Erich Fitzgerald
@palaeowhales.bsky.social
220 followers 140 following 9 posts
Vertebrate palaeontologist at Museums Victoria: marine vertebrate evolution and a bit of Triceratops
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Erich Fitzgerald
journalofanatomy.bsky.social
Cochlear analysis of Kekenodon onamata, a late Oligocene stem whale, suggests they specialised in low-frequency hearing, a trait of raptorial feeding in fossil whales. Low-frequency hearing may be characteristic of raptorial macrophagous fossil cetaceans @joshcorrie @Blogozoic
palaeowhales.bsky.social
It’s Prosqualodon! Important new paper by Maxi Gaetan and colleagues on this enigmatic austral fossil odontocete #FossilFriday

aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Reposted by Erich Fitzgerald
jackdashby.bsky.social
Fossil #whale skeletons are genuinely amazing. #Whales evolved from four-legged hooved mammals (their closest relatives are hippos), & don't have hind-legs today (but they do have a pelvis). This is a 40-million-year-old whale called Cynthiacetus at @mnhn.fr, with a full leg skeleton. #FossilFriday
The skeleton of Cynthiacetus, with an arrow pointing to it hind-legs The skeleton of Cynthiacetus, with an arrow pointing to it hind-legs
palaeowhales.bsky.social
FISH!!!! Big hypural bone (tail tip vertebra) of a large marine fish from the latest Miocene of Beaumaris, Victoria, which will be studied in a new project starting very soon!
Reposted by Erich Fitzgerald
jackdashby.bsky.social
Hello from the best natural history gallery in the world. 🤩
The gallery of comparative anatomy at #Paris' National Museum of Natural History contains literally thousands of skeletal specimens. In my opinion, it has never been surpassed. #museums
Whale skeletons A Steller's sea cow skeleton flanked by two elephants Antelope, cattle and deer skeletons A fur seal skeleton at the front of a "herd" of hundreds of other skeletons all facing the same way
palaeowhales.bsky.social
Incredible views of the external morphology of Indopacetus pacificus, the holotype specimen of which is from Queensland, Australia!
jjkiszka.bsky.social
Pretty awesome sighting of Longman’s beaked whales (Indopacetus pacificus) in the Mozambique Channel, near Mayotte. So much to learn about these animals. One of the least known whale species in the world! Pictures: N. Bertrand
Reposted by Erich Fitzgerald
bzaiken.bsky.social
Should probably remind folks I’m also an illustrator, you might see my work out in the wild on a cover like this recent one for Scientific American
Tyrannosaurus rex approaches a wary triceratops on a Cretaceous floodplain
Reposted by Erich Fitzgerald
bzaiken.bsky.social
I started my career as a traditional painter, and I used to hand-paint gigantic canvas murals (like this 58’x14’ one from 2015 (c) Blue Rhino Studio). These days I’ve transitioned to doing the same kind of work, only digitally.
Beth Zaiken paints a monumental mural featuring elk, bison and mammoths in a scenic river valley landscape
palaeowhales.bsky.social
Quick comparison between a southern cassowary femur (top) and a recently found Late Miocene casuariid bird femur (bottom) from Beaumaris, Victoria
Reposted by Erich Fitzgerald
palaeo-jrule.bsky.social
Landed in Perth ready for #SMM2024! Interested in the unique amphibious hearing abilities of pinnipeds? So am I!

Come see my talk on the evolutionary origins and anatomical evidence for amphibious hearing in seals!

Monday, 11:30am in Room 4 (Hearing Mechanisms) @marinemammalogy
Reposted by Erich Fitzgerald
coastalpaleo.bsky.social
New paper by Sanchez-Posada et al. in JVP: a new early Miocene dolphin, Romaleodelphis pollerspoecki, from Austria. Possibly related to Chilcacetus from Peru and some other poorly known long-snouted dolphins of the same time period. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Scientific figures from the paper, showing the skull of Romaleodelphis in dorsal view (left) and ventral view (right). The skull has a somewhat squashed braincase and a very long snut with a few preserved teeth - the teeth are small and conical, and all of the same shape. The skull of Romaleodelphis in lateral (side) view, with the long narrow snout pointing to the left. The mandible is also shown: it is very long and fused along most of its length, with "homodont" teeth: the teeth are all conical, less than 1 cm long, and single rooted. The periotic bones of Romaleodelphis - the inner ear bone. This thing looks more or less a piece of popcorn: it's got the spherical cochlea, perforated by several holes for nerves, and the anterior and posterior processes, more or less looking a bit like three merged peanut M&Ms with a few little articular facets, grooves, and holes in places.
palaeowhales.bsky.social
For #FossilFriday a trio of Early Miocene ‘shark-toothed cetacean’ teeth from Victoria, Australia