Kelsey Jenkins, PhD
@reptiliferous.bsky.social
Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Paleontologist and proud Cajun. Love fossils, phylogenetics, and reptiles. (she/her).
Cooking adventures on instagram @cook_with_kels
Paleontologist and proud Cajun. Love fossils, phylogenetics, and reptiles. (she/her).
Cooking adventures on instagram @cook_with_kels
Post your last photo of DC to show what a hell-hole it is.
That’s one green hell-hole. Taken from the top of the National Cathedral.
That’s one green hell-hole. Taken from the top of the National Cathedral.
August 12, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Post your last photo of DC to show what a hell-hole it is.
That’s one green hell-hole. Taken from the top of the National Cathedral.
That’s one green hell-hole. Taken from the top of the National Cathedral.
Learning about third eyes at the Smithsonian today!
May 5, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Learning about third eyes at the Smithsonian today!
How’s your research going today? Because I’ve been oscillating between these two extremes.
March 4, 2025 at 10:31 PM
How’s your research going today? Because I’ve been oscillating between these two extremes.
I’ve been waiting so long to share the most beautiful dinosaur display I’ve ever seen for #FossilFriday - spotted in downtown DC 😍
February 28, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I’ve been waiting so long to share the most beautiful dinosaur display I’ve ever seen for #FossilFriday - spotted in downtown DC 😍
I was too lost in the scientific sauce to #FossilFriday today, so please enjoy an old pic from the Dr. Seuss gallery in New Orleans. What kind of creature even is this?
February 7, 2025 at 9:54 PM
I was too lost in the scientific sauce to #FossilFriday today, so please enjoy an old pic from the Dr. Seuss gallery in New Orleans. What kind of creature even is this?
This week I played among the Carboniferous floras and found these beauties for #FossilFriday 🌱
These aren’t flowering plants, and there wouldn’t be flowers for hundreds of millions more years. But they’re no less stunning imo.
Housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
These aren’t flowering plants, and there wouldn’t be flowers for hundreds of millions more years. But they’re no less stunning imo.
Housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
January 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
This week I played among the Carboniferous floras and found these beauties for #FossilFriday 🌱
These aren’t flowering plants, and there wouldn’t be flowers for hundreds of millions more years. But they’re no less stunning imo.
Housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
These aren’t flowering plants, and there wouldn’t be flowers for hundreds of millions more years. But they’re no less stunning imo.
Housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Giving the invertebrates some love today for #FossilFriday
Gorgeous eurypterid from New York, on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Gorgeous eurypterid from New York, on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
January 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Giving the invertebrates some love today for #FossilFriday
Gorgeous eurypterid from New York, on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Gorgeous eurypterid from New York, on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
New Year, New #FossilFriday!
Nothing as classic as a T-Rex chomping on a Triceratops. Visitors flock to this display, but I love how no one in the museum ever questions a predator biting into a massive boney plate.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Nothing as classic as a T-Rex chomping on a Triceratops. Visitors flock to this display, but I love how no one in the museum ever questions a predator biting into a massive boney plate.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
January 3, 2025 at 4:28 PM
New Year, New #FossilFriday!
Nothing as classic as a T-Rex chomping on a Triceratops. Visitors flock to this display, but I love how no one in the museum ever questions a predator biting into a massive boney plate.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Nothing as classic as a T-Rex chomping on a Triceratops. Visitors flock to this display, but I love how no one in the museum ever questions a predator biting into a massive boney plate.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
#FossilFriday You want terror birds? I’LL GIVE YOU TERROR BIRDS 🦅
December 20, 2024 at 4:59 PM
#FossilFriday You want terror birds? I’LL GIVE YOU TERROR BIRDS 🦅
I’m no mineralogist, but I’d regret not showing off this incredible copper sheet for #MineralMonday. Weighing in at 324 lbs from Michigan, it’s one of the largest copper sheets in the world. It’s enough to coat ~2.5 million pennies!
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
December 16, 2024 at 3:21 PM
I’m no mineralogist, but I’d regret not showing off this incredible copper sheet for #MineralMonday. Weighing in at 324 lbs from Michigan, it’s one of the largest copper sheets in the world. It’s enough to coat ~2.5 million pennies!
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Trilophosaurus is reaching for you this #FossilFriday
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
December 13, 2024 at 2:30 PM
Trilophosaurus is reaching for you this #FossilFriday
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
On display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
(2/2) Scales can be different shapes and sizes across the body. When a bone forms inside the scale, it's called an osteoderm - which is what you're seeing in the fossil.
Check out this iguana for example. Just across the head are scales of lots of different sizes!
CC License: tinyurl.com/5n99yu6e
Check out this iguana for example. Just across the head are scales of lots of different sizes!
CC License: tinyurl.com/5n99yu6e
December 9, 2024 at 3:43 PM
(2/2) Scales can be different shapes and sizes across the body. When a bone forms inside the scale, it's called an osteoderm - which is what you're seeing in the fossil.
Check out this iguana for example. Just across the head are scales of lots of different sizes!
CC License: tinyurl.com/5n99yu6e
Check out this iguana for example. Just across the head are scales of lots of different sizes!
CC License: tinyurl.com/5n99yu6e
You're correct that the head is top left. At the bottom is the hind limb, and top right is the tail. Check out this diagram from Nesbitt et al. (2009). Let's talk about scales...(1/2)
Link to paper: academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Link to paper: academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
December 9, 2024 at 3:43 PM
You're correct that the head is top left. At the bottom is the hind limb, and top right is the tail. Check out this diagram from Nesbitt et al. (2009). Let's talk about scales...(1/2)
Link to paper: academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Link to paper: academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Vancleavea campi, a Late Triassic archosauriform preserved with some of the most incredible osteoderms I’ve ever seen. Cast on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. #FossilFriday
December 6, 2024 at 4:43 PM
Vancleavea campi, a Late Triassic archosauriform preserved with some of the most incredible osteoderms I’ve ever seen. Cast on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. #FossilFriday
Photo of me singing “All I want for Christmas is you” as mouse on display at the NMNH 🐭 🎄
November 22, 2024 at 9:24 PM
Photo of me singing “All I want for Christmas is you” as mouse on display at the NMNH 🐭 🎄
This is actually the best way to look at fossils. Why would I zoom in on a pdf and protect my posture when I can just place my face mere inches from the computer screen???
November 20, 2024 at 1:00 AM
This is actually the best way to look at fossils. Why would I zoom in on a pdf and protect my posture when I can just place my face mere inches from the computer screen???
DC’s Chinatown is sprinkled with zodiac animals on the walkways.
What animals are in your city/town?
#citywildlife
What animals are in your city/town?
#citywildlife
November 18, 2024 at 10:57 PM
DC’s Chinatown is sprinkled with zodiac animals on the walkways.
What animals are in your city/town?
#citywildlife
What animals are in your city/town?
#citywildlife
Since we’re all a bit new here, a little more on me.
When I’m not scoring fossils and running analyses, you can find me creating something new in the kitchen. If you’re planning fieldwork, I’m the gal you want in cook tent ❤️⛺️⚒️🦴
You can follow these culinary experiments on my insta below 😉
When I’m not scoring fossils and running analyses, you can find me creating something new in the kitchen. If you’re planning fieldwork, I’m the gal you want in cook tent ❤️⛺️⚒️🦴
You can follow these culinary experiments on my insta below 😉
November 12, 2024 at 6:40 PM
Since we’re all a bit new here, a little more on me.
When I’m not scoring fossils and running analyses, you can find me creating something new in the kitchen. If you’re planning fieldwork, I’m the gal you want in cook tent ❤️⛺️⚒️🦴
You can follow these culinary experiments on my insta below 😉
When I’m not scoring fossils and running analyses, you can find me creating something new in the kitchen. If you’re planning fieldwork, I’m the gal you want in cook tent ❤️⛺️⚒️🦴
You can follow these culinary experiments on my insta below 😉
Walking into work today like…
November 11, 2024 at 5:22 PM
Walking into work today like…