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The Fossil Files: Fossil Fails: The tiny dino with a massive flaw

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 1d

#Fossil Files podcast fans!! Today sees the release of Fossil Fails II: The tiny dinosaur with the massive flaw... Get our take on that whole Oculudentavis thing - available now on libsyn and wherever you get your podcasts! @thefossilfiles.bsky.social fossils.libsyn.com/fossil-fails...

Discovery of the smallest ever dinosaur acheived quite a splash when it was publised on the front cover of Nature in 2020. The new critter, Oculodentavis, was the size of a hummingbird and reconstruct...

fossils.libsyn.com

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Robert Sansom @fossilrob.bsky.social · 5d

How do you select a name for a new dinosaur? Sneak peek on #FossilFriday of the next @thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out on Tuesday with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/5Cbz9...

How do you choose a name for a new #dinosaur ? #thefossilfiles #taxonomy

youtube.com

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · 15d

This episode was genuinely hilarious to make... listen in on all your favourite podcast platforms! @thefossilfiles.bsky.social

Robert Sansom @fossilrob.bsky.social · 15d

In this week's episode of @thefossilfiles.bsky.social, I complete loose control
I think you can even pinpoint the exact moment that @tweetisaurus.bsky.social makes me laugh so hard that I burp.
Tune in for 🦕🌔🐝
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JI4...

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thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 15d

Could there have been dinosaurs on the moon? 🦕🌝 No really.
🚨 New episode out today on notorious "Fossil Fails" in which Susie and Rob explore some odd examples of palaeontology gone wrong. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JI4...

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Robert Sansom @fossilrob.bsky.social · 15d

In this week's episode of @thefossilfiles.bsky.social, I complete loose control
I think you can even pinpoint the exact moment that @tweetisaurus.bsky.social makes me laugh so hard that I burp.
Tune in for 🦕🌔🐝
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JI4...

Stinging News: ‘Dickinsonia’ discovered in the Upper Vindhyan of India not worth the buzz

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thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 15d

Here is a link to the proper paper we discuss, a really interesting example of a palaeontological whoopsie. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A recent report of Dickinsonia tenuis ‘hiding in plain sight’ at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in rocks of the Maihar sandstone (Upper Vindhyan) has imp…

www.sciencedirect.com

thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 15d

You can find the full episode on Spotfy, Apple, YouTube, or where ever you get your podcasts (links in bio)

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thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 15d

Could there have been dinosaurs on the moon? 🦕🌝 No really.
🚨 New episode out today on notorious "Fossil Fails" in which Susie and Rob explore some odd examples of palaeontology gone wrong. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JI4...

The Fossil Files: The Spicomellus Special

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thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 28d

Right? Cautiously huggable.

thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · 28d

Our newest episode is one not to miss!
Susie spills the beans on the latest research on Spicomellus, a beautiful armored ankylosaur

If you ever wondered what goes in to studying dinosaurs it’s the perfect way to answer your questions!

Find us on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube etc. links in the bio

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Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · Sep 8

Well Fossil Files fans, this week you have a special bonus episode our new dinosaur #Spicomellus the spikey ankylosaur. In this episode, I tell Rob all about the back story: how we found it, excavated it and studied it. And I throw some shade on fossil smugglers. fossils.libsyn.com/the-spicomel...

Perhaps the weirdest dinosaur ever has just been described in Nature, by The Fossil Files' own Susie Maidment. In a worldwide EXCLUSIVE*, Susie gives as the unvarnshed truth about how this spikey Jura...

fossils.libsyn.com

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🦕Journal of Systematic Palaeontology🦴 @journalsystpal.bsky.social · 29d

Have a listen to our Editor-in-Chief Prof. Susie Maidment's podcast- This episode she talking about how her team found, excavated and studied the amazingly weird and spikey #Spicomellus specimen! 🦴

#Fossils #FossilFiles @tweetisaurus.bsky.social #Dinosaur #Nature #NaturalHistory #NHM #JSP

Prof Susie Maidment @tweetisaurus.bsky.social · Sep 8

Well Fossil Files fans, this week you have a special bonus episode our new dinosaur #Spicomellus the spikey ankylosaur. In this episode, I tell Rob all about the back story: how we found it, excavated it and studied it. And I throw some shade on fossil smugglers. fossils.libsyn.com/the-spicomel...

The Fossil Files: The Spicomellus Special

Perhaps the weirdest dinosaur ever has just been described in Nature, by The Fossil Files' own Susie Maidment. In a worldwide EXCLUSIVE*, Susie gives as the unvarnshed truth about how this spikey Jura...

fossils.libsyn.com

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The Society of Systematic Biologists @systbiol.bsky.social · Sep 8

Do you know someone who has contributed to strengthening the evolutionary biology community by promoting inclusion and diversity?

Nominate them for the IDEA award! More info:

www.systbio.org/idea-award.h...

You may self-nominate!!!

IDEA Award

The ASN/SSE/SSB Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Award was created in 2019 by the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the...

www.systbio.org

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Andrej Spiridonov @andrejpaleo.bsky.social · Sep 8

Creative use of autocorrelation in analyzing trace fossils in the Ediacaran-Cambrian explosion:
"..lack of temporal correlation in the studied Ediacaran trajectories and its presence in...Cambrian trajectories, indicating time-tuned behaviours.."
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.02940
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio

Sample movement path (thick grey line), subdivided into equidistant segments, with measures used in this study

Partial autocorrelation boxplots for the sampled Ediacaran specimens and Cambrian specimens

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Prof. Valentin Fischer @val-fisch.bsky.social · Sep 8

New paper showing that ichthyosaurs ate vampyromorph coleoids. Did they like it ? No idea 🤷‍♂️

@universitedeliege.bsky.social @naturmusee.bsky.social @just-fre.bsky.social
@peerj.bsky.social

peerj.com/articles/19786

peerj.com

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Robert Sansom @fossilrob.bsky.social · Sep 8

Get the inside scoop on dinosaur weirdo Spicomellus from @tweetisaurus.bsky.social: behind the scenes, how the pandemic nearly killed it, where to put all those spikes, & dodgy fossil dealers
@thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out today
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Xb...

The Spicomellus Special

Extreme armour in the world’s oldest ankylosaur - Nature

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thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · Sep 8

Paper: Maidment, S.C.R., Ouarhache, D., Ech-charay, K. et al. Extreme armour in the world’s oldest ankylosaur. Nature (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...

The ankylosaurian dinosaur Spicomellus afer possessed a tail weapon and uniquely elaborate dermal armour.

doi.org

thefossilfiles.bsky.social @thefossilfiles.bsky.social · Sep 8

🚨New Episode out today!

Susie and Rob talk all things Spicomellus, everyone’s new favourite dinosaur

No better way to get all the info than straight from the researcher who studied the fossil!

Out now on Spotify, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

open.spotify.com/episode/6t9V...

The Spicomellus Special

open.spotify.com

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Dr Dave Hone @davehone.bsky.social · Sep 5

What's better than an hour of Dave talking about dinosaurs? How about three and a half hours? Should keep a few of you busy at least. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qm1...

And have I ever looked this dramatic before?

Dave Hone: T-Rex, Dinosaurs, Extinction, Evolution, and Jurassic Park | Lex Fridman Podcast #480

YouTube video by Lex Fridman

PhD and MSc positions in Phylogenetic, Computational, and/or Evolutionary Paleobiology [Posted September 2025. Deadline is January 15, 2026. See below for information about the lab, student opportu…

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Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Sep 2

I'm hoping to take 1 MSc & 1 PhD student next year in the areas of Phylogenetic, Computational, and/or Evolutionary Paleobiology. Please reach out if you are interested in joining the @oupaleobiology.bsky.social, especially if interested in working on fossil echinoderms. Link for more info below. 🧪

News

daveyfwright.wordpress.com

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Robert Sansom @fossilrob.bsky.social · Sep 2

Find out more in new @thefossilfiles.bsky.social episode out today: "Mirasaura, Triassic Punk"
Available now on Youtube, Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhJX...

Mirasaura, Triassic Punk