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Reposted by Rémi Lefebvre

Amypteride🏳️‍⚧️🔻🕷🦂 @amypteride.bsky.social · 2h

#paleoctober2025 day 9 : Protobalanus spinicoronatus !

Despite its name, this animal is a devonian mollusk, more specifically a basal polyplacophoran. You may know its current day relatives as little criters on the beaches called "chitons" (that are not slugs with shells nor crustaceans).

A drawing of Protobalanus spinicoronatus, a flat oval-shaped mollusk with no distinct head and armored plates and also spikes on the body's edge.

A fossil 3D-scan of Protobalanus spinicoronatus, showing the oval-shaped body of the mollusk with armored plates and also a few spikes on the body's edge.

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 9d

To a certain amount, you can estimate the angle of the ankle joint (mean angle during stance phase) of some land mammals by measuring the angle of their tibial long axis vs. calcaneal tuber long axis, and that could be handy:
peerj.com/articles/200...

Estimating ankle joint angle from skeletal geometry: a mechanical model of the calcaneal lever in terrestrial mammals

Background The ankle joint angle, typically measured between the tibia and metatarsus, shows only a small range of movement during the stance phase and remains relatively constant within species, but ...

peerj.com

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Stephan Spiekman @stephanspiekman.bsky.social · 9d

PhD position available at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin on avialan ontogeny (birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives)!

jobs.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/jobposting/e...

42/2025 Research Associate with the goal of a doctorate (f/m/d)

jobs.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin

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Morgan PROUST @morganproust.bsky.social · 12d

Hello, microanatomy &/or salamander enthusiasts!

If you’re a first-year master’s student, I might have an exciting internship for you on the microanatomy of two salamanders sp., with already great results on the humerus.

What: Zeugopod microanatomy
Where: SMNS

Contact: [email protected]

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Phil Mannion @pdmannion.bsky.social · 13d

New paper led by @es-ucl.bsky.social PhD student Samantha Beeston (with @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social + others) on the evolution of postcranial pneumaticity in early sauropodomorph dinosaurs + its likely independent acquisition from that of theropods & pterosauromorphs: doi.org/10.1111/joa....

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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 🧵)

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gquaggiotto.bsky.social @gquaggiotto.bsky.social · 15d

"After the fall of the Roman Empire, elephants virtually disappeared from Western Europe. Since there was no real knowledge of how the animal looked, illustrators had to rely on oral and written transmissions to morphologically reconstruct the elephant" www.uliwestphal.de/elephas-anth...

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 21d

JOBS JOBS JOBS! Stony Brook are advertising two assistant professorships in vertebrate palaeo/evolution, one focused on (in the words of the SVP programme) NOT DINOSAURS and the other on evolutionary neurology:
apply.interfolio.com/172502
apply.interfolio.com/172517

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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houssayecnrs.bsky.social @houssayecnrs.bsky.social · 21d

Quelle est la démarche des sections face aux questions relatives à la parité ?
Un document de synthèse rédigé par les référents parité des sections CoNRS @cnrs.fr de la mandature 2021-2025.
www.cnrs.fr/comitenation...

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 29d

R.I.P. Mark Norell. One of the most memorable and distinct characters in paleontology. When he said something, it might be totally outrageous, brilliant, or something else, but it always was interesting. He had a curmudgeonly sense of humor and a winning smile. Mark was very kind to me. RIP.

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Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 29d

We lost Mark Norell today. Dinosaur hunter extraordinaire. The coolest dude alive. My PhD supervisor.
Wherever you are, raise a glass of your favorite lager or single malt, as it is what Mark would want.

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Narimane Chatar @narimanechatar.bsky.social · Sep 8

Fully funded PhD position available at
@univmalaga.bsky.social 👩‍🎓👨‍🎓 focusing on the evolution of the vertebral column in crocodylomorphs 🐊under the supervision of @bortxaf.bsky.social & @albertomartinserra.bsky.social
Application deadline: Sep 30 🚨

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · Sep 8

Kinematic and *multi-force-plate* analysis of walking in giant pandas!
Quite a technical achievement in biomechanics, and certainly cute as all hell.
Scientifically, no shocking findings but it's a useful study with lots of data. 18 pandas (6 = juvenile), 120 trials
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

figure with cartoonish picture of walking panda in forceplate array, and devices used to measure:
Panda Motion Mechanics Test System. The walking passage is composed of an array of 2 × 10 glass panels, with the panda entering from the left entrance of the bracket. The caretaker guides it through the passage to complete the motion. A camera is positioned at the central side near the bracket, enabling recording of the entire motion process. Both the force sensor array and high-speed camera are connected to computer process equipment, triggered simultaneously using synchronized switches.

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Rob Noble @robjohnnoble.bsky.social · Sep 3

Mindblowing research out of the wonderful @isemevol.bsky.social (where I'm delighed to be based for the next three months).

Opening line: "Living organisms are assumed to produce same-species offspring [1,2]. Here, we report a shift from this norm".

1. Darwin (1859)
2. Mayr (1942).

Arne Elofsson @bioinfo.se · Sep 3

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother

Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.

www.nature.com

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · Sep 4

I am very, very happy to welcome @iscavezzoni.bsky.social to my team at RVC as my 2nd current Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, along with @rl-evobio.bsky.social! Dr. Scavezzoni will be blazing a new trail studying the evolutionary biomechanics of locomotion in thalattosuchian and dyrosaurid crocs!

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Armita R. Manafzadeh @armanafzadeh.bsky.social · Sep 2

I'm recruiting a PhD student to join the lab at @gtsciences.bsky.social in Fall 2026! Broad taxonomic and topical freedom under the umbrella of vertebrate joint form and function. Information here: www.manafzadeh.com – please share 🦴🩻

Armita R. Manafzadeh @armanafzadeh.bsky.social · Jul 2

✨Some news✨: after finishing my postdoc, I’ll be starting my lab as an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech. Join us in Atlanta to study how joints work and where they come from!

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Richard Bomphrey @richardbomphrey.bsky.social · Sep 2

🚨 Hiring! We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in computational fluid dynamics and structural simulations to investigate biomechanics and mechanosensory feedback in insect flight.

Extreme agility ✔️
Morphological computing ✔️
Meshes! ✔️

jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

a close up of a fly 's head with a blurred background .

ALT: a close up of a fly 's head with a blurred background .

media.tenor.com

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Manon Hullot, PhD @manonhullot.bsky.social · Sep 1

2 offres d’emploi au Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Genève www.museum-geneve.ch 🇨🇭 :

- Chargé ou chargée de projets d’exposition à 100%
www.geneve.ch/administrati...

- Médiateur ou médiatrice scientifique à 80%
www.geneve.ch/administrati...

Deadline 12.09.2025

www.museum-geneve.ch

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Sergi Valverde @svalver.bsky.social · Aug 20

What do Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Mortal Kombat have to teach us about #cultural #evolution? As a social-technological phenomenon, #arcade game genres evolved like cultural species—some diversified, while others became "living fossils." 🕹️🧪 👉 doi.org/10.1017/ehs....

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Manon Hullot, PhD @manonhullot.bsky.social · Aug 20

🚨JOB ALERT🚨
In Kiel (Germany) - German speaking required
www.myscience.org/jobs/id31339...

Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in mit Zielrichtung Habilitation am Zoologischen Institut in der Arbeitsgruppe Zoologie und Funktionsmorphologie der Vertebraten - Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Ki...

www.myscience.org

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Verónica Díez Díaz, PhD @daniajinn.bsky.social · Aug 13

📣Our last work on the ranges of motion of the tail of the sauropod dinosaur Giraffatitan brancai is finally published!🦕
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Centres of rotation and osteological constraints on caudal ranges of motion in the sauropod dinosaur Giraffatitan brancai | Royal Society Open Science

Archosaur tails are important appendages, not only for their biomechanical function but also for being behavioural tools that help the animal communicate and interact with its environment. Until recen...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Dr Alice Clement @draliceclement.bsky.social · Aug 11

Want to do a PhD on White Sharks using high-powered imaging to analyse form and function of their teeth and jaws?

You will work with me and the dream team @charlie-huveneers.bsky.social @meyer-sci.bsky.social @weisbeckerbblab.bsky.social & #SARDI at Flinders Uni

🦈🦷🦴 Interested? Get in touch!

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Rémi Lefebvre @rl-evobio.bsky.social · Aug 8

Thanks to my co-authors & to curators, editors & colleagues who helped with this study! Thanks to @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social for editorial & publishing work, & thanks to @erc.europa.eu that funded the #Gravibone project led by @houssayecnrs.bsky.social. Please feel free to ask if you have any request!

sky.social

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Rémi Lefebvre @rl-evobio.bsky.social · Aug 8

We computed rates of morphological evolution occurring across sauropodomorph evolutionary history, using phylogenetic ridge regression. Our results could have supported a slowdown correlated to the diversification of eusauropods, but this finding was extremely sensitive to temporal uncertainties.

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Rémi Lefebvre @rl-evobio.bsky.social · Aug 8

Astragalus evolution in sauropodomorphs is also linked with pes reorganisation in sauropods, especially eusauropods, with the ankle articulation becoming subhorizontally oriented. It reminds the condition in elephants, with both groups sharing an extensive foot pad and a columnar limb architecture.

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