P. David Polly

@pdpolly.bsky.social

1.3K followers 360 following 200 posts

David is a vertebrate paleontologist who grew up near Boonville, Missouri. He is also British. “Read broader, think deeper, do better”: https://pollylab.org/

Videos

Paul David Polly is an American paleontologist and the Robert R. Shrock Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Indiana University as well as the sitting chair of the department. .. more

Environmental science 34%

Mathematics 19%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by P. David Polly

Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · 11d

Daily bunny no.3124 offers you a balloon

A bunny on a gray, rainy day looks down a storm drain, where a clown bunny with a red nose and ears looks out at him from below. It is a bunny Pennywise, from the Stephen King novel, and it offers the other bunny a red balloon through the grate on the drain

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 11d

Apparently it is now illegal to use X-windows in Indiana. Or so says the Witten administration at IU. 🤷‍♂️

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 21d

My university finally feels like it too is run by the wheel-clampers (Biff from 30+ yrs ago).

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 21d

Here is the original 1986 tree from undergrad thesis for anyone curious what a pre-Adobe graphic looks like. Polarities on most of the characters reversed so topology wrong. Still, i learned a lot from doing it. Thanks Tim Rowe. 🙂

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 22d

My patristic distance is shorter than the trace of my identity matrix. 🤣

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 22d

JFK, I realized today my first phylogenetic tree was only 20 yrs after Hennig was published in English, and my last was 40 yrs after my first. 🤦‍♂️

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 22d

I started to say i don’t recognize the cover but i (dimly) remember Icicle Works. 🤔

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 24d

Patriots are here. 🇺🇸

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 24d

Now we know what it takes to unite IU and Purdue…. www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/l...

Purdue student journalists deliver special 'solidarity' newspaper to IU Bloomington campus

The special edition blasted across town features columns from IDS and Exponent editors, alongside QR codes to support both student papers.

www.heraldtimesonline.com

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 24d

youtu.be/RCKa3Gzihbc?...

Cows

YouTube video by Jesse Welles

youtu.be

Reposted by P. David Polly

Cody Kirkpatrick @cody.im · 24d

Happy Homecoming.

An empty Indiana Daily Student newsstand.

Reposted by P. David Polly

Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · 25d

Daily bunny no.3110 was born in a shell

A bright white, glowing small bunny is sitting in a seashell, which is open on a beach, where the waves meet the shore. It is like a bunny of pearl

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 26d

Leptarctines are cool. So is #PaleoBios.

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · 26d

For anyone who happens to be on Long Island next week, please come...

Reposted by P. David Polly

Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · Oct 7

Daily bunny no.3100 is just a branch away

A bunny sits on the branch of a tree at night, sipping tea and looking at the full moon. On the moon, another small bunny is visible, also drinking tea while looking back at the bunny on the tree branch

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Sep 10

Daily bunny is not F100 material…. #MakeWayForNobody

Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · Sep 10

Daily bunny no.3073 still has a lot to unpack

A bunny sits in a large cardboard box, exhausted, in their new apartment. They are surrounded by messy piles of other boxes, some open and some closed, and one containing their pet cat. There is also a mattress and a lamp amongst the boxes

Reposted by P. David Polly

Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · Sep 10

Daily bunny no.3073 still has a lot to unpack

Reposted by Jussi T. Eronen

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Sep 9

We Are Watching a Scientific Superpower Destroy Itself www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...

Opinion | We Are Watching a Scientific Superpower Destroy Itself

www.nytimes.com

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Sep 7

One if by land, two if by sea. Don’t fire till you see the masks of their ICE, Boston. #OldNorthChurch #TinyHandsOffAmerica

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Sep 7

He came from outer space, lookin for something to eat #EggplantThatAteChicago youtu.be/Db8LxhzAml0?...

1966 Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band - The Eggplant That Ate Chicago (mono 45)

YouTube video by The45Prof

youtu.be

Reposted by Tim Hitchcock

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Sep 6

@ellecordova.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/AYm9w...

For our scientists

YouTube video by Elle Cordova

youtube.com

Reposted by P. David Polly

Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · Sep 5

Daily bunny no.3068 hopes you get the message

A bunny, standing on a rocky cliff overlooking the seashore, throws a paper airplane to another cliff in the distance. On the other cliff, another bunny reaches to catch the plane. It is a cool summer day.

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Sep 5

Truth. And such a waste for the future of the state of Indiana after five generations of investment to elevate Hoosier kids to world class status. thebtownbee.com/2025/08/31/t...

The decline of a great university

THE ACADEMY IS AN OUTDATED CONCEPT TO THE IU TRUSTEES AND STATE GOVERNMENT By Mike Leonard Peaceful , beautiful and under attack. SUVs blowing through stop signs. Cars going the wrong way on one-wa…

thebtownbee.com

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Sep 4

From Doctors Without Borders: Risk of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/risk-...

Risk of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank

MSF urges states with close ties to Israel—including the US—to apply meaningful pressure to halt the forced displacement of Palestinians.

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Reposted by Adrian Vickers, P. David Polly

American Museum of Natural History @amnh.org · Sep 1

The little pygmy possum is the smallest possum in the world! Weighing ~0.4 oz (10 g), it's about the weight of 10 almonds. This omnivore has a taste for the nectar & pollen of flowering plants: It can consume up to 7% of its body weight in a single day!
Photo: Tom Hunt, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

A photo of a little pygmy gray possum held in a human hand. The animal is tiny and gray in color, with pink hands and feet. It is about the size of a human thumb.

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Aug 29

….community-facing conservation projects. Through this, they will contribute to Indiana University’s 2030 vision of student empowerment, creative research, and global service.” Sounds like IU these days, doesn’t it?

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Aug 29

“Water Bunnies: Ecology, Imagination, and Innovation” is a multidisciplinary course exploring how aquatic biodiversity and cultural storytelling can drive climate awareness and ecological action. Students will research real and mythical freshwater species, produce digital media, and collaborate….

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Aug 29

It is fun sometimes to ask chatgpt to do things few humans could do. I asked it to “align a course on water bunnies to the IUB 2030 Strategic Plan”. What it wrote would definitely make it past ICHE , probably with meritorious rating….

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Aug 17

www.aam-us.org/2025/08/15/a...

AAM Statement on the Growing Threats of Censorship Against U.S. Museums

For Immediate Release Arlington, VA–Today, the American Alliance of Museums, the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum field, issued a statement in response to the gro…

www.aam-us.org

P. David Polly @pdpolly.bsky.social · Aug 16

More from @robstonemd.bsky.social on effects of the new cuts to medicaid on rural Indiana hospital care. medicareforallindiana.substack.com/p/prescripti...

Prescription for Healthcare – Dr. Rob Stone, “Medicaid Cuts Affect Everyone” August, 2025

Welcome to Prescription for Healthcare, a podcast collaboration between the WFHB Local News and Medicare for All Indiana, broadcasting the second Thursday of every month as part of the Local News at 5

medicareforallindiana.substack.com

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