Dr Susannah Lydon
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susieoftraken.bsky.social
Dr Susannah Lydon
@susieoftraken.bsky.social
4.8K followers 1.4K following 1.8K posts
Palaeobotany | Scicomm | Associate Prof in Plant Science, Nottingham, UK | Vogon poet | Views my own | She/her
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Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
elsa-panciroli.bsky.social
A really great small grant, well worth applying!
palaeontosoc.bsky.social The Palaeontographical Society @palaeontosoc.bsky.social · 1d
Are you looking for a small grant to assist your palaeontological research on fossil fauna and/or flora of the British Isles and Ireland? 🦕🐌🦎🦈🌿

Applications are now open for our Richard Owen Research Fund. Further details can be found here: www.palaeosoc.org/grants-prize...

Deadline 28th Feb 2026.
Richard Owen Research Fund applications now open! Small grants of up to £1000 to assist palaeontological research on fossil fauna and flora of the British Isles and Ireland. Deadline: 28th Feb 2026. Award is open to both amateur and professional palaeontologists. https://www.palaeosoc.org/grants-prizes/research-funding-details/
February 10, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
friedmanlab.bsky.social
Remarkable. Report of a Brazilian spiny-rayed fish dating to the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous, preceding the oldest known acanthomorphs by ~20 million years. Gondwanacanthus extends the roots of one of today's most prominent vertebrate radiations: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Four incomplete fossil fish specimens on a black background. The specimens preserve scales, vertebrae, spines, and so on, and are dark gray on lighter gray to mustard-colored slabs.
February 10, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
restingdinoface.bsky.social
Dinosaur
swim
tracks.

These scratches were made by the clawed feet of dinosaurs similar to the little carnivore Coelophysis, around 200 million years ago, as the reptiles paddled in a lake’s shallows.

Most dinosaur swim tracks described so far were made by carnivores. 🧪
A couple sets of grouped scratches in orange rock, three in a set. Like claws touching the bottom during a swim stroke,
February 10, 2026 at 4:20 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
compoundchem.com
Today is #WorldPulsesDay and kidney beans feature in this edition of #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social on toxins in common fruits and vegetables - did you know that uncooked kidney beans contain a toxin that can cause nausea and diarrhoea? cen.acs.org/biological-c...

#ChemSky 🧪
This five-panel infographic looks at various naturally occurring toxins found in some vegetables. The first panel discusses solanine, a compound found in green potatoes that can cause gastrointestinal upset. The second panel features cucurbitacins, bitter compounds found in gourds such as pumpkins and zucchini; high amounts of these compounds cause vomiting and diarrhea. The third panel features furanocoumarins, which are found in parsnips and celery leaves and can cause phytophotodermatitis when in contact with the skin. The fourth panel looks at oxalic acid and anthraquinone glycosides, compounds that are found in rhubarb leaves and that make them toxic if eaten. The final panel features phytohemagglutinin, a protein found in high levels in uncooked kidney beans that, when eaten in high amounts, causes vomiting and diarrhea.
February 10, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
annbot.bsky.social
📢🌿Annals of Botany invites submissions to the new focus issue "Gnetales - Controversies of Seed Plant Evolution", edited by guest editors Stefanie M. Ickert-Bond, Cecilia Zumajo-Cardona & Dimitry Sokoloff. (1/4)

#Gnetales #SeedPlantEvolution #EcoEvoDevo #PlantEvolution #Botany
Promotional banner for an Annals of Botany Focus Issue titled “Gnetales: Controversies of Seed Plant Evolution,” featuring green-toned text alongside a close-up photograph of Welwitschia mirabilis reproductive structures. Guest editors are listed, with the Annals of Botany logo at the bottom. Image credit: Stefan Little
February 10, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
stanhoight.bsky.social
Vince Guaraldi’s first television performance of Linus and Lucy, from 1964. youtu.be/9EMfA5_tm8Y?...
Vince Guaraldi - earliest television recording of "Linus and Lucy"
YouTube video by Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc.
youtu.be
February 10, 2026 at 9:07 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
richardfallon.bsky.social
I think if Professor Challenger had brought that thing back from the lost world I'd have asked if he had anything else in the crate.
Illustration by Louis Bailly of Professor Challenger unveiling his (in this case underwhelming) pterodactyl in London. From the Je Sais Tout serialisation of The Lost World in 1913.
February 10, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
alaskanime.bsky.social
Reposted with alt text for people with screen readers - this is a welcome departure from how certain large organizations are handling revelations that high-profile members associated with and accepted money from Epstein and his organization, _AFTER 2008_ when he was convicted for soliciting a minor.
announcement from Dinocon: DINOCON We at DinoCon take the safety of our attendees, speakers, and staff very seriously. As a result of the release of half of the Epstein files, it has come to light that a select number of scientists, authors, and researchers relevant to the field of palaeontology allegedly engaged in correspondence with members of the Epstein organisation after the conviction of Jeffrey Epstein. We want to state that all respective individuals are banned from all of our events. Additionally, we find it deplorable that some established palaeontological organisations are not taking firm action to protect their members in light of these allegations. As such, executive committee members from organisations that are not issuing public bans to these individuals are also banned from our events. We do not tolerate those who allow this behaviour to go unchallenged within our community.
February 9, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
gyrcrakes.bsky.social
Least Adder's-tongue on the patch last month. Only grows in a small 2m square of turf on Guernsey. I didn't know exactly where this was before a passing botanist pointed me in the right direction. At about 2cm tall, no wonder I hadn't noticed them before.
February 7, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
c20society.bsky.social
BREAKING NEWS: We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Southbank Centre - the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and skaters undercroft - has finally been Grade II listed by DCMS after a 35 year long campaign.

➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...
The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Lambeth – London County Council (LCC) and Greater London Council (GLC) Architect’s Department, 1963-68 Image © Morley von Sternberg
February 10, 2026 at 7:03 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
xkcd.com
Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs

xkcd.com/3204/
Comic. [2x2 chart. Top left quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of dinosaurs stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, and long-neck dinosaur. Top right quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of mosasaur, quetzalcoatlus, dimetrodon, plesiosaur, and pteranodon. Bottom left quadrant: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of penguin, egret, ostrich, pigeon, falcon. Bottom right: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of squirrel, stapler, plant, person, and bicycle.]
February 9, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
flyingtrilobite.com
Yay drafts in Bluesky!
Screencap of my draft and photo of my flame motif Doc Martens: “ This is my first draft. There are many like it, but this is mine. 🔥🔥🔥 🔥”
February 9, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
bobnichollsart.bsky.social
Remembering my friend Richard Forrest, a marine reptile expert, with a week or two of marine reptile artworks. I'll start with this old acrylic painting, called The Wreck, which I created for Richard back in 2004.

#SciArt #PalaeoArt #PaleoArt #Dinosaurs #Alt4Me #MarineReptiles #JurassicWorld
February 9, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
esconi.bsky.social
Mazon Monday #308: Acitheca polymorpha #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #fern #carboniferous #pennsylvanian
Mazon Monday #308: Acitheca polymorpha
This is Mazon Monday post #308.  What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at  email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Fig. 8. Acitheca polymorpha (Brongniart) Schimper; proposed tripinnate-primary frond reconstruction with pinnule type placed at appropriate places. From Taxonomic revision of the Palaeozoic marattialean fern Acitheca" Acitheca polymorpha is an extinct species of the class Filcopsida. It is one of the rarer species of fern found in the Mazon Creek fossil localities.
esconi.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
davidmbarnett.bsky.social
Going into the big scary cancer surgery tomorrow. Would be lovely if I came out of it and you've all pre-ordered Scratch Moss.
www.canelo.co/books/scratc...
Scratch Moss by David Barnett | Canelo
Paperback and Ebook
www.canelo.co
February 9, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
scottzona.bsky.social
Serotiny is the storage of seeds in close cones or fruits, trapping the seeds & preventing dispersal until the cones are heated (usually by fire). Post-fire conditions are ideal for germinating seedlings. These are cones of Pinus clausa of the SE USA. #Pinaceae #serotiny #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
Photo of two cones attached to a branch. The pinecones are closed. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.
February 9, 2026 at 11:30 AM
susieoftraken.bsky.social
Doing my own weird thing in an unfashionable outer rim star system feels about right.
bluesky-map.theo.io map with @susieoftraken marked on it.
February 9, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
pavementgeology.bsky.social
Some more Kyrgyz #urbangeology - this time granites! Some spectacular textures in the granites used in the Victory Monument in Bishkek #kyrgyzstan
A photo of the Victory Monument which echoes the shape of a yurt, with three curved piers supporting a central, circular ’tunduk’ - the top piece of a yurt. An eternal flame burns at the centre of the monument. Coarse grained red, biotite-granite which a large, twinned feldspar mega crust in the bottom left corner of the image. Paving slabs of granite. The central large slab is crowded with grey, perthite feldspar megacrysts in a salmon pink matrix. A dark pink aplite vein cuts across the bottom right corner of the slab.
February 9, 2026 at 9:58 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
reskilab.bsky.social
Professorship Molecular Botany. Bremen, Germany.
#plantscijobs #plantscijob
www.academics.de/jobs/profess...
Professorin/Professor (w/m/d) für das Fachgebiet Molekulare Botanik - Universität Bremen
Universität Bremen bietet Stelle als Professorin/Professor (w/m/d) für das Fachgebiet Molekulare Botanik in Bremen - jetzt bewerben!
www.academics.de
February 5, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
nhmbryozoa.bsky.social
#MolluscMonday 99% of visitors to the Egyptian and Greek galleries in the British Museum will be too focused on the items displayed in the cabinets to notice the Jurassic gastropods and Cretaceous rudist bivalves in the flooring beneath.
February 9, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
The oldest known image of an owl:

More than 30,000 years ago, someone skillfully scratched the figure of a long-eared owl (Asio otus) into the soft outer layer of the walls of Chauvet Cave, France. The owl is looking backward over their wings, head turned 180 degrees
carnegiemnh.org/ancient-owl-...
Photo of the described owl art. It looks like muddy scratch marks on a mottled brown cave wall. The head is very round with two upright lines for ears and a line in the center for a beak. Numerous parallel lines suggest plumage on the wings.
February 8, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
cpdinosaurs.bsky.social
Born OTD in 1807: Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, the designer and creator of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs!

Seen here, embossed in gold, on the 1875 book:

“Sketches of Creation : A Popular View of Some of the Grand Conclusions of the Sciences in Reference to the History of Matter and of Life”

1/2
BWH standing underneath his mounted Hadrosaurus skeleton. Gold embossing on a dark green book
February 8, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
whalepetunias.bsky.social
The mattress globbered. This is the noise made by a live, swamp-dwelling mattress that is deeply moved by a story of personal tragedy.
February 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
lepidodendron.bsky.social
This is truly baffling. A seed does not become an angiosperm fruit only because there are some vague lines on it. It is the equivalent of having a full diapsid skull and saying you found Permian dinosaurs...
February 8, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Reposted by Dr Susannah Lydon
bylinesnetwork.co.uk
Sheep farming in Derbyshire

A chance meeting via Freecycle sparks a farmer's truth: wool pays less than in the 1970s, costs soar, and small British farms fight to survive | Simon Ferrigno
@brexcyclopaedia.bsky.social @centralbylines.co.uk
Sheep farming in Derbyshire
A chance meeting via Freecycle sparks a farmer's truth: wool pays less than in the 1970s, costs soar, and small British farms fight to survive
centralbylines.co.uk
February 8, 2026 at 2:33 PM