@jvelezjuarbe.bsky.social
Associate Curator at NHMLA. Vertebrate paleontologist with an interest in marine mammals and Caribbean vertebrates. Boricua🇵🇷 The Caribbean & Eastern Pacific are my playground! Views are my own.
Pinned
Our new paper, published today in @royalsociety.org Proceedings B, documents the presence of #sebecids in the #GreaterAntilles from the early #Oligocene through the early #Pliocene. Sebecids were apex-predator crocodylomorphs adapted to life on land.
#CaribbeanPaleobiology 1/11
#CaribbeanPaleobiology 1/11
Reposted
The largest extinct volant bird Pelagornis could not meet the energetic demands of skimming url: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...
The largest extinct volant bird Pelagornis could not meet the energetic demands of skimming
Abstract. The fossil record is one of our only direct insights into the lives of extinct species. In recent years, the development of biomechanical and aer
royalsocietypublishing.org
February 11, 2026 at 1:05 PM
The largest extinct volant bird Pelagornis could not meet the energetic demands of skimming url: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...
Reposted
Our museum is part of the University's fund-drive: pardon the NPR-style interruption, but consider donating if you want to support public science.
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Archie the Mammoth's Champion Profile | Glow Big Red 2026
Help Archie the Mammoth's champion efforts for Glow Big Red 2026
go.unl.edu
February 11, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Our museum is part of the University's fund-drive: pardon the NPR-style interruption, but consider donating if you want to support public science.
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Wonderful donors are matching gifts, so it's a great chance to help us keep connecting the public with natural history.
go.unl.edu/unsmglowbigred
Reposted
Ever wonder how you can tell a dinosaur’s age?
In a new study establishing Nanotyrannus as a species, researchers cross-sectioned
slices of its hyoid to gauge maturity and understand how quickly it grew.
Read more about the brand new discovery here: nhm.org/new-nanotyra...
In a new study establishing Nanotyrannus as a species, researchers cross-sectioned
slices of its hyoid to gauge maturity and understand how quickly it grew.
Read more about the brand new discovery here: nhm.org/new-nanotyra...
February 11, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Ever wonder how you can tell a dinosaur’s age?
In a new study establishing Nanotyrannus as a species, researchers cross-sectioned
slices of its hyoid to gauge maturity and understand how quickly it grew.
Read more about the brand new discovery here: nhm.org/new-nanotyra...
In a new study establishing Nanotyrannus as a species, researchers cross-sectioned
slices of its hyoid to gauge maturity and understand how quickly it grew.
Read more about the brand new discovery here: nhm.org/new-nanotyra...
Reposted
#FossilFriday visiting some old friends! This was the first turtle shell I collected, it is a pelomedusoid from the early #Oligocene Juana Diaz Fm. in southwestern #PuertoRico. Pelomedusoids are found in shallow marine deposits across the #GreaterAntilles until the Pliocene.
#CaribbeanPaleobiology
#CaribbeanPaleobiology
November 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
#FossilFriday visiting some old friends! This was the first turtle shell I collected, it is a pelomedusoid from the early #Oligocene Juana Diaz Fm. in southwestern #PuertoRico. Pelomedusoids are found in shallow marine deposits across the #GreaterAntilles until the Pliocene.
#CaribbeanPaleobiology
#CaribbeanPaleobiology
Reposted
#FossilFriday The walking sea cow Pezosiren at the National Museum of Natural History
November 21, 2025 at 1:26 PM
#FossilFriday The walking sea cow Pezosiren at the National Museum of Natural History
Happy #FossilFriday! Heading to #PuertoRico for some #fieldwork & R&R! So here's #Elasmodontomys obliquus, an endemic rodent of unusual size that became extinct a few thousand years ago, marking the end of a lineage that reached the West Indies ~33 million years ago!! #ROUS #RodentsoftheCaribbean
November 14, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Happy #FossilFriday! Heading to #PuertoRico for some #fieldwork & R&R! So here's #Elasmodontomys obliquus, an endemic rodent of unusual size that became extinct a few thousand years ago, marking the end of a lineage that reached the West Indies ~33 million years ago!! #ROUS #RodentsoftheCaribbean
Reposted
Tomorrow’s the big day. Feel free to stop by my poster on the evolution of pan-cheloniid pelagic specializations!
#2025SVP #SeaTurtle
#2025SVP #SeaTurtle
Wonder what’s in here? If you’re at #2025SVP and would like to know, drop my by Friday poster in the Turts and Crocs space, board B301.
I will be presenting my graduate research on Pan-Cheloniids, including revealing a new morphotype of Cenozoic sea turtle that lived surprisingly recently.
I will be presenting my graduate research on Pan-Cheloniids, including revealing a new morphotype of Cenozoic sea turtle that lived surprisingly recently.
November 13, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Tomorrow’s the big day. Feel free to stop by my poster on the evolution of pan-cheloniid pelagic specializations!
#2025SVP #SeaTurtle
#2025SVP #SeaTurtle
Reposted
One team. Decades of history. Revisit our time with #Dodgers Team Historian Mark Langill as fandom springs to life with the #WorldSeries! Let’s go, Dodgers! go.nhm.org/dodgers
Fandom Springs to Life
Mark Langill | Team Historian, Los Angeles Dodgers
go.nhm.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:42 PM
One team. Decades of history. Revisit our time with #Dodgers Team Historian Mark Langill as fandom springs to life with the #WorldSeries! Let’s go, Dodgers! go.nhm.org/dodgers
Reposted
‼️Special volume about arthropod paleontology was published today in the Journal of Paleontology, honoring the late Dr. Rodney Feldmann.🦀🦞🦐 Many of the 20 articles are open access. @paleosoc.bsky.social #paleontology #fossil #crab #lobster #shrimp
Full volume:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Full volume:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
October 21, 2025 at 4:36 PM
‼️Special volume about arthropod paleontology was published today in the Journal of Paleontology, honoring the late Dr. Rodney Feldmann.🦀🦞🦐 Many of the 20 articles are open access. @paleosoc.bsky.social #paleontology #fossil #crab #lobster #shrimp
Full volume:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Full volume:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted
🦂 Scorpions? Not quite.
Take a closer look into #NHMLA's Entomology collection and learn more about false scorpions with resident Assistant Curator of Entomology, Rodrigo Ruedas!
Take a closer look into #NHMLA's Entomology collection and learn more about false scorpions with resident Assistant Curator of Entomology, Rodrigo Ruedas!
October 21, 2025 at 9:57 PM
🦂 Scorpions? Not quite.
Take a closer look into #NHMLA's Entomology collection and learn more about false scorpions with resident Assistant Curator of Entomology, Rodrigo Ruedas!
Take a closer look into #NHMLA's Entomology collection and learn more about false scorpions with resident Assistant Curator of Entomology, Rodrigo Ruedas!
Reposted
From auction houses to private apartments in Asia, this film peels back the curtain on a world few ever see: fossil hunters risking everything, dealers moving specimens across borders, collectors with their prehistoric trophies, and scientists fighting to protect irreplaceable clues to Earth’s past.
Inside The Multi-Million Dollar Global Dinosaur Fossil Market | Bones Of Contention - Part 1/2
YouTube video by CNA Insider
www.youtube.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:27 AM
From auction houses to private apartments in Asia, this film peels back the curtain on a world few ever see: fossil hunters risking everything, dealers moving specimens across borders, collectors with their prehistoric trophies, and scientists fighting to protect irreplaceable clues to Earth’s past.
My newest publication is out in @peerj.bsky.social! In this collaboration with Ana Valenzuela, Nick Pyenson & Mario Suarez we describe the most complete skeleton of the #AquaticSloth - #Thalassocnus - from #Chile!
Artwork by @alexboersma-art.bsky.social
1/6
#FossilFriday
peerj.com/articles/198...
Artwork by @alexboersma-art.bsky.social
1/6
#FossilFriday
peerj.com/articles/198...
October 3, 2025 at 1:40 PM
My newest publication is out in @peerj.bsky.social! In this collaboration with Ana Valenzuela, Nick Pyenson & Mario Suarez we describe the most complete skeleton of the #AquaticSloth - #Thalassocnus - from #Chile!
Artwork by @alexboersma-art.bsky.social
1/6
#FossilFriday
peerj.com/articles/198...
Artwork by @alexboersma-art.bsky.social
1/6
#FossilFriday
peerj.com/articles/198...
Reposted
Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans!
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
Mammals & Lice
We are interested in understanding what drives host-parasite relationships. We are using the Anoplura (sucking lice) parasite and mammalian host system to generate a comprehensive sucking louse phylog...
sites.google.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans!
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
Reposted
🍖 Hungry for History? Fossils from the #TarPits reveal the diets of saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and more—served straight from asphalt.
Take a bite into prehistory: bit.ly/TarPitsPD
Take a bite into prehistory: bit.ly/TarPitsPD
September 17, 2025 at 6:15 PM
🍖 Hungry for History? Fossils from the #TarPits reveal the diets of saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and more—served straight from asphalt.
Take a bite into prehistory: bit.ly/TarPitsPD
Take a bite into prehistory: bit.ly/TarPitsPD
Reposted
Are you tired of people constantly overestimating body size of marine reptiles? No longer!
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
September 17, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Are you tired of people constantly overestimating body size of marine reptiles? No longer!
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
We provide equations to estimate body size in ichthyosaurians, mosasaurids, and thalattosuchians.
1/4
Reposted
A.D. Gentry et al. (2025)
A new leatherback marine turtle from the lower Oligocene of North America and a phylogenetic nomenclature for Dermochelyidae
Palaeodiversity 18(1): 127-149 (2025)
doi: doi.org/10.18476/pal...
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
A new leatherback marine turtle from the lower Oligocene of North America and a phylogenetic nomenclature for Dermochelyidae
Palaeodiversity 18(1): 127-149 (2025)
doi: doi.org/10.18476/pal...
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
A new leatherback marine turtle from the lower Oligocene of North America and a phylogenetic nomenclature for Dermochelyidae
The modern leatherback sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea possesses a unique, flexible mosaic carapace adapted for deep diving. The evolutionary origins of this structure remain poorly understood because...
doi.org
September 14, 2025 at 1:50 PM
A.D. Gentry et al. (2025)
A new leatherback marine turtle from the lower Oligocene of North America and a phylogenetic nomenclature for Dermochelyidae
Palaeodiversity 18(1): 127-149 (2025)
doi: doi.org/10.18476/pal...
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
A new leatherback marine turtle from the lower Oligocene of North America and a phylogenetic nomenclature for Dermochelyidae
Palaeodiversity 18(1): 127-149 (2025)
doi: doi.org/10.18476/pal...
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
Reposted
A new fossil of the Leatherback Turtle from Alabama just dropped! #FossilFriday
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
Family Fishing Trip Leads to “One-in-a-Million” Fossil Discovery - Poarch Creek Indians
A family of four recently discovered the fossilized shell of a 32-million-year-old leatherback sea turtle while fishing along a river in south Alabama. The new species, Ueloca colemanorum was named by...
pci-nsn.gov
September 12, 2025 at 2:52 PM
A new fossil of the Leatherback Turtle from Alabama just dropped! #FossilFriday
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
bioone.org/journals/Pal...
Reposted
To celebrate a momentous 10 Years of #DinoFest, we’re looking back at a decade of discoveries from the Mesozoic—the period from about 252 to 66 million years ago, when dinosaurs evolved and then came to rule the planet: go.nhm.org/dinofest10
🦖 Will you be joining us this Sunday, September 14?
🦖 Will you be joining us this Sunday, September 14?
September 11, 2025 at 5:59 PM
To celebrate a momentous 10 Years of #DinoFest, we’re looking back at a decade of discoveries from the Mesozoic—the period from about 252 to 66 million years ago, when dinosaurs evolved and then came to rule the planet: go.nhm.org/dinofest10
🦖 Will you be joining us this Sunday, September 14?
🦖 Will you be joining us this Sunday, September 14?
Reposted
🐪 Think being stuck in L.A. traffic's a drag? Try getting stuck in its 𝘵𝘢𝘳. Meet 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘶𝘴, the Ice Age camel that once roamed North America: bit.ly/AncientCamelLA
September 2, 2025 at 5:11 PM
🐪 Think being stuck in L.A. traffic's a drag? Try getting stuck in its 𝘵𝘢𝘳. Meet 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘶𝘴, the Ice Age camel that once roamed North America: bit.ly/AncientCamelLA
Reposted
🐾 Are you a saber-toothed cat person, or do you prefer to chill with giant sloths? Pick Your Summer and learn all about these polar opposite Ice Age mammals during your next trip to the #TarPits: go.nhm.org/tpsummer
July 18, 2025 at 9:13 PM
🐾 Are you a saber-toothed cat person, or do you prefer to chill with giant sloths? Pick Your Summer and learn all about these polar opposite Ice Age mammals during your next trip to the #TarPits: go.nhm.org/tpsummer
Reposted
🦴 𝘼𝙧𝙚 #direwolves back? Dr. Emily Lindsey, Associate Curator and Excavation Site Director at the #TarPits, shares some insight about the Ice Age Angeleno that's making headlines.
youtu.be/v9d1Yu3OZBw
youtu.be/v9d1Yu3OZBw
Are Dire Wolves Back? with Dr. Emily Lindsey
YouTube video by La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
youtu.be
June 26, 2025 at 7:48 PM
🦴 𝘼𝙧𝙚 #direwolves back? Dr. Emily Lindsey, Associate Curator and Excavation Site Director at the #TarPits, shares some insight about the Ice Age Angeleno that's making headlines.
youtu.be/v9d1Yu3OZBw
youtu.be/v9d1Yu3OZBw
Reposted
🦣 Meet the #TarPits' resident mammoth, Zed!
Catch a glimpse of the most complete Columbian mammoth discovered in the heart of LA, only at La Brea Tar Pits!
Catch a glimpse of the most complete Columbian mammoth discovered in the heart of LA, only at La Brea Tar Pits!
June 24, 2025 at 7:47 PM
🦣 Meet the #TarPits' resident mammoth, Zed!
Catch a glimpse of the most complete Columbian mammoth discovered in the heart of LA, only at La Brea Tar Pits!
Catch a glimpse of the most complete Columbian mammoth discovered in the heart of LA, only at La Brea Tar Pits!
Reposted
From the Press Room | New Species of Armored, Monstersaur Lizard that Lived Alongside Dinosaurs Identified by #NHMLA Paleontologists!
Discovery of 𝘉𝘰𝘭𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭 reveals the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila Monster relatives: go.nhm.org/bolg-pr
📷 Cullen Townsend
Discovery of 𝘉𝘰𝘭𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭 reveals the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila Monster relatives: go.nhm.org/bolg-pr
📷 Cullen Townsend
June 18, 2025 at 12:14 AM
From the Press Room | New Species of Armored, Monstersaur Lizard that Lived Alongside Dinosaurs Identified by #NHMLA Paleontologists!
Discovery of 𝘉𝘰𝘭𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭 reveals the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila Monster relatives: go.nhm.org/bolg-pr
📷 Cullen Townsend
Discovery of 𝘉𝘰𝘭𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭 reveals the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila Monster relatives: go.nhm.org/bolg-pr
📷 Cullen Townsend
Reposted
Museums can be places of respite, peace, and recreation, and we strive to make the Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits welcoming for all. We’re with you, L.A.
June 11, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Museums can be places of respite, peace, and recreation, and we strive to make the Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits welcoming for all. We’re with you, L.A.