Fabien Lafuma
@paleofab.bsky.social
Doctoral researcher @helsinki.fi | Vertebrate tooth 🦷 #evodevo (Squamata 🦎🐍 & Arvicolinae 🐭) | Interested in #scicomm & #openaccess | All views mine! https://linktr.ee/paleofab
Pinned
Fabien Lafuma
@paleofab.bsky.social
· Aug 1
Six million years of vole dental evolution shaped by tooth development | PNAS
Morphological change occurs over macroevolutionary timescales under the action of
natural selection and genetic drift combined with developmental p...
www.pnas.org
🚨New PhD research published in PNAS!🚨
Combining fossils and lab experiments, we found that simple changes in tooth #development explain 6 million years of molar #evolution in #voles 🐭🦷
Shoutout to my coauthors @cnrs.fr @helsinki.fi @gtk-fi.bsky.social!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #FossilFriday
Combining fossils and lab experiments, we found that simple changes in tooth #development explain 6 million years of molar #evolution in #voles 🐭🦷
Shoutout to my coauthors @cnrs.fr @helsinki.fi @gtk-fi.bsky.social!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #FossilFriday
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
These were the dinosaurs that faced the asteroid.
Some of the last survivors. They lived in New Mexico, 66 million years ago. Among them was Alamosaurus, the size of a jetplane.
We unveiled them, and their true age, today in a new paper in
@science.org !
Some of the last survivors. They lived in New Mexico, 66 million years ago. Among them was Alamosaurus, the size of a jetplane.
We unveiled them, and their true age, today in a new paper in
@science.org !
October 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
These were the dinosaurs that faced the asteroid.
Some of the last survivors. They lived in New Mexico, 66 million years ago. Among them was Alamosaurus, the size of a jetplane.
We unveiled them, and their true age, today in a new paper in
@science.org !
Some of the last survivors. They lived in New Mexico, 66 million years ago. Among them was Alamosaurus, the size of a jetplane.
We unveiled them, and their true age, today in a new paper in
@science.org !
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Excited to share our new paper where we find that the rise, decline and fall of clades is not explained by the usual suspects (diversity-dependence, ecological opportunities) but rather by species' insidious loss of macroevolutionary fitness: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/3
Loss of macroevolutionary species fitness explains the rise and fall of clades - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The interplay between speciation and extinction rates shapes clade diversity dynamics. Using a novel phylogenetic model that includes living and fossil lineages, the authors estimate speciation and ex...
www.nature.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Excited to share our new paper where we find that the rise, decline and fall of clades is not explained by the usual suspects (diversity-dependence, ecological opportunities) but rather by species' insidious loss of macroevolutionary fitness: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/3
Was there ever a better #ToothyTuesday post ladies and gents? 🙌
And damn, on a funnier note, teeth are so cool. Not always the easiest thing to get people excited about, but seriously, they are the perfect window into how evolution works 🦷
October 14, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Was there ever a better #ToothyTuesday post ladies and gents? 🙌
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Many thanks to @hlusko.bsky.social for this wonderful piece recognizing the exciting work of @paleofab.bsky.social and our previous research on bats www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
October 14, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Many thanks to @hlusko.bsky.social for this wonderful piece recognizing the exciting work of @paleofab.bsky.social and our previous research on bats www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
On this #fossilfriday, take a few moments to read this.
A touching tribute to the life, career, and discoveries of Mark Norell, from his long-time friend and field companion, Mike Novacek. In @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A touching tribute to the life, career, and discoveries of Mark Norell, from his long-time friend and field companion, Mike Novacek. In @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Mark Norell obituary: palaeontologist who showed that dinosaurs still walk among us — as birds
Through fieldwork and innovative research, he transformed how scientists and the public perceive the prehistoric world.
www.nature.com
October 10, 2025 at 12:23 PM
On this #fossilfriday, take a few moments to read this.
A touching tribute to the life, career, and discoveries of Mark Norell, from his long-time friend and field companion, Mike Novacek. In @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A touching tribute to the life, career, and discoveries of Mark Norell, from his long-time friend and field companion, Mike Novacek. In @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Honoured to see @hlusko.bsky.social’s thoughtful new PNAS commentary highlighting our work on how tooth development shaped vole molar evolution—alongside research by @aigverte.bsky.social. Great perspectives on non-model animals and the future of #evodevo! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #ToothyTuesday
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
October 7, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Honoured to see @hlusko.bsky.social’s thoughtful new PNAS commentary highlighting our work on how tooth development shaped vole molar evolution—alongside research by @aigverte.bsky.social. Great perspectives on non-model animals and the future of #evodevo! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #ToothyTuesday
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
A new Jurassic fossil from Scotland, Breugnathair elgolensis, shows a combination of snake-like jaws and teeth with a lizard-like body and limbs, providing direct evidence of diverse squamate traits early in their history.
#Paleontology #Evolution #Fossils
🧪🐍🦴⚒️
Paper
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#Paleontology #Evolution #Fossils
🧪🐍🦴⚒️
Paper
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Scientists uncover a mysterious Jurassic lizard with snake-like jaws
A strange Jurassic lizard discovered on Scotland’s Isle of Skye is shaking up what we know about snake evolution. Named Breugnathair elgolensis, the “false snake of Elgol” combined hook-like, python-s...
www.sciencedaily.com
October 4, 2025 at 12:58 AM
A new Jurassic fossil from Scotland, Breugnathair elgolensis, shows a combination of snake-like jaws and teeth with a lizard-like body and limbs, providing direct evidence of diverse squamate traits early in their history.
#Paleontology #Evolution #Fossils
🧪🐍🦴⚒️
Paper
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#Paleontology #Evolution #Fossils
🧪🐍🦴⚒️
Paper
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Is it a lizard? Is it a snake? Maybe a 'false snake'?? As that's what its name means in Gaelic!
Hello to Breugnathair, a new fossil from the Jurassic of Skye with a curious mix of snake & lizard features, showing that early squamate evolution was complex
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Hello to Breugnathair, a new fossil from the Jurassic of Skye with a curious mix of snake & lizard features, showing that early squamate evolution was complex
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Fossil found on Skye is new species of fanged Jurassic reptile
Experts say the lizard-like creature, which has been given the Gaelic name Breugnathair elgolensis, had lived about 167 million years ago.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 2, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Is it a lizard? Is it a snake? Maybe a 'false snake'?? As that's what its name means in Gaelic!
Hello to Breugnathair, a new fossil from the Jurassic of Skye with a curious mix of snake & lizard features, showing that early squamate evolution was complex
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Hello to Breugnathair, a new fossil from the Jurassic of Skye with a curious mix of snake & lizard features, showing that early squamate evolution was complex
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
I was honored to create this illustration to accompany the discovery of Breugnathair elgolensis a newly discovered genus of reptile that shares traits of both lizards and snakes.
Congratulations and special thanks to the authors!
You can read the paper using the link below
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Congratulations and special thanks to the authors!
You can read the paper using the link below
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
October 5, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I was honored to create this illustration to accompany the discovery of Breugnathair elgolensis a newly discovered genus of reptile that shares traits of both lizards and snakes.
Congratulations and special thanks to the authors!
You can read the paper using the link below
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Congratulations and special thanks to the authors!
You can read the paper using the link below
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Many animals can reshape and shed their teeth – and now scientists have traced this ability back 380 million years #Bullerichthys #GogoFormation #Devonian
theconversation.com/many-animals...
theconversation.com/many-animals...
Many animals can reshape and shed their teeth – and now scientists have traced this ability back 380 million years
A new study of ancient, extinct fish known as placoderms provides another piece of the evolutionary puzzle about our deep time, aquatic ancestors.
theconversation.com
October 1, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Many animals can reshape and shed their teeth – and now scientists have traced this ability back 380 million years #Bullerichthys #GogoFormation #Devonian
theconversation.com/many-animals...
theconversation.com/many-animals...
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
New paper out yesterday "New specimens of the arthrodire Bullerichthys fascidens Dennis and Miles 1980 show incipient site-specific osteichthyan-like tooth addition and resorption"
Read it now in Swiss Journal of Palaeontology: sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10....
Read it now in Swiss Journal of Palaeontology: sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10....
New specimens of the arthrodire Bullerichthys fascidens Dennis and Miles 1980 show incipient site-specific osteichthyan-like tooth addition and resorption - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology
The arthrodiran placoderm Bullerichthys fascidens, from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia, was originally described from an incomplete headshield with only the spinal and interolater...
sjpp.springeropen.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:12 AM
New paper out yesterday "New specimens of the arthrodire Bullerichthys fascidens Dennis and Miles 1980 show incipient site-specific osteichthyan-like tooth addition and resorption"
Read it now in Swiss Journal of Palaeontology: sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10....
Read it now in Swiss Journal of Palaeontology: sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10....
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
October 5, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Our latest paper, now how to conciliate apparently discrepant evolutionary rate patterns in squamates, but which may well apply to any study system with Stephanie Pierce and
@7brumas.bsky.social
#macroevolution
academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...
@7brumas.bsky.social
#macroevolution
academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...
Evolutionary rate incongruences in squamates reveal contrasting patterns of evolutionary novelties and innovation
Abstract. Understanding the rate of phenotypic evolution can reveal fundamental aspects of organismal evolutionary trajectories. Hence, several studies hav
academic.oup.com
September 28, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Our latest paper, now how to conciliate apparently discrepant evolutionary rate patterns in squamates, but which may well apply to any study system with Stephanie Pierce and
@7brumas.bsky.social
#macroevolution
academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...
@7brumas.bsky.social
#macroevolution
academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Super excited to share our new paper, out today @pnas.org 'Teeth outside the jaw: Evolution and development of the toothed head clasper in chimaeras' @karlycohen.bsky.social 👻🦈 🦷 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Teeth outside the jaw: Evolution and development of the toothed head clasper in chimaeras | PNAS
Chimaeras (Holocephali) are an understudied group of mostly deep-ocean cartilaginous
fishes (Chondrichthyes) with unique characteristics that disti...
www.pnas.org
September 4, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Super excited to share our new paper, out today @pnas.org 'Teeth outside the jaw: Evolution and development of the toothed head clasper in chimaeras' @karlycohen.bsky.social 👻🦈 🦷 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
New paper is officially out!
Ratfish have a second jaw on their foreheads - CT + histology show they’re real teeth, built from the same tissues and signals as oral teeth.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...
Ratfish have a second jaw on their foreheads - CT + histology show they’re real teeth, built from the same tissues and signals as oral teeth.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...
This common fish has an uncommon feature: forehead teeth, used for mating
New findings call into question one of the core assumptions about teeth. Adult male spotted ratfish, a shark-like species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, have rows of teeth on top of their heads,...
www.washington.edu
September 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM
New paper is officially out!
Ratfish have a second jaw on their foreheads - CT + histology show they’re real teeth, built from the same tissues and signals as oral teeth.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...
Ratfish have a second jaw on their foreheads - CT + histology show they’re real teeth, built from the same tissues and signals as oral teeth.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...
Salut les francophones 👋 Vous aimez la science et les animaux mignons ? Alors j’ai ce qu’il vous faut !
Dans ce fil, je vous explique ce que les molaires des campagnols nous apprennent sur l’ #évolution (le post n°16 va vous surprendre !) 🐭🦷🤯
#vulgarisation #thèse #paléontologie
Dans ce fil, je vous explique ce que les molaires des campagnols nous apprennent sur l’ #évolution (le post n°16 va vous surprendre !) 🐭🦷🤯
#vulgarisation #thèse #paléontologie
Notre dernier article montre que le mode de développement des dents a influencé des millions d’années d’évolution des campagnols, menant à des molaires très complexes.
Qu’est-ce que ça nous apprend sur l’évolution ? 🧵👇 1/21 #evodevo #vulgarisation
📷 Hanna Knutsson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Lafuma et al.
Qu’est-ce que ça nous apprend sur l’évolution ? 🧵👇 1/21 #evodevo #vulgarisation
📷 Hanna Knutsson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Lafuma et al.
September 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Salut les francophones 👋 Vous aimez la science et les animaux mignons ? Alors j’ai ce qu’il vous faut !
Dans ce fil, je vous explique ce que les molaires des campagnols nous apprennent sur l’ #évolution (le post n°16 va vous surprendre !) 🐭🦷🤯
#vulgarisation #thèse #paléontologie
Dans ce fil, je vous explique ce que les molaires des campagnols nous apprennent sur l’ #évolution (le post n°16 va vous surprendre !) 🐭🦷🤯
#vulgarisation #thèse #paléontologie
Notre dernier article montre que le mode de développement des dents a influencé des millions d’années d’évolution des campagnols, menant à des molaires très complexes.
Qu’est-ce que ça nous apprend sur l’évolution ? 🧵👇 1/21 #evodevo #vulgarisation
📷 Hanna Knutsson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Lafuma et al.
Qu’est-ce que ça nous apprend sur l’évolution ? 🧵👇 1/21 #evodevo #vulgarisation
📷 Hanna Knutsson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Lafuma et al.
September 12, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Notre dernier article montre que le mode de développement des dents a influencé des millions d’années d’évolution des campagnols, menant à des molaires très complexes.
Qu’est-ce que ça nous apprend sur l’évolution ? 🧵👇 1/21 #evodevo #vulgarisation
📷 Hanna Knutsson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Lafuma et al.
Qu’est-ce que ça nous apprend sur l’évolution ? 🧵👇 1/21 #evodevo #vulgarisation
📷 Hanna Knutsson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Lafuma et al.
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
A tiny lizard-like fossil from Devon, UK, dating to around 244–241.5 million years ago, may now be the oldest known member of the group of reptiles known as lepidosaurs, according to a paper in Nature. go.nature.com/3Iitbxp #Paleosky 🧪
September 12, 2025 at 1:07 PM
A tiny lizard-like fossil from Devon, UK, dating to around 244–241.5 million years ago, may now be the oldest known member of the group of reptiles known as lepidosaurs, according to a paper in Nature. go.nature.com/3Iitbxp #Paleosky 🧪
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
happy #fossilfriday! bonus: this is nihohae, a waipatiid dolphin from the oligocene of new zealand. the 2023 paper describing the taxon suggests that nihohae hunted and fed in a manner analogous to sawsharks, preying predominantly on soft-bodied cephalopods such as squid
(art by shunovachrono)
(art by shunovachrono)
September 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
happy #fossilfriday! bonus: this is nihohae, a waipatiid dolphin from the oligocene of new zealand. the 2023 paper describing the taxon suggests that nihohae hunted and fed in a manner analogous to sawsharks, preying predominantly on soft-bodied cephalopods such as squid
(art by shunovachrono)
(art by shunovachrono)
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
In #pterosaurs, hollow bones appeared before flight. Rare fossil evidence reveals the precursors to air-sac-studded skeletons. In PNAS Journal Club: www.pnas.org/post/journal...
#FlyingReptiles #paleontology #Caiuajara #Brazil #dinosaurs
#FlyingReptiles #paleontology #Caiuajara #Brazil #dinosaurs
September 11, 2025 at 6:17 PM
In #pterosaurs, hollow bones appeared before flight. Rare fossil evidence reveals the precursors to air-sac-studded skeletons. In PNAS Journal Club: www.pnas.org/post/journal...
#FlyingReptiles #paleontology #Caiuajara #Brazil #dinosaurs
#FlyingReptiles #paleontology #Caiuajara #Brazil #dinosaurs
me: of course I can make a graphical abstract
the graphical abstract:
the graphical abstract:
September 5, 2025 at 5:04 PM
me: of course I can make a graphical abstract
the graphical abstract:
the graphical abstract:
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
For #FossilFriday, a 2-for-1 special with a Late Cretaceous body fossil (ammonite) bearing tooth traces of a biting mosasaur matching the dental records of _Platecarpus_. Display seen at the U. of Michigan Museum of Natural History (Ann Arbor MI) in June '24. 🧪🦷🕳️ #ichnology
September 5, 2025 at 2:13 PM
For #FossilFriday, a 2-for-1 special with a Late Cretaceous body fossil (ammonite) bearing tooth traces of a biting mosasaur matching the dental records of _Platecarpus_. Display seen at the U. of Michigan Museum of Natural History (Ann Arbor MI) in June '24. 🧪🦷🕳️ #ichnology
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
Smile like Smilodon because it’s #FossilFriday! Scientists estimate that its signature teeth grew at the rapid speed of .24 in (0.6 cm) per month—double the growth rate of an African lion’s teeth. Smilodon could open its jaws twice as wide as today’s big cats.
September 5, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Smile like Smilodon because it’s #FossilFriday! Scientists estimate that its signature teeth grew at the rapid speed of .24 in (0.6 cm) per month—double the growth rate of an African lion’s teeth. Smilodon could open its jaws twice as wide as today’s big cats.
Reposted by Fabien Lafuma
For this week's #FossilFriday, here's a *gorgeous* tooth from our new species of iguanodont dinosaur in the Cedar Mountain Formation, Grand County, Utah.
This beastie will help clarify the early evolution of iguanodontids, so I'm quite excited for it to (eventually) get published!
This beastie will help clarify the early evolution of iguanodontids, so I'm quite excited for it to (eventually) get published!
September 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
For this week's #FossilFriday, here's a *gorgeous* tooth from our new species of iguanodont dinosaur in the Cedar Mountain Formation, Grand County, Utah.
This beastie will help clarify the early evolution of iguanodontids, so I'm quite excited for it to (eventually) get published!
This beastie will help clarify the early evolution of iguanodontids, so I'm quite excited for it to (eventually) get published!