Stephanie Drumheller
@uglyfossils.bsky.social
Studying the evolution of archosaurs and their behaviors, one ugly fossil at a time. she/her
Pinned
My handle is UglyFossils because I study how #fossils form and what that can tell us about the ecosystems where these animals lived and died (taphonomy). While I do sometimes work on pretty fossils, I spend more time looking at ugly, scrappy bits that only another taphonomist could love.
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
This year's @geosociety.bsky.social annual meeting had a theme session titled 'Coprolite Happens,' & in my talk I showed a slide of this coprolite-in-a-coprolite, then followed it with a 'Knives Out' gif of Daniel Craig/Benoit Blanc with a similarly expressed revelation on donut holes.
December 26, 2025 at 4:24 PM
This year's @geosociety.bsky.social annual meeting had a theme session titled 'Coprolite Happens,' & in my talk I showed a slide of this coprolite-in-a-coprolite, then followed it with a 'Knives Out' gif of Daniel Craig/Benoit Blanc with a similarly expressed revelation on donut holes.
It's nice to be really seen this gift giving season:
December 21, 2025 at 11:37 PM
It's nice to be really seen this gift giving season:
I got to chat with Robert Sansom about the reptile decomposition research when I was at #2025SVP this last month. Here's the full podcast of The Fossil Files from the meeting, which includes my bit: fossils.libsyn.com/rotting-croc...
The Fossil Files: 16. Rotting crocs, the dino bus, and engineering skulls: Day 3 at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
In the last of our series from the massive Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, Susie and Rob finally manage to catch up for a gossip. In this episode with get a disgusting taste of rotting cro...
fossils.libsyn.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I got to chat with Robert Sansom about the reptile decomposition research when I was at #2025SVP this last month. Here's the full podcast of The Fossil Files from the meeting, which includes my bit: fossils.libsyn.com/rotting-croc...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Mosasaurs, the giant marine reptiles that roamed the Earth more than 66 million years ago, didn’t just live in the sea. Our new research shows that they could thrive in freshwater too! Let’s dive into what we’ve discovered.
#Paleontology #Mosasaurs
#Paleontology #Mosasaurs
December 12, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Mosasaurs, the giant marine reptiles that roamed the Earth more than 66 million years ago, didn’t just live in the sea. Our new research shows that they could thrive in freshwater too! Let’s dive into what we’ve discovered.
#Paleontology #Mosasaurs
#Paleontology #Mosasaurs
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Science Christmas
The Upturned Microscope
The Upturned Microscope
December 14, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Science Christmas
The Upturned Microscope
The Upturned Microscope
Does having my research made into weird AI slop where "I" am portrayed by an uncanny valley Jane Goodall (and her clone, and also 3 cloned grad students) mean I have "arrived" as a scientist?
December 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Does having my research made into weird AI slop where "I" am portrayed by an uncanny valley Jane Goodall (and her clone, and also 3 cloned grad students) mean I have "arrived" as a scientist?
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
The jumble of bones looked like porridge. It turned out to be a new species of pterosaur preserved in prehistoric vomit, the latest fossil find extracted from dinosaur excretions. I’ll tell you more in my latest for NatGeo. 🧪
How dinosaur vomit has solved these prehistoric mysteries
A new pterosaur species was recently discovered in the vomit of a dino. But that's just the start of revelations from prehistoric excretions.
www.nationalgeographic.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:46 PM
The jumble of bones looked like porridge. It turned out to be a new species of pterosaur preserved in prehistoric vomit, the latest fossil find extracted from dinosaur excretions. I’ll tell you more in my latest for NatGeo. 🧪
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Do better.
(There, I just put more effort into writing the above response than anyone involved with the "writing," "reviewing," or "editing" of this "paper.")
(There, I just put more effort into writing the above response than anyone involved with the "writing," "reviewing," or "editing" of this "paper.")
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
November 29, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Do better.
(There, I just put more effort into writing the above response than anyone involved with the "writing," "reviewing," or "editing" of this "paper.")
(There, I just put more effort into writing the above response than anyone involved with the "writing," "reviewing," or "editing" of this "paper.")
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
For this week's #FossilFriday, here's a specimen which brought tears to my eyes —
the original Megalosaurus dentary, first dinosaur fossil ever scientifically described, way back in 1824
the original Megalosaurus dentary, first dinosaur fossil ever scientifically described, way back in 1824
November 28, 2025 at 5:35 PM
For this week's #FossilFriday, here's a specimen which brought tears to my eyes —
the original Megalosaurus dentary, first dinosaur fossil ever scientifically described, way back in 1824
the original Megalosaurus dentary, first dinosaur fossil ever scientifically described, way back in 1824
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
American Alligator
American Crocodile
Spectacled Caiman
West African Crocodile
And then, because I broke my 🐊 streak:
Killer Whale
American Alligator
American Crocodile
Spectacled Caiman
West African Crocodile
And then, because I broke my 🐊 streak:
Killer Whale
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you’ve seen in the wild:
Gray whale
Pygmy faded rattlesnake
Green sea turtle
Puerto Rican woodpecker
Prairie dog
Gray whale
Pygmy faded rattlesnake
Green sea turtle
Puerto Rican woodpecker
Prairie dog
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you’ve seen in the wild:
Steller’s sea lion
Sandhill crane
Heaviside’s dolphin
Humboldt penguin
Laysan albatross
Steller’s sea lion
Sandhill crane
Heaviside’s dolphin
Humboldt penguin
Laysan albatross
November 29, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
American Alligator
American Crocodile
Spectacled Caiman
West African Crocodile
And then, because I broke my 🐊 streak:
Killer Whale
American Alligator
American Crocodile
Spectacled Caiman
West African Crocodile
And then, because I broke my 🐊 streak:
Killer Whale
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Hey @erinbiba.bsky.social I hope this finds you
November 29, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Hey @erinbiba.bsky.social I hope this finds you
The dinosaur sacrifice is complete:
November 27, 2025 at 8:35 PM
The dinosaur sacrifice is complete:
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
You’ll be visited by 3 spirits
The three spirits
The three spirits
November 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
You’ll be visited by 3 spirits
The three spirits
The three spirits
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Just in case my U.S. followers need to track down a turkey for Thanksgiving, here's a helpful guide in a November 2012 blog post by Yours Truly, with insights on the behavioral ecology of wild turkeys on a Georgia-coast barrier island (Cumberland). 🧪🦃🐾
www.georgialifetraces.com/2012/11/20/t...
www.georgialifetraces.com/2012/11/20/t...
Tracking Wild Turkeys on the Georgia Coast
Of the many traditions associated with the celebration of Thanksgiving in the U.S., the most commonly mentioned one is the ritual consumption of an avian theropod, Meleagris gallopavo, simply known…
www.georgialifetraces.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Just in case my U.S. followers need to track down a turkey for Thanksgiving, here's a helpful guide in a November 2012 blog post by Yours Truly, with insights on the behavioral ecology of wild turkeys on a Georgia-coast barrier island (Cumberland). 🧪🦃🐾
www.georgialifetraces.com/2012/11/20/t...
www.georgialifetraces.com/2012/11/20/t...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
I made an infographic for this very reason!
Every year I encourage my viewers to print it out for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner, Christmas goose feast, Boxing Day budgie buffet, or any other ritual when people gather to dismember bird carcasses. I'm not a meat eater, but I try not to judge
Every year I encourage my viewers to print it out for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner, Christmas goose feast, Boxing Day budgie buffet, or any other ritual when people gather to dismember bird carcasses. I'm not a meat eater, but I try not to judge
November 26, 2025 at 2:45 PM
I made an infographic for this very reason!
Every year I encourage my viewers to print it out for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner, Christmas goose feast, Boxing Day budgie buffet, or any other ritual when people gather to dismember bird carcasses. I'm not a meat eater, but I try not to judge
Every year I encourage my viewers to print it out for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner, Christmas goose feast, Boxing Day budgie buffet, or any other ritual when people gather to dismember bird carcasses. I'm not a meat eater, but I try not to judge
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
I told my students the same, and that they should use @arctomet.bsky.social's helpfully labeled diagram to steer the Thanksgiving-dinner conversation back to something that really matters, such as theropod evolutionary lineages. 🧪🦃🦖
November 26, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I told my students the same, and that they should use @arctomet.bsky.social's helpfully labeled diagram to steer the Thanksgiving-dinner conversation back to something that really matters, such as theropod evolutionary lineages. 🧪🦃🦖
My recommendation to my students tomorrow is that if they get stuck in an uncomfortable Thanksgiving conversation with family, just start manually tearing apart the turkey to show off the theropod synapomorphies. I promise that will derail whatever the previous topic was.
a turkey is standing in a grassy field with other birds .
Alt: a turkey running awkwardly in a grassy field with other birds
media.tenor.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:34 PM
My recommendation to my students tomorrow is that if they get stuck in an uncomfortable Thanksgiving conversation with family, just start manually tearing apart the turkey to show off the theropod synapomorphies. I promise that will derail whatever the previous topic was.
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
News from Episode 231:
The oldest known fossil croc eggs, from Australia
The oldest known fossil croc eggs, from Australia
Evidence of ancient tree-climbing 'drop crocs' found in Australia
Scientists say the crocodiles hunted like leopards by climbing trees and killing prey below.
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 3:31 PM
News from Episode 231:
The oldest known fossil croc eggs, from Australia
The oldest known fossil croc eggs, from Australia
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
New seasonal paleontology positions available for Dinosaur National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park and Fossil Butte National Monument. Apply soon, they close after they receive a certain number of apps! #NPSpaleo #PaleoJobs
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816000
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816700
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816000
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816700
USAJOBS connects job seekers with federal jobs across the United States and around the world as the official employment site for the federal government
These positions may be filled for a six month seasonal period, but can vary due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: <strong>April 2026</strong>
<p>For more par...
www.usajobs.gov
November 24, 2025 at 6:28 PM
New seasonal paleontology positions available for Dinosaur National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park and Fossil Butte National Monument. Apply soon, they close after they receive a certain number of apps! #NPSpaleo #PaleoJobs
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816000
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816700
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816000
www.usajobs.gov/job/850816700
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
First they push 24% of rangers out the door, and tell us we can’t hire anyone to backfill those positions. Then, they tell us to fill those positions with seasonal (temporary) rangers—the positions in the NPS with the least protections.
November 25, 2025 at 4:45 AM
First they push 24% of rangers out the door, and tell us we can’t hire anyone to backfill those positions. Then, they tell us to fill those positions with seasonal (temporary) rangers—the positions in the NPS with the least protections.
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
New paper on the notosuchian Eremosuchus by @piginatutu.bsky.social, co-authored by myself and @pdmannion.bsky.social among others out now!! We even find some cool evidence of replacement teeth in the dentary! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
A re-evaluation of the notosuchian crocodyliform Eremosuchus elkoholicus from the lower Eocene of Algeria and the evolutionary and biogeographic history of sebecids
Notosuchian systematics have been highly debated in recent decades, particularly the placement of sebecids and closely related species. As the only notosuchian lineage to have survived the Cretaceo...
www.tandfonline.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
New paper on the notosuchian Eremosuchus by @piginatutu.bsky.social, co-authored by myself and @pdmannion.bsky.social among others out now!! We even find some cool evidence of replacement teeth in the dentary! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....