James Lamsdell, PhD
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fossildetective.bsky.social
James Lamsdell, PhD
@fossildetective.bsky.social
1.4K followers 240 following 560 posts
Palaeobiologist, Associate Professor at West Virginia University • Arthropod paleobiology, phylogenetic paleoecology • An Englishman in America
Formerly: AMNH, Yale, U of Kansas, U of Bristol, U of Birmingham
Opinions my own (he/him)
jameslamsdell.com
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fossildetective.bsky.social
James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · Jun 11
It's finally out! 200 years since the description of Eurypterus remipes, the first eurypterid named in the scientific literature, I present a summary of the history of eurypterid research and an updated taxonomy of every known species.🧪⚒️

doi.org/10.1206/0003...
Codex Eurypterida: A Revised Taxonomy Based on Concordant Parsimony and Bayesian Phylogenetic Analyses
Eurypterids, also known as sea scorpions, were aquatic chelicerate arthropods that were important components of Paleozoic marine and freshwater ecosystems from the Ordovician to the Permian. The group...
doi.org
fossildetective.bsky.social
Had a great time talking to the Dry Dredgers about eurypterids last night, and getting to look through the Cincinnati collections was a huge treat.
October 25, 2025 at 11:46 AM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Happy #FlatFuckFriday to all who celebrate.
A very long, very flat model of the eurypterid Acutiramus at the Cincinnati Museum. A front view of the eurypterid, equally flat.
October 24, 2025 at 3:01 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Happy #FlatFuckFriday to all who celebrate.
A very long, very flat model of the eurypterid Acutiramus at the Cincinnati Museum. A front view of the eurypterid, equally flat.
October 24, 2025 at 2:58 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
A view if Cladoselache, the first well-preserved shark from the Devonian, on display in the Cincinnatti Museum for #FossilFriday.

I love this specimen, look at how long the fins are!
A picture of a well lit fossil of a shark, with the outline of the body visible due to the difference in rock texture and colour. The nose is to the right, and a beautifully preserved triangular fin can be seen projecting toward the top of the slab.
October 24, 2025 at 12:07 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Museum collections are my happy place.
A photograph of several grey fossils in a draw.
October 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Amanda looked up this reconstruction of Exaeretodon while going through papers for the podcast yesterday and I can only see one thing.
A strange reconstruction of a creature with a horse-like mane running down its back, pained human eyes, a cat-like face with a goatee, emaciated ribs, and a stubby tail. It looks like a creature from Bloodborne. Nina Tucker in her second health bar form from Fullmetal Alchemist.
October 5, 2025 at 6:02 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Actual highlight of yesterday was having a woman in the botanical gardens overhear us talking about work and say "Oh, I didn't think paleontologists existed anymore".
October 1, 2025 at 1:08 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Somehow ended up becoming American.
A photograph of a man in a shirt picking up a naturalization certificate and looking nonplussed, next to the famous meme from the office of a very shellshocked looking Steve Carrell with long hair shaking the hand of a smiling man.
October 1, 2025 at 1:35 AM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Shrimp update
A view of an aquarium with many blue shrimp moving around on the sand. A fossil brachiopod is partially buried, and multiple snails can be seen in the background alongside moss and wood.
September 26, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD
prehistorica.art
Meet Palaeocampa anthrax, a newly discovered Carboniferous lobopodian, and 150 year old mystery fossil!

Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵

Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...
July 23, 2025 at 9:46 AM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Waiting for a surprise webinar (we were told about it an hour ago) on "the future of the research corporation" to start which is called "Meeting with supervisors" on zoom.
July 23, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD
hormiga.bsky.social
Hey folks sizing up academic jobs, one thing I'd like you to know:

-Faculty at PUIs spend more time on research than most people realize.
-Faculty at R1s spend more time on teaching than most people realize.

I think the biggest difference between these jobs is the career stage of your mentees.
July 21, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD
fossildetective.bsky.social
*nirnroot noises*
A picture of a plant that is likely a dandelion relative that looks just like a nirnroot from Oblivion.
July 14, 2025 at 11:44 AM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Having just finished reading Day of the Triffids I can recognize a potential society-ending event when I see it.
A screenshot from the news with the headline "Sheetz to offer free hot dogs for 'National Hot Dog Day' later this week.
July 15, 2025 at 12:53 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
*nirnroot noises*
A picture of a plant that is likely a dandelion relative that looks just like a nirnroot from Oblivion.
July 14, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD
benoitevol.bsky.social
Junior Professor Chair at MNHN Paris :
Integrative Taxonomy for Describing Biological Diversity

odyssee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/procedures/r...

filesender.renater.fr?s=download&t...
Odyssée
odyssee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr
July 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD
jacquelyngill.bsky.social
Fellow educators: Please join me in co-signing!
emilymbender.bsky.social Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · Jul 10
A strong statement of resistance to the relentless marketing of "AI" in education spaces. I encourage all educators to have a look and consider signing on:

openletter.earth/an-open-lett...
An open letter from educators who refuse the call to adopt GenAI in education
openletter.earth
July 10, 2025 at 11:40 AM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Good start to the university replacing our phonelines with Zoom phones, I've already had a medical provider leave me a voicemail clearly intended for someone else disclosing patient information.
July 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Some neat fossils for mental health purposes on #FossilFriday⚒️🧪

Just a collection of some of my favourite eurypterid fossils I've encountered visiting museums across the US. Museums are critical sources of information and build important connections with our history and the natural world.
A photograph of a specimen of Eurypterus with its headshield popped up and the ventral plates open underneath. This specimen shows how the animals shed their exoskeleton. A photograph of a fossil of a young Eurypterus next to the spiny leg of a much larger individual, showing just how much these animals grew over the course of their lifespan. The specimen is held in the American Museum of Natural History. A wonderful side view of the back end of a Dolichopterus. This shows just how three-dimensional these animals, which are normally found as flattened specimens, truly were. The tail spine is also slightly curved. Specimen held in the Peabody Museum of Natural History. A photograph of a specimen of Strobilopterus showing the head shield with little pale spirals on it. These spirals are microconchids, small worm tubes that attached to the surface of the exoskeleton. It is unclear whether these grew on the animal in life or attached to the shed exoskeleton, although it is considered more likely that they attached directly to the eurypterids as the exoskeleton would have likely been buried relatively rapidly after moulting. I always find it exciting to find examples of encrusting organisms on eurypterid exoskeletons, as there is not much evidence of such relationships from the fossil record. Specimen held in the Field Museum of Natural History.
July 4, 2025 at 3:15 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
An understanding of the historical literature has been critical to my work, and my eurypterid monograph would have been impossible without access to the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Losing it would be devastating. Ignorance of the past doesn't help you generate novel ideas, it's just ignorance.
trevorabranch.bsky.social Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2
In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.
trevorabranch.bsky.social Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2
Foundations: please step up and take over the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). This is an absolutely essential scanned archive of all of the old journals and books from the 1500s to about 1920. Has been indispensable for my research.
about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup...
July 3, 2025 at 3:23 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Glad I'm forcing myself to go for morning runs even if I never want to do it at the time.
A view of chicory, the most beautiful shade of blue flower. A wonderful orange mushroom growing out of moss. It would probably liquids your liver or something so I am only 30% tempted to eat it. A view of a pathway through trees with dark trunks and vibrant green leaves. Some excellent mushrooms growing out of the side of a tree. These ones will probably kill you or something too. 50% desire to eat.
July 1, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD
gettoknownature.bsky.social
Just a horseshoe crab doing its thing. Its thing is heading back to the water after a volunteer rescued it from being stuck on its back and left behind by the tide. 😅 I love the scraping noise they make as they move along the sand.

#invertebrates 🦀 🌿
June 29, 2025 at 9:11 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Giant Eagle is playing Evanescence.
June 29, 2025 at 12:22 PM
fossildetective.bsky.social
Finished my first multi-session piece of art for @bigfacecats.bsky.social
An acrylic painting of a tuxedo cat under a blanket.
June 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by James Lamsdell, PhD
wrightam.bsky.social
As historian David McCullough expressed in a 2003 interview: “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.”
carlbergstrom.com Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jun 25
A few months ago, Nature published how-to guide for using ChatGPT to write your peer reviews in 30 minutes.

This is, of course, a horrible idea. Here’s my response with @jbakcoleman.bsky.social .
AI, peer review and the human activity of science
When researchers cede their scientific judgement to machines, we lose something important.
www.nature.com
June 25, 2025 at 1:23 PM