John Meszaros
@dilophosaurusbard.bsky.social
Writer and artist of things prehistoric, aquatic and sometimes mythological. Cranky bio-wizard (he/him/they/them) 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
my art: https://johnmeszarosart.com
State Cryptids blog: http://statecryptids.blogspot.com
my art: https://johnmeszarosart.com
State Cryptids blog: http://statecryptids.blogspot.com
Just wanted to show off this little display about nature in winter that I put up at my library job.
February 15, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Just wanted to show off this little display about nature in winter that I put up at my library job.
Really enjoying all the cool classic free noir movies on this channel
youtu.be/lqQtxcCKD_k?...
youtu.be/lqQtxcCKD_k?...
FULL MOON MATINEE - Channel Trailer (2022-23 Winter)
YouTube video by Full Moon Matinee
youtu.be
February 15, 2026 at 3:10 AM
Really enjoying all the cool classic free noir movies on this channel
youtu.be/lqQtxcCKD_k?...
youtu.be/lqQtxcCKD_k?...
Cryptids in the planetarium
February 8, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Cryptids in the planetarium
Took the cryptids to my planetarium job today. Mothman from the Mothman Museum. Flatwoods, Van Meter Visitor, Enfield Horror, and Vegetable Man from @cryptidcomforts.bsky.social
February 8, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Took the cryptids to my planetarium job today. Mothman from the Mothman Museum. Flatwoods, Van Meter Visitor, Enfield Horror, and Vegetable Man from @cryptidcomforts.bsky.social
Parking lot ice and salt stains that look like spacecraft views of Kuiper Belt objects.
February 5, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Parking lot ice and salt stains that look like spacecraft views of Kuiper Belt objects.
Reposted by John Meszaros
Caprellid party off the docks today
🐙🦑🌿
🐙🦑🌿
July 17, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Caprellid party off the docks today
🐙🦑🌿
🐙🦑🌿
A slightly late entry for Goblin Week. Made to express my frustration at white supremacist losers using Mac Tonight as a mascot for their racist rap albums, and thus making me feel uncomfortable about using moon-headed creatures in my fantasy artwork.
(It’s, uh, a bit of a niche frustration.)
(It’s, uh, a bit of a niche frustration.)
February 2, 2026 at 1:56 PM
A slightly late entry for Goblin Week. Made to express my frustration at white supremacist losers using Mac Tonight as a mascot for their racist rap albums, and thus making me feel uncomfortable about using moon-headed creatures in my fantasy artwork.
(It’s, uh, a bit of a niche frustration.)
(It’s, uh, a bit of a niche frustration.)
Goblin Week Day 2!
This green dude’s playing is playing one of my favorite weird musical instruments, the glass armonica!
Made of a series of glass bowls stacked inside each other and turned on their sides and played with wet finger tips on the bowl rims.
This green dude’s playing is playing one of my favorite weird musical instruments, the glass armonica!
Made of a series of glass bowls stacked inside each other and turned on their sides and played with wet finger tips on the bowl rims.
January 27, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Goblin Week Day 2!
This green dude’s playing is playing one of my favorite weird musical instruments, the glass armonica!
Made of a series of glass bowls stacked inside each other and turned on their sides and played with wet finger tips on the bowl rims.
This green dude’s playing is playing one of my favorite weird musical instruments, the glass armonica!
Made of a series of glass bowls stacked inside each other and turned on their sides and played with wet finger tips on the bowl rims.
Reposted by John Meszaros
I was on Tune FM (the University of New England student radio station) to talk about Sponges, Carnivorous Sponges, and a worm that lives with carnivorous sponges 🧪
#Invertebrate
www.tunefm.net/2025/12/19/c...
#Invertebrate
www.tunefm.net/2025/12/19/c...
January 27, 2026 at 4:18 AM
I was on Tune FM (the University of New England student radio station) to talk about Sponges, Carnivorous Sponges, and a worm that lives with carnivorous sponges 🧪
#Invertebrate
www.tunefm.net/2025/12/19/c...
#Invertebrate
www.tunefm.net/2025/12/19/c...
Reposted by John Meszaros
Fantastic article on these amazing creatures by the incredibly talented @restingdinoface.bsky.social!
(Also, for more on evolution of elephant/proboscidean tusks & trunks, check out my recent exploration/review paper [More to come soon!]) anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...)
(Also, for more on evolution of elephant/proboscidean tusks & trunks, check out my recent exploration/review paper [More to come soon!]) anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...)
Shovel-tuskers! Ancient elephants like Amebelodon are an evolutionary success story, and we’re only just starting to understand how they used their exceptional jaws. I’ll tell you more at Smithsonian. 🧪
Strange, Shovel-Tusked Elephants Puzzled Paleontologists, Until Experts Took a Closer Look at Their Teeth
The animals' extended lower jaws were seemingly made for scooping, but research over the past few decades has found they could do a lot more than initially expected
www.smithsonianmag.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Fantastic article on these amazing creatures by the incredibly talented @restingdinoface.bsky.social!
(Also, for more on evolution of elephant/proboscidean tusks & trunks, check out my recent exploration/review paper [More to come soon!]) anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...)
(Also, for more on evolution of elephant/proboscidean tusks & trunks, check out my recent exploration/review paper [More to come soon!]) anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...)
Putting out some winter decor this morning.
January 26, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Putting out some winter decor this morning.
First post for Goblin Week 2026!
Here’s a little dude based on the clothing moth Tineola bisselliella.
I think Tineola is super cool because it’s descended from moths that feed on keratin-rich bits from mammal carcasses like fur and horns- parts that other scavengers don’t eat.
Here’s a little dude based on the clothing moth Tineola bisselliella.
I think Tineola is super cool because it’s descended from moths that feed on keratin-rich bits from mammal carcasses like fur and horns- parts that other scavengers don’t eat.
January 26, 2026 at 3:20 PM
First post for Goblin Week 2026!
Here’s a little dude based on the clothing moth Tineola bisselliella.
I think Tineola is super cool because it’s descended from moths that feed on keratin-rich bits from mammal carcasses like fur and horns- parts that other scavengers don’t eat.
Here’s a little dude based on the clothing moth Tineola bisselliella.
I think Tineola is super cool because it’s descended from moths that feed on keratin-rich bits from mammal carcasses like fur and horns- parts that other scavengers don’t eat.
Reposted by John Meszaros
It took me more than 4 years to capture a scene I could only dream of. A magnificent Condor soars above the peaks of Argentina's Mount Fitz Roy, as they are spot lit in beautiful morning light.
#bluesky #photography #landscape #birds #nature #art
#landscapephotography #naturephotography #sunrise
#bluesky #photography #landscape #birds #nature #art
#landscapephotography #naturephotography #sunrise
January 26, 2026 at 2:31 PM
It took me more than 4 years to capture a scene I could only dream of. A magnificent Condor soars above the peaks of Argentina's Mount Fitz Roy, as they are spot lit in beautiful morning light.
#bluesky #photography #landscape #birds #nature #art
#landscapephotography #naturephotography #sunrise
#bluesky #photography #landscape #birds #nature #art
#landscapephotography #naturephotography #sunrise
Reposted by John Meszaros
Paul Bunyan sez FUCK ICE.
January 26, 2026 at 5:16 AM
Paul Bunyan sez FUCK ICE.
Ohio’s Loveland Frog and Portland’s Inflatable Frog both agree.
Hashtag All cryptids are antifascist.
Hashtag All cryptids are antifascist.
January 25, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Ohio’s Loveland Frog and Portland’s Inflatable Frog both agree.
Hashtag All cryptids are antifascist.
Hashtag All cryptids are antifascist.
Close-ups of the ghosts-ups* from the spooky playset I made to give to trick-or-treaters last Halloween.
*(ghost stand-ups… I needed it to rhyme somehow…)
*(ghost stand-ups… I needed it to rhyme somehow…)
January 23, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Close-ups of the ghosts-ups* from the spooky playset I made to give to trick-or-treaters last Halloween.
*(ghost stand-ups… I needed it to rhyme somehow…)
*(ghost stand-ups… I needed it to rhyme somehow…)
Finally posting this ghost cut-out standees playset I made this past Halloween to give to trick-or-treaters.
January 23, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Finally posting this ghost cut-out standees playset I made this past Halloween to give to trick-or-treaters.
More microbes from Enceladus. These are Rubber Chicken nitrophages, tiny predators that play an important role in nitrogen-cycling in the ice ecosystem.
Currently two known species. One lives in the detritus of Cryoconite holes, and a bioluminescent one that lives in the deeper ice tunnels.
Currently two known species. One lives in the detritus of Cryoconite holes, and a bioluminescent one that lives in the deeper ice tunnels.
January 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM
More microbes from Enceladus. These are Rubber Chicken nitrophages, tiny predators that play an important role in nitrogen-cycling in the ice ecosystem.
Currently two known species. One lives in the detritus of Cryoconite holes, and a bioluminescent one that lives in the deeper ice tunnels.
Currently two known species. One lives in the detritus of Cryoconite holes, and a bioluminescent one that lives in the deeper ice tunnels.
Reposted by John Meszaros
Just finished as the clouds rolled in.
Orion Nebula captured tonight from backyard with Seestar S50.
2 hours and 12 mins of integration.
Happy with how it turned out!
That damn Sydney-Dallas A380 (?) just clipped the lower right of the image so you can see the light trails from it passing.
🔭
Orion Nebula captured tonight from backyard with Seestar S50.
2 hours and 12 mins of integration.
Happy with how it turned out!
That damn Sydney-Dallas A380 (?) just clipped the lower right of the image so you can see the light trails from it passing.
🔭
January 8, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Just finished as the clouds rolled in.
Orion Nebula captured tonight from backyard with Seestar S50.
2 hours and 12 mins of integration.
Happy with how it turned out!
That damn Sydney-Dallas A380 (?) just clipped the lower right of the image so you can see the light trails from it passing.
🔭
Orion Nebula captured tonight from backyard with Seestar S50.
2 hours and 12 mins of integration.
Happy with how it turned out!
That damn Sydney-Dallas A380 (?) just clipped the lower right of the image so you can see the light trails from it passing.
🔭
Y’all should check out this online program my sister-in-law is teaching about Babylonian Star-lore.
www.worldvirtualtours.online/events/babyl...
www.worldvirtualtours.online/events/babyl...
BABYLONIAN NIGHT SKY: As They Saw It - World Virtual Tours
Explore the Babylonian night sky, learn about constellations, myths, and ancient astronomical tools in this virtual tour.
www.worldvirtualtours.online
December 29, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Y’all should check out this online program my sister-in-law is teaching about Babylonian Star-lore.
www.worldvirtualtours.online/events/babyl...
www.worldvirtualtours.online/events/babyl...
When I worked at the University of Michigan Natural History Museum there was a neat visible woman statue. She disappeared when the museum moved to their new building, and I like to think she still wanders the basement halls of the university like a ghost.
December 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM
When I worked at the University of Michigan Natural History Museum there was a neat visible woman statue. She disappeared when the museum moved to their new building, and I like to think she still wanders the basement halls of the university like a ghost.
This is a “sister project” to my Saturn book, about the life of the solar system’s icy ocean moons.
These creatures are part of a kinetotrophic ecosystem that live in and under the ice of Jupiter’s moon Callisto and derive energy from the seismic forces of meteor impacts.
These creatures are part of a kinetotrophic ecosystem that live in and under the ice of Jupiter’s moon Callisto and derive energy from the seismic forces of meteor impacts.
December 27, 2025 at 8:23 PM
This is a “sister project” to my Saturn book, about the life of the solar system’s icy ocean moons.
These creatures are part of a kinetotrophic ecosystem that live in and under the ice of Jupiter’s moon Callisto and derive energy from the seismic forces of meteor impacts.
These creatures are part of a kinetotrophic ecosystem that live in and under the ice of Jupiter’s moon Callisto and derive energy from the seismic forces of meteor impacts.
Reposted by John Meszaros
We have 526 scientists signed up for spring semester. We try to get that to about 1000 scientists before unleashing the teachers on the database. Wanna connect a class of kids with science this spring? Sign up!
Alright scientists! It's that time again!
Time to sign up for Skype a Scientist's spring semester.
Want to get matched with a classroom in 2026?
Sign up now 🥰
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Time to sign up for Skype a Scientist's spring semester.
Want to get matched with a classroom in 2026?
Sign up now 🥰
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
December 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM
We have 526 scientists signed up for spring semester. We try to get that to about 1000 scientists before unleashing the teachers on the database. Wanna connect a class of kids with science this spring? Sign up!
I really liked the moxy show when it came out in the mid-90s. Neat to hear there was a whole backstory behind him. Wish he was more widely known.
The other day somebody asked me “What's the lore behind Moxy?” and while my answer wasn't brief, I think it's strong enough of an explanation of the character i'd like to share it on here in a thread so it's available 🧵
December 25, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I really liked the moxy show when it came out in the mid-90s. Neat to hear there was a whole backstory behind him. Wish he was more widely known.
Merry #crustmas !
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.
December 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Merry #crustmas !
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.