A new paper by Ananth Srinivas and colleagues shows that modern crocodiles evolved flatter and weaker skulls from domed ancestors to adapt to life in water, trading skull strength for streamlining.

doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

This weeks palaeo seminar @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social is by @cambriannelids.bsky.social on the Cambrian evolution of animal skeletons

This week’s palaeo seminar @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social was delivered by Rachel Wood (Edinburgh) on what triggered the Cambrian Explosion. Oxygen - not much, but just enough!

First week back to teaching in 2025 and for our palaeo seminar we have Prof Christine Janis telling us about her research into giant kangaroos and whether or not they could hop!

Congrats to Dani Schmidt and Mike Benton who won the President’s and Lapworth medals at #PalAss24 for their immense contributions to palaeontological science

Thanks to Kirsten, Pablo, Tahlia and Wenqian for organising the Bristol Palaeo christmas party - so much amazing food and amazing people from around the world inc Australia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Scotland, Spain and Turkey. No one needs to eat for a week!

We have been delighted to have @stevebrusatte.bsky.social deliver our palaeo seminar this week on the early diversification of placental mammals. As expected, the room was packed to overflowing for this great talk!

Jakob Vinther is offering a PhD on "How do organic soft tissues survive in exceptional fossils?" www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...

Emily Rayfield is offering a PhD on "The biology and palaeobiology of living and extinct small mammals" www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...

Davide Pisani is offering a PhD on "Total evidence approaches to clarify the early fossil record of sponges and
the early evolution of animals" www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...

Phil Donoghue is offering a PhD on "The taphonomy of organelles and the origin of eukaryotes" www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...

Michael Henehan is offering a PhD on "Ground-truthing the boron isotope-pH proxy in biogenic silica" www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...

Lewis Alcott is offering a PhD on "Earth's evolving oceans" www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...

This week in our Palaeobiology Discussion Group we are very happy to welcome back former PhD student/post doc Dr Stephan Lautenschlager @palaeostephan.bsky.social from the University of Birmingham on cranial fenestration and functional morphology in dinosaurs