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
November 2, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Dear colleagues,
I know we all have #SVP2025 next week, but could you maybe not inundate me with peer review requests right now?
Because I am also trying to get paper revisions sent back so I don't have to think about them while attending the conference.
Sincerely,
A Hypocrite
I know we all have #SVP2025 next week, but could you maybe not inundate me with peer review requests right now?
Because I am also trying to get paper revisions sent back so I don't have to think about them while attending the conference.
Sincerely,
A Hypocrite
a close up of a gauge that says hypocrisy on it .
Alt: a close up of a gauge that says hypocrisy on it, needle is far over on the "high" readings detected side
media.tenor.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Dear colleagues,
I know we all have #SVP2025 next week, but could you maybe not inundate me with peer review requests right now?
Because I am also trying to get paper revisions sent back so I don't have to think about them while attending the conference.
Sincerely,
A Hypocrite
I know we all have #SVP2025 next week, but could you maybe not inundate me with peer review requests right now?
Because I am also trying to get paper revisions sent back so I don't have to think about them while attending the conference.
Sincerely,
A Hypocrite
For Halloween, I dressed up as the scariest thing I could imagine.
No, not the skeleton.
No, not the skeleton.
October 31, 2025 at 5:12 PM
For Halloween, I dressed up as the scariest thing I could imagine.
No, not the skeleton.
No, not the skeleton.
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
“The sort of basic [fossilization] question of ‘How did this thing fossilize in the first place?’ hasn’t received as much attention in the past. I think this was a really great deep dive into this one area where we do see several specimens." @uglyfossils.bsky.social
How to Make a 'Dinosaur Mummy' (If You Have Millions of Years, Some Microbes, and a Whole Lot of Clay) 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/duck...
Dinosaur Mummies Are Clay Molds, Not Soft-Tissue Fossils, New Study Reveals
Wyoming’s “dinosaur mummies,” once thought to preserve fossilized flesh, are actually detailed clay molds formed by microbes as the creatures decayed
www.scientificamerican.com
October 26, 2025 at 8:12 PM
“The sort of basic [fossilization] question of ‘How did this thing fossilize in the first place?’ hasn’t received as much attention in the past. I think this was a really great deep dive into this one area where we do see several specimens." @uglyfossils.bsky.social
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Mesquite 4.02 update released! It fixes a few bugs and adds Codon Alignment and various other improvements. Also, much faster with genomics files with 1000s of loci. www.mesquiteproject.org 🧪 #evolbio
@bembidion.bsky.social
@bembidion.bsky.social
October 25, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Mesquite 4.02 update released! It fixes a few bugs and adds Codon Alignment and various other improvements. Also, much faster with genomics files with 1000s of loci. www.mesquiteproject.org 🧪 #evolbio
@bembidion.bsky.social
@bembidion.bsky.social
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
On @cnn.com Science, @uglyfossils.bsky.social & Yours Truly were quoted with our takes on newly interpreted clay "death mask" interpretation for preservation of Late Cretaceous dinosaur "mummies," reported in the news elsewhere yesterday. www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/s... 🧪🦖🦕🪨
66 million-year-old dinosaur ‘mummy’ skin was actually a perfect clay mask | CNN
New research in a North American “mummy zone” in eastern Wyoming reveals how giant duck-billed dinosaurs were preserved in striking detail.
www.cnn.com
October 24, 2025 at 11:35 AM
On @cnn.com Science, @uglyfossils.bsky.social & Yours Truly were quoted with our takes on newly interpreted clay "death mask" interpretation for preservation of Late Cretaceous dinosaur "mummies," reported in the news elsewhere yesterday. www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/s... 🧪🦖🦕🪨
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
New paper today in @science.org: we date the Naashoibito Member (New Mexico) to 66.4–66.0 Ma, coeval with the Hell Creek, with important remarks on pre-extinction dinosaur diversity & regionalisation in North America 🦖🦕☄1/
Art: @nataliajagielska.bsky.social
🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Art: @nataliajagielska.bsky.social
🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 23, 2025 at 6:11 PM
New paper today in @science.org: we date the Naashoibito Member (New Mexico) to 66.4–66.0 Ma, coeval with the Hell Creek, with important remarks on pre-extinction dinosaur diversity & regionalisation in North America 🦖🦕☄1/
Art: @nataliajagielska.bsky.social
🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Art: @nataliajagielska.bsky.social
🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
How to Make a 'Dinosaur Mummy' (If You Have Millions of Years, Some Microbes, and a Whole Lot of Clay) 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/duck...
Dinosaur Mummies Are Clay Molds, Not Soft-Tissue Fossils, New Study Reveals
Wyoming’s “dinosaur mummies,” once thought to preserve fossilized flesh, are actually detailed clay molds formed by microbes as the creatures decayed
www.scientificamerican.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:54 PM
How to Make a 'Dinosaur Mummy' (If You Have Millions of Years, Some Microbes, and a Whole Lot of Clay) 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/duck...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
You didn’t think you were just getting one dinosaur article from me today, did you?
In another for NatGeo, I dig into how dinosaur “mummies” are preserved - and why there are probably many more exceptional dinosaur fossils out there than we ever dreamed. 🧪
In another for NatGeo, I dig into how dinosaur “mummies” are preserved - and why there are probably many more exceptional dinosaur fossils out there than we ever dreamed. 🧪
Here's how dinosaur ‘mummies’ are helping scientists solve fossil mysteries
A new study sheds light on how these reptiles become “mummies” and paints a picture of what these ancient animals looked like.
www.nationalgeographic.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:12 PM
You didn’t think you were just getting one dinosaur article from me today, did you?
In another for NatGeo, I dig into how dinosaur “mummies” are preserved - and why there are probably many more exceptional dinosaur fossils out there than we ever dreamed. 🧪
In another for NatGeo, I dig into how dinosaur “mummies” are preserved - and why there are probably many more exceptional dinosaur fossils out there than we ever dreamed. 🧪
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template “mummification” | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template “mummification”
Two “mummies” of the end-Cretaceous, duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens preserve a fleshy crest over the neck and trunk, an interdigitating spike row over the hips and tail, and hooves cappi...
www.science.org
October 23, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template “mummification” | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Wyoming's famed dinosaur "mummy zone" has yielded two more remarkable Edmontosaurus mummies!
In a new paper, scientists describe the microbe-led process that delicately preserved these dinosaurs' scaly hides and hooves in clay.
Latest for
@nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/s...
In a new paper, scientists describe the microbe-led process that delicately preserved these dinosaurs' scaly hides and hooves in clay.
Latest for
@nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/s...
Two New Dinosaur Fossils Emerge From the ‘Mummy Zone’
www.nytimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Wyoming's famed dinosaur "mummy zone" has yielded two more remarkable Edmontosaurus mummies!
In a new paper, scientists describe the microbe-led process that delicately preserved these dinosaurs' scaly hides and hooves in clay.
Latest for
@nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/s...
In a new paper, scientists describe the microbe-led process that delicately preserved these dinosaurs' scaly hides and hooves in clay.
Latest for
@nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/s...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Decades of Drought Are Changing How Paleontologists Search for Fossils
As the planet gets hotter, relics of history are receding from view by Riley Black (restingdinoface.bsky.social)
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/decad...
As the planet gets hotter, relics of history are receding from view by Riley Black (restingdinoface.bsky.social)
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/decad...
Decades of Drought Are Changing How Paleontologists Search for Fossils
As the planet gets hotter, relics of history are receding from view
www.sierraclub.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Decades of Drought Are Changing How Paleontologists Search for Fossils
As the planet gets hotter, relics of history are receding from view by Riley Black (restingdinoface.bsky.social)
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/decad...
As the planet gets hotter, relics of history are receding from view by Riley Black (restingdinoface.bsky.social)
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/decad...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
At the empty USGS booth at GSA. More out of view on both sides
October 22, 2025 at 2:04 AM
At the empty USGS booth at GSA. More out of view on both sides
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
New paper on crocodylian locomotor evolution led by Masaya Iijima, w/Richard Blob & me!
More erect hindlimb postures help extant gators support their weight (esp. at ankle), & how these mechanics constrained giant Deinosuchus to a slow walk at best!
The paper-- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
More erect hindlimb postures help extant gators support their weight (esp. at ankle), & how these mechanics constrained giant Deinosuchus to a slow walk at best!
The paper-- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Biomechanical simulations of hindlimb function in Alligator provide insights into postural shifts and body size evolution
Locomotor simulations in alligators reveal that transitions to erect limb postures facilitate the evolution of larger body sizes.
www.science.org
October 22, 2025 at 6:40 PM
New paper on crocodylian locomotor evolution led by Masaya Iijima, w/Richard Blob & me!
More erect hindlimb postures help extant gators support their weight (esp. at ankle), & how these mechanics constrained giant Deinosuchus to a slow walk at best!
The paper-- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
More erect hindlimb postures help extant gators support their weight (esp. at ankle), & how these mechanics constrained giant Deinosuchus to a slow walk at best!
The paper-- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
The secret to making happy little Edmontosaurus mummy murder mittens is lots of duct tape and really loud Ladytron while waiting for adhesive to cure. My methods certainly do get results i guess.
April 23, 2025 at 11:45 PM
The secret to making happy little Edmontosaurus mummy murder mittens is lots of duct tape and really loud Ladytron while waiting for adhesive to cure. My methods certainly do get results i guess.
I'm not at #GSA2025, but some of my bask of little crocodiles went.
Here's undergraduate researcher Owen Singleton, presenting our research on reptile decomposition. I am sad to say that GSA does not support smell-o-vision technology, but I suspect the presentation was plenty gross without it.
Here's undergraduate researcher Owen Singleton, presenting our research on reptile decomposition. I am sad to say that GSA does not support smell-o-vision technology, but I suspect the presentation was plenty gross without it.
October 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I'm not at #GSA2025, but some of my bask of little crocodiles went.
Here's undergraduate researcher Owen Singleton, presenting our research on reptile decomposition. I am sad to say that GSA does not support smell-o-vision technology, but I suspect the presentation was plenty gross without it.
Here's undergraduate researcher Owen Singleton, presenting our research on reptile decomposition. I am sad to say that GSA does not support smell-o-vision technology, but I suspect the presentation was plenty gross without it.
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
Looking for a very specific photo of the Ornithischian Hall at AMNH. I want to see the mummified Lambeosaurus from far enough away that you can see the shape and dimensions of the case it's in.
Like the 1st image, but further back. Or the 2nd image, but slightly to the left. Can anyone help?
Like the 1st image, but further back. Or the 2nd image, but slightly to the left. Can anyone help?
October 21, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Looking for a very specific photo of the Ornithischian Hall at AMNH. I want to see the mummified Lambeosaurus from far enough away that you can see the shape and dimensions of the case it's in.
Like the 1st image, but further back. Or the 2nd image, but slightly to the left. Can anyone help?
Like the 1st image, but further back. Or the 2nd image, but slightly to the left. Can anyone help?
No big deal. It's not like I have an online exam scheduled for this week...
Oh wait.
Oh wait.
October 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
No big deal. It's not like I have an online exam scheduled for this week...
Oh wait.
Oh wait.
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
For #FossilFriday, an ichnological 2-for-1 special in a body fossil: a termite nest packed with termite coprolites (feces) in an araucarian tree trunk, from the Early Cretaceous (~125 mya) of Victoria, Australia; oldest termite nest in Australia & largest wood nest from this time. 🧪🪵🪨⚒️ #ichnology
October 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM
For #FossilFriday, an ichnological 2-for-1 special in a body fossil: a termite nest packed with termite coprolites (feces) in an araucarian tree trunk, from the Early Cretaceous (~125 mya) of Victoria, Australia; oldest termite nest in Australia & largest wood nest from this time. 🧪🪵🪨⚒️ #ichnology
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
I love fossils. And I love horror. Tyrant Lizard Queen is going to have heaps of both.
Here’s a sneak peek! This is one of my favorites! I looked at a lot of photos of lions eating elephants for this drawing and let me tell you: it was gross.
October 3, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I love fossils. And I love horror. Tyrant Lizard Queen is going to have heaps of both.
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
This #FossilFriday, we have our museum's most recognizable fossil: Fish-Within-A-Fish! Featuring Xiphactinus, a large predatory fish, with the smaller Gillicus in its gut contents. It was found and collected by George F. Sternberg in 1952, and is now an iconic part of the Sternberg's collections!
October 3, 2025 at 1:09 PM
This #FossilFriday, we have our museum's most recognizable fossil: Fish-Within-A-Fish! Featuring Xiphactinus, a large predatory fish, with the smaller Gillicus in its gut contents. It was found and collected by George F. Sternberg in 1952, and is now an iconic part of the Sternberg's collections!
Reposted by Stephanie Drumheller
I finally put a human in for scale of the Deinosuchus
October 3, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I finally put a human in for scale of the Deinosuchus
There's something slightly creepy about going through the hours of silent trailcam footage at our decomp experiment. Most of them don't end up recording anything (which makes you wonder what tripped the motion sensor in the first place), and then every once in a while, you get jump scared by a deer.
October 3, 2025 at 6:39 PM
There's something slightly creepy about going through the hours of silent trailcam footage at our decomp experiment. Most of them don't end up recording anything (which makes you wonder what tripped the motion sensor in the first place), and then every once in a while, you get jump scared by a deer.