that makes the branching look very strange as 2nd order branches on one side are in the same orientation as the 1st branches on the opposite side of the axis. Of course there can be baby ones too, the ones i share above are growing in opposing directions parallel to the current so not felled IMO

if both claws are used equally early in their development they can have 2 of the same. Theres an experimental paper by Govind 1992, we had one at Bonne Bay in 2022 when i was director there. So you were just a rare lobster 🦞:-). Its on their fb

I really don’t know. humans are commonly change adverse. There’s also a lot invested in the Glaessnerian idea of them looking like sea pens, museum dioramas ecological models etc. We promise we are critically assessing our models every new taxon we study, but keep coming to the same outcome.

Thanks, the Elsevier link has some extra stuff, highlights and the graphical abstract. Martin always believed that a paper’s message should be told in the diagrams so you can see how we did :-)

mine too. He wrote that very quickly while laid up in bed with a back injury, not long out of his PhD. I wish i had got my copy signed :-)

We had our moments for sure :-) if i am honest those were largely due to my youth and naivety, but the last 15 years were 100% joy.

a deeper slightly foetid version of what was initially envisaged (based on the younger/shallower White Sea and Nama biotas)

His scientific legacy lives on in all of the past and present MUN Palaeobiology crowd :-).

We hear so much about bad exploitative supervisors it is nice to celebrate a good one :-). I hope you get your chance!

I like to think we did Martin justice in this. I know he would have loved it. For once i’m prepared to admit that i’m actually quite proud of my part of this work.

you can read free here

authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

This is my favourite rangeomorph ❤️.

Thanks for reading so far 🙂

say go look in my red notebook from such a year… and he would have already thought it and written it down.

Our paleobiological reconstructions of several rangeomorphs as procumbent organisms have been both oddly unpopular & uncited, so it gives me heart to know that martin once thought the same..

I still miss him a lot and even now I still find myself wanting to call him when we find something cool or I have a new idea. He was a deep thinker and amazing note keeper i came across this note of his (via his son Dr Alex Brasier) which is absolutely typical. Most ideas i had Martin would ..

i wrote something longer over on fb but just to say Martin was very special to me he considered me his protégé in the literal sense he was there for me at my very lowest and heartily celebrated all my successes in a way i’m not so good at myself. 🧵

This is such a beautiful fossil to work with. As soon the first specimen appeared i loved the architecture & pulled rank, calling dibs on working on it (which i seldom do). This is the artwork of our new #Charnia that i produced for the journal to go in the graphical abstract.
#sciart #paleoart