The Palaeontological Association
LightNews LightNews
banner
thepalass.bsky.social
The Palaeontological Association
@thepalass.bsky.social
1.4K followers 390 following 270 posts
Official Bluesky of The Palaeontological Association (palass.org). Re-post of jobs and other events doesn't mean endorsement.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by The Palaeontological Association
royalsocietypublishing.org
New in #PhilTransB - theme issue explores the #biosphere in the #Anthropocene. All #OA. Read: royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
January 27, 2026 at 8:45 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Palynological response to the Late Jurassic palaeoclimate & sealevel variations in the western Tethys (Binalud Mountains, NE Iran) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #FossilFriday #PapersinPalaeontology
Inset top right: Map of Iran and surrounding araea showing the location of the Binalud Mountains study area with a red dot on the right hand side. Main image: Schematic reconstruction of the major continental and marine changes in the Upper Jurassic interval discussed in this study, in the Binalud Mountains.Top plot shows the environment in the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian interval; lower plot shows the late Oxfordian, when sea level was higher and the study area was further offshore. Circles in the top left of each plot indicate the dinoflagellate cyst components identified.
February 6, 2026 at 5:01 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
✨ Calling all PalAss members & future members! ✨

👉 Explore all opportunities here: palass.org/awards-grant...

Not a PalAss member yet? You’re very welcome to join us!
🔗 palass.org/membership

Please share with colleagues and students who might benefit 💬✨

#PalAss #grant #palaeontology #join
February 4, 2026 at 2:43 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Vesicular microfossils on middle Cambrian shells: insights into early substrate colonization in North Greenland (Laurentia) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Top left: map of the study area - south-west Peary Land, with the Fimbuldal locality indicated by an arrow near the centre. Map of Greenland shown in black at lower right, with an arrow indicating the approximate location. Bottom: scanning electron micrograph of a sclerite bearing vesicular microfossils of possible fungus or bacterium Avannacystis polaris. A white arrow near the top indicates a slightly embedded specimen, and a white arrowhead at bottom left shows a specimen with invagination, a feature that has been interpreted as indicating a biological origin for these protuberances. Scale bar at lower right is 100 microns.
February 4, 2026 at 10:51 AM
thepalass.bsky.social
Foskeia pelendonum, a new rhabdodontomorph from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain & a new phylogeny of ornithischian dinosaurs onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology
3D computer reconstruction and line diagrams of Foskeia pelendonum, a new rhabdodontomorph dinosaur from Spain. Top left and bottom right: views of the 3D model taken from different angles (lateral and turned towards the viewer, respectively). Bottom left: line drawings of an early juvenile (top left) and late stage subadult (bottom right) specimen, showing the elements that are preserved (in some cases scaled from different sized specimens); there is a key at the bottom which indicates scaled elements.
February 3, 2026 at 6:20 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Caenogastropods & heterobranch gastropods from the Hettangian deposits of Luxembourg: palaeobiogeography & Early Jurassic faunal recovery in the western Tethys onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #FossilFriday
Top right: a simplified geological map of Gutland (central and southern Luxembourg). Main image: photograph of a sample of the Luxembourg Sandstone Formation from the Schlotheimia angulata Zone of Brouch (Mersch, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg) showing the surface of the upper coquina bed; scale bar is 50 mm.
January 30, 2026 at 5:39 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Freshwater amphibians & squamates from Villeveyrac (Hérault, France): palaeodiversity, palaeoenvironment & implications for the Late Cretaceous palaeobiogeography of the European herpetofauna onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology
Composite image showing fossil specimens, including 3D renders, a map of France (top right) with a red star showing the fossil locality, and the red cover of Papers in Palaeontology (top left). Fossils depicted are: at top left, dorsal vertebra of Herensugea sp. in right lateral view (scale bar on lower left is 1 mm); lower left, atlantes of an unidentified batrachosauroidid species in ventral view (scale bar at lower right is 1 mm); on the right a fossil dentary of an unidentified Iguanamorpha species in labial view with the fossi specimen above and a 3D reconstruction below (scale at the bottom is 5 mm).
January 28, 2026 at 5:09 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Unusual biota and palynofacies of a Lower Devonian intermontane basin saline lake–playa mudflat ecosystem onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology
Photographs of palynomorphs and other fossil fragments extracted from sediments of the Lower Devonian Strathpeffer-Struie sequence from the Northern Highlands of Scotland. Clockwise from top: Emphanisporites foveolatus and an un-named sphaeromorph from the Moy Formation (scale bar 20 microns); Cymbosporites, Latosporites (in the centre of the image) and Diboliporites eifeliensis from the Moy Formation (scale bar 20 microns); a scorpion pectinal tooth (larger image at bottom right; scale bar 150 microns); Prototaxites sp and an un-named banded tube (scale bar 120 microns); and a bundle of filaments (scale bar 60 microns). The red rectangle in the upper right corner is a cover image for the journal Papers in Palaeontology.
January 28, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by The Palaeontological Association
darjadankina.bsky.social
⚠️The 23rd EAVP is coming in 5️⃣ months to 🇱🇹 #Vilnius ✨🤓
Don’t forget to register ⬇️
eavp2026.weebly.com/registration...

#conference #paleontology #Lithuania
January 26, 2026 at 9:50 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
⚠️After a fantastic 69th PalAss meeting in Portsmouth, we’re thrilled to announce what’s next! 🎉✨

📅 The 70th Annual Meeting
📍 Oxford 🏛️
🗓 8–11 December 2026 

📌 Mark your calendars, spread the word, and keep an eye out 👀 — more details coming soon! 🚀

#PalAss26 #oxford #conference
January 26, 2026 at 8:17 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
The origin of the tympanic fossa in reptiles revealed by a late Permian neodiapsid: new species Scyllacerta creanae onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #FossilFriday @semifossorial.bsky.social @morphobank.bsky.social
Top left: photograph of a grey slab containing multiple fossils, with vertebral columns clearly running vertically (SAM-Pk-K7710). This is a group of six Scyllacerta creanae individuals, including the holotype, a late Permian neodiapsid reptile from South Africa (scale bar at top right is 2 cm). Bottom right: a computer reconstruction of the skull based on three of the individuals in the fossil block. Scale bar at top right is 5 mm.
January 23, 2026 at 1:08 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Formation, preservation & interpretation of dinosaur tracks onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
January 22, 2026 at 1:35 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Exploring structural integrity of coralline algae in response to the environmental changes associated with the PETM: a tale of functional resistance onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Lithocolumn and the carbon isotope excursion curve showing the phases of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the baseline (initial recovery) and the PPP (pre PETM phase). Depths of samples collected of the four species shown in the middle and interquartile ranges of the cell lengths of Sporolithon aschersonii and Lithothamnion roveretoi on the right. On the far right are two images of sections of fossil coralline algae Sporolithon aschersonii (top) and Lithothamnion rovertoi (bottom). Scale bars at lower right of each image are 1 mm.
January 22, 2026 at 1:20 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
🎉✨ The PalAss is BACK after winter break! ✨🎉

And we’re coming back with amazing news 👀👇

🌍✈️ Next ProgPal is heading to London!
📅 22–25 June 2026

💡Get ready for inspiring sessions, great talks, and posters 🇬🇧
⚠️Stay tuned — more details coming soon! 🚀🔥

#conference
January 22, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by The Palaeontological Association
darjadankina.bsky.social
Happy to be at the University of Turin continuing our work on coccoliths from Italian samples with Francesca Lozar 🤓🔬
Looking forward to great discussions and exciting results! 🎊🇮🇹
#Italy #paleontology #nanofossils
January 22, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Reposted by The Palaeontological Association
women-archeopal.bsky.social
📣 Announcement | 6th VCWAP – Scientific Sessions 🧪🦴
👉 Don’t forget to register to participate online and be part of this amazing scientific exchange:
🔗 framaforms.org/virtual-conf...
💜 We can’t wait to see you there!

#conference #paleontology #archaeology #online #science
January 21, 2026 at 1:23 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Fossil ground sloth footprints: ichnotaxonomy & producers onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology
Images of fossil ground sloth footprints forming the Megatherichnum agilis holotype trackway (HC-16-01) composed of 23 pes and manus prints from the Upper Pleistocene Pehuen Co site, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Top: orthomosaic of the full trackway. Middle, interpretative diagram of the full trackway. Bottom left is an oblique field view of the trackway with a person crouching down at the far end for scale, and yellow arrows delineating the edges. Bottom right is an oblique view of a manus-pes pair with claw traces indicated by black arrows.
January 15, 2026 at 12:37 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Evidence of negative carbon isotope excursions & intense wildfire activity in Upper Triassic coal deposits from Junggar Basin, NW China onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Top left: cover image from journal Papers in Palaeontology. Bottom left: plot showing carbon isotope and inertinite content of coal from a single bed (Bed 24). Top right: photograph of the geological outcrop of coal beds with the position of Bed 24 in the Haojiagou section of the southern Junggar Basin, China. Bottom left: thin section photograph with an example of coal maceral. Scale bar in lower right corner is 60 microns.
January 14, 2026 at 7:11 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Early to Middle Jurassic Ginkgoales from the Qaidam Basin, northwest China onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology
Upper left: palaeomap of the Early Jurassic (approx. 183 million years ago) showing the fossil locality in red; an inset map shows the locality on a map of modern day China. Upper right: Fossil leaf: Ginkoites longifolius (PP206474 from the Huoshaoshan Formation). Middle row: Photographs of fossil ginkgo leaves; from left to right: Ginkgoites qaidamensis (PB13576 from the Yinmagou Formation); Ginkgoites longifolius (PB206410 from the Dameigou Formation); scanning electron microscrope image showing a close up of a stomata on the lower cuticle; Ginkgoites borealis (PB13583 all from the Dameigou Formation). At the bottom: two plots showing the results of factorial analysis of mixed data for all 128 fossil Ginkgoales specimens: plot on the left divides the specimens by genus; plot on the right divides them by species.
January 8, 2026 at 1:35 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
New anatomical details of the skull of early Permian stem reptile Protorothyris archeri revealed by μCT - implications for the evolution of olfaction in reptiles onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @reptiliferous.bsky.social @paleodb.bsky.social
Segmented 3D digital model of the skull of early Permian reptile Protorothyris archeri (USNM PAL 392180) in dorsal view (top left) and right lateral view (bottom right). Scale bar in the centre is 2 cm. The cover of the journal Palaeontology appears in the top right corner.
January 7, 2026 at 6:18 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
✨ Dear all ✨
We wish you a calm, joyful, and  wonderful Christmas season.
May it be filled with warmth, rest, and special moments🎄 🎁
#christmas #season #wishes #vacation
December 24, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by The Palaeontological Association
tweetisaurus.bsky.social
JOB KLAXON! The @nhm-london.bsky.social is recruiting a micro-CT specialist! jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
CT Data and Micro CT Specialist :South Kensington
jobs.nhm.ac.uk
December 23, 2025 at 6:39 AM
thepalass.bsky.social
Aninoides: a new rangeomorph genus from the upper Ediacaran of Newfoundland onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology @dmcediacaran.bsky.social
On the left, black and white photograph of the paratype of Aninioides coombsorum (NFM F-4026). In the middle, a 3D reconstruction of the organism. Scale bars at the bottom of each image are 2 cm. Top right, a map of Newfoundland with Upper Island Cove and St John's indicated with blue circles. Bottom left: red cover of Papers in Palaeontology.
December 23, 2025 at 8:17 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
Postcranial osteology of the ornithischian dinosaur Manidens condorensis from the Lower Jurassic of Argentina: 3D reconstruction, histology & phylogenetic implications onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology
An environmental reconstruction showing the habitat of Manidens condorensis. A forest scene, with ferns evident in the foreground reveals six small individuals in dappled shade among tree roots and fallen branches; two are feeding alongside two juveniles, two more are looking out for danger. A much larger bipedal dinosaur appears in the background. Artwork by Gabriel Diaz Yanten.
December 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
thepalass.bsky.social
🥳 Huge congratulations to the winners of our Best Paper awards! 🎉🏆
👏 Best Paper in Palaeontology: 
Congratulations to Giovanni Mussini and his co-authors for their outstanding work!
👏 Best Paper in Papers in Palaeontology:
Well done to Raul O. Gomez and his co-authors on this fantastic achievement!
December 22, 2025 at 4:06 PM