.social

An acrylic painting of a tuxedo cat under a blanket.

Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD

April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · Jun 25

As historian David McCullough expressed in a 2003 interview: “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.”

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jun 25

A few months ago, Nature published how-to guide for using ChatGPT to write your peer reviews in 30 minutes.

This is, of course, a horrible idea. Here’s my response with @jbakcoleman.bsky.social .

AI, peer review and the human activity of science

When researchers cede their scientific judgement to machines, we lose something important.

www.nature.com

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jun 20

The Silurian horseshoe crab Ciurcalimulus for #FossilFriday and #InternationalHorseshoeCrabDay. Described this week in @royalsocietypublishing.org, the specimen's preservation making interpretation of the fossil challenging, although illuminating it with a blue laser reveals additional details. 🧪⚒️

A view of a horseshoe crab fossil in dark brown rock. The tail is clearly preserved but the body and head are less clear.

The same fossil photographed under a blue laser. The tail is now a bright yellow, and the body and head stand out more clearly from the rock.

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