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Neil Kelley

@kelleypaleolab.bsky.social

610 followers 940 following 89 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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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.

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 4d

🦝 The quadrupeds of North America, .
New York, V.G. Audubon, 1851-54..

[Source]

Illustration of a crab-eating raccoon poised on a partly submerged log over water. The raccoon has reddish-brown fur with darker stripes on its bushy tail and distinct dark markings around its eyes. It is shown with its head lowered toward water plants, as if about to catch prey. The background is a simple, muted sky and water, highlighting the animal’s detailed texture and natural hunting posture. The image is a detailed, lifelike depiction from Audubon’s 1851-54 collection, emphasizing the raccoon’s aquatic foraging behavior in a North American habitat.

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

GeoSPACE Field Course @geospace-field.bsky.social · 7d

The application window for GeoSPACE 2026 is now open! Join us online or in-person in Arizona for a two-week planetary geology field camp through @ufgeology.bsky.social. Open to geo-gators as well as visitors from other schools. If you are looking for an accessible field camp, check us out! ⚒️

5 students from the University of Florida do the "gator chomp" at Sunset Point Arizona during the 2025 field course.

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · 6d

🚨We're hiring! The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is seeking a tenure-track split position as Assistant Curator of Ichthyology and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences. Please retweet & share with colleagues! 🐟🐠🧪

Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/174674

A job ad with multiple images, including the exterior of the museum, a view of collections (jars on shelves), and pictures of some cool, tropical fish but I don't know enough about fish to describe them other than to say they're pretty colors of yellow and blue/green

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Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 6d

@jonkimball.bsky.social

Reposted by Neil Kelley

American Museum of Natural History @amnh.org · 7d

🚨Research alert! A recent study, led by Museum Macaulay Curator Roger Benson, details a new species of Jurassic reptile that has links to the origins of lizards and snakes: amnh.link/46MCY71

New Species of Ancient Hook-toothed Reptile Discovered | AMNH

Jurassic fossil from Scotland has revealed new family of Jurassic reptile linked to evolution of lizards and snakes.

amnh.link

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · 7d

Seals' whiskers are incredibly sensitive to fish wakes & other water movements & now it turns out that seals can probably tell in which direction a fish is escaping by sensing the vortices sent spinning off by the fleeing fish with their whiskers

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Filou the seal, wearing a mask, as a vortex ring approaches his whiskers. The vortex ring is visible thanks to uranine dye in the water. Yvonne Krüger is the researcher observing the experiment from above. Photo credit: Eckhard Krumpholz.

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Holly Bik @hollybik.bsky.social · 8d

Click the link to peruse the full set of illustrations, these are all absolutely STUNNING - I now have new wall art goals for my office!

The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 8d

Nudibranchs as pictured by a Japanese illustrator named Kumataro Ito, artist for the USS Albatross’ Philippine Expedition, 1907–10. More of his stunning images here: publicdomainreview.org/collection/k...

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Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 9d

Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 11d

I mean the band not the pollution

Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 11d

So good

Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 11d

Smog is good you guys

Reposted by Neil Kelley

Ksepka Lab @ksepkalab.bsky.social · 12d

On #FossilFriday I am proud to share a new discovery - a skull of a large extinct relative of king and emperor penguins.

@atennyson.bsky.social, Daniel Thomas, Felix Marx,
and I report this magnificent skull in Journal of Paleontology:
https://
bit.ly/4ne3HQV

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 12d

#fossilfriday x #seaotterawarenessweek 🧪🦖🐬The holotype mandibles of the extinct big-toothed sea otter, Enhydra macrodonta, from the middle Pleistocene Moonstone Beach Formation (~0.5 Ma) of Humboldt Co., California. The right mandible was returned to the collector sometime after publication.

The left mandible of Enhydra macrodonta - it's brown, with cream colored bulbous teeth, and a prominent coronoid process.

A photo of a photograph of the right mandible of Enhydra macrodonta, with two additional teeth preserved. This is an original photo taken by Frank Kilmer for his 1972 publication.

Two dudes in hats and masks - me and Ashley Poust - in UCMP collections, holding up the rediscovered mandible of Enhydra macrodonta. It's about three inches long.

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Gaël Spicher @spichergael.bsky.social · 13d

‼️ PAPER ALERT ‼️
We describe a new German ichthyosaur species: Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, from Upper Toarcian layers of Mistelgau (Bavaria). 🇩🇪
👉 Published in Fossil Record with @feikosaur.bsky.social , Jelle Heijne & Nicole Klein. Check the full article here: fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...

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Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 13d

In the dual academic household, it seems, we burn the candle at N+1 ends - Blaise Pascal

Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 14d

(See, I’m trying to break down the raptorial/suction false dichotomy in cetacean feeding, but with humorous, youthful dialect)

Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 14d

Snap, that sucks… #deglutition

Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 14d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 14d

@leneliebedelsett.bsky.social I suppose this has real "how your email finds me..." energy, but I'll reply soon :)!

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Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 14d

Wednesday vibes. #DudeForScale

Taxidermy mount of a Pygmy Sperm Whale (𝘒𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘴) with man standing next to it inside an ornate 19th century room.

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Dr Alison Cribb @alisoncribb.bsky.social · 14d

New in Trends in Ecology & Evolution: 'Earth system engineers' and the cumulative impact of organisms in deep time 🔓 #ecoevo #openaccess

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A thread 🧵:

‘Earth system engineers’ and the cumulative impact of organisms in deep time

Understanding the role of humans as ‘ecosystem engineers’ requires a deep-time perspective rooted in evolutionary history and the fossil record. Howev…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · 16d

Reposted by Neil Kelley

Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 21d

🐍 North American herpetology: Philadelphia, J. Dobson;1842.

[Source]

Illustration of a coiled black rattlesnake, identified as Crotalophorus Kirtlandi, with detailed scales and a prominent rattle at the tail's end. The snake's head is slightly raised, showing its eye and open mouth with visible fangs. The body features textured, overlapping scales in shades of dark brown and black with lighter patches, emphasizing its natural pattern. This 1842 historical scientific drawing from "North American herpetology" highlights the snake’s distinctive rattle and characteristic posture, intended for taxonomic study.

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Ferwen @ferwen.bsky.social · 27d

Annie Montague Alexander, naturalist & fossil hunter, died #OTD, 1950. She co-founded the museum of natural history of the University of California and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.
wp.me/p3ihHu-1MU #WomeninSTEM #histsci

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Reposted by Neil Kelley

Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 25d

🌴 The history of the Caribby-islands
London: Printed by J.M. for Thomas Dring and John Starkey ..., 1666.

[Source]

Historical illustration from 1666 depicting seven marine creatures from the Caribbean, arranged vertically. The species shown are labeled as Dorada, Rockfish, Espadon, Shark-fish, Lamantin (manatee) with a calf, Sea Cock (sailfish), and Becune. Each animal is detailed with distinct features including scales, fins, and unique body shapes, such as the Lamantin’s rounded form holding its young, and the Espadon’s long, sword-like snout. The drawing is monochrome, labeled with page references, and presented in a naturalistic style typical of 17th-century scientific illustrations.

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