Dr Michael J Ryan
@drmichaeljryan.bsky.social
Dinosaurologist. Adjunct Research Professor, Earth Sciences, Carleton University. Horned dinos a specialty. Opinions my own. @panel.ontologist
BORN THIS DAY: ELKANAH BILLINGS (May 5,1820-June 14,1896): Canada’s first paleontologist. His boss Sir William Logan wrote him (1869): "Your constant absence from the office is a worrying annoyance, particularly as I have reason to suspect that it does not arrive from rheumatism."
May 5, 2025 at 3:40 PM
BORN THIS DAY: ELKANAH BILLINGS (May 5,1820-June 14,1896): Canada’s first paleontologist. His boss Sir William Logan wrote him (1869): "Your constant absence from the office is a worrying annoyance, particularly as I have reason to suspect that it does not arrive from rheumatism."
More for May the 4th: colleague Dr David West Reynolds standing at the bluff where Luke looked down on Mos Eisley. In the distance you can just see the palm trees that mark the location of the Well of Souls dig site from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Was this Tunisian adventure really 30 years ago?!
May 4, 2025 at 4:44 PM
More for May the 4th: colleague Dr David West Reynolds standing at the bluff where Luke looked down on Mos Eisley. In the distance you can just see the palm trees that mark the location of the Well of Souls dig site from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Was this Tunisian adventure really 30 years ago?!
For May the 4th: Me discovering the origin Krayt Dragon prop skeleton in Tunisia back in the early 90’s. The film quarry abandoned this & all the Star Wars props when they left. After I found them (and left them in place!), collectors followed in my footsteps and scoped them up. Hello Ebay!
May 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
For May the 4th: Me discovering the origin Krayt Dragon prop skeleton in Tunisia back in the early 90’s. The film quarry abandoned this & all the Star Wars props when they left. After I found them (and left them in place!), collectors followed in my footsteps and scoped them up. Hello Ebay!
Another old photo from the Canadian Museum of Nature's back rooms.
February 17, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Another old photo from the Canadian Museum of Nature's back rooms.
I miss the Styracosaurus that used to stand guard outside of the Field Station in Dinosaur Provincial Park, AB. Sculpted by Brian Cooley.
January 29, 2025 at 10:17 PM
I miss the Styracosaurus that used to stand guard outside of the Field Station in Dinosaur Provincial Park, AB. Sculpted by Brian Cooley.
BORN THIS DAY: ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS (Jan 26, 1884 – Mar 11, 1960) - leader of the AMNH’s Central Asiatic Expeditions between 1922 to 1930 that collected many of our most famous dinosaurs – Protoceratops, Oviraptor, Velociraptor.
January 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM
BORN THIS DAY: ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS (Jan 26, 1884 – Mar 11, 1960) - leader of the AMNH’s Central Asiatic Expeditions between 1922 to 1930 that collected many of our most famous dinosaurs – Protoceratops, Oviraptor, Velociraptor.
One more photo from an old trip to Ulaanbaatar. Protoceratops in the Palaeo Lab Collections.
January 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
One more photo from an old trip to Ulaanbaatar. Protoceratops in the Palaeo Lab Collections.
Does anyone have a Google Earth/KMZ location for the Tendaguru Palaeontological Site or the major quarries in the area of Tendaguru Hill? Thanks! [photo from Wikipedia]
January 22, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Does anyone have a Google Earth/KMZ location for the Tendaguru Palaeontological Site or the major quarries in the area of Tendaguru Hill? Thanks! [photo from Wikipedia]
Metatarsals of Avimimus from the Mongolian bonebed we described in this paper: doi.org/10.1038/srep35782
January 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Metatarsals of Avimimus from the Mongolian bonebed we described in this paper: doi.org/10.1038/srep35782
Another old photo from Ulaanbaatar. Saurolophus with Phil Bell for scale. This is a BIG skull!
January 13, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Another old photo from Ulaanbaatar. Saurolophus with Phil Bell for scale. This is a BIG skull!
Tarbosaurus skull on display in the palaeo lab in Ulaanbaatar from a few years ago.
January 9, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Tarbosaurus skull on display in the palaeo lab in Ulaanbaatar from a few years ago.
Counter slab of the Sinosauropteryx holotype
January 5, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Counter slab of the Sinosauropteryx holotype
#Monoclonius lowei (CMN 8790) in the field at Manyberries, Alberta. David Evans and I relocated the quarry in 2017.
November 16, 2024 at 7:11 PM
#Monoclonius lowei (CMN 8790) in the field at Manyberries, Alberta. David Evans and I relocated the quarry in 2017.
Look’s like the Sinclair dinosaur is getting a Macy’s Parade balloon this year. Does the green dino have a media presence (TV show, video game) that I’ve missed? #SinclairDinosaur #MacysParade
November 14, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Look’s like the Sinclair dinosaur is getting a Macy’s Parade balloon this year. Does the green dino have a media presence (TV show, video game) that I’ve missed? #SinclairDinosaur #MacysParade
From one of my IG accounts: @panel.ontologist
November 13, 2024 at 7:38 PM
From one of my IG accounts: @panel.ontologist
The famous ‘Fighting Dinosaurs’. I never get tired of looking at them. #Velociraptor #Protoceratops #Gobi #Mongolia
November 13, 2024 at 7:36 PM
The famous ‘Fighting Dinosaurs’. I never get tired of looking at them. #Velociraptor #Protoceratops #Gobi #Mongolia
The ghost of Lawrence Lambe still hovers over #Stenonychosaurus and the #Dinosauroid Man @MuseumofNature
November 13, 2024 at 7:35 PM
The ghost of Lawrence Lambe still hovers over #Stenonychosaurus and the #Dinosauroid Man @MuseumofNature
#Dapletosaurus at the Canadian Museum of Nature
November 13, 2024 at 7:33 PM
#Dapletosaurus at the Canadian Museum of Nature
#Centrosaurus apertus at the Canadian Museum of Nature
November 13, 2024 at 7:32 PM
#Centrosaurus apertus at the Canadian Museum of Nature
#Centrosaurus apertus skull TMP 98.70.1 from the upper unit of the Oldman Fm, Alberta, that is time equivalent to the lower Dinosaur Park Fm at DPP. Collected with @don_brinkman back in 1998 @RoyalTyrrell
November 13, 2024 at 7:31 PM
#Centrosaurus apertus skull TMP 98.70.1 from the upper unit of the Oldman Fm, Alberta, that is time equivalent to the lower Dinosaur Park Fm at DPP. Collected with @don_brinkman back in 1998 @RoyalTyrrell
#Styracosaurus nasal, TMP1966.010.0019. @RoyalTyrrell
November 13, 2024 at 7:29 PM
#Styracosaurus nasal, TMP1966.010.0019. @RoyalTyrrell
My friend and mentor, @don_brinkman, collects a fossil trionychid turtle in Dinosaur Provincial Park, July 27, 2006. @RoyalTyrrell
November 13, 2024 at 7:28 PM
My friend and mentor, @don_brinkman, collects a fossil trionychid turtle in Dinosaur Provincial Park, July 27, 2006. @RoyalTyrrell
Here's a photo of the holotype of Gremlin slobodorum, the new leptoceratopsid named after Wendy Sloboda, who found it, and her father, Ed.
@DavidEvans_ROM @RoyalTyrrell @tattpaleobabe #leptoceratopsidae #SADP
@DavidEvans_ROM @RoyalTyrrell @tattpaleobabe #leptoceratopsidae #SADP
November 13, 2024 at 7:27 PM
Here's a photo of the holotype of Gremlin slobodorum, the new leptoceratopsid named after Wendy Sloboda, who found it, and her father, Ed.
@DavidEvans_ROM @RoyalTyrrell @tattpaleobabe #leptoceratopsidae #SADP
@DavidEvans_ROM @RoyalTyrrell @tattpaleobabe #leptoceratopsidae #SADP
Our new-ish basal ceratopsian.Thanks to my co-authors Tomonori Tanaka, Kentaro Chiba and Tadahiro Ikeda for inviting me to work with them. #Sasayamagnomus #ceratopsian @tomotanaka22 @kchibs
November 13, 2024 at 7:25 PM
Our new-ish basal ceratopsian.Thanks to my co-authors Tomonori Tanaka, Kentaro Chiba and Tadahiro Ikeda for inviting me to work with them. #Sasayamagnomus #ceratopsian @tomotanaka22 @kchibs