Jake Buehler
banner
jakebuehler.bsky.social
Jake Buehler
@jakebuehler.bsky.social
Science writer, hiker, diver. I'm into reef fish, conifers, & hot peppers. I write about weird lifeforms, natural history, & wildlife conservation. He/him

jakebuehler.com
Finally, here’s the snout of an entelodont (Archaeotherium). Entelodonts are sometimes called “hell pigs” for their immense, buffalo-like proportions and wide jaws full of sharp teeth. But these were actually close relatives of early hippos and whales.
November 30, 2024 at 1:36 AM
Ok last marine mammal I swear: Wimahl chinookensis, a relative of dolphins dating back about 18 million years. The fossil was found along the banks of the Washington side of the mouth of the great Columbia River.
November 30, 2024 at 1:31 AM
More marine mammals. Here’s Allodesmus, an extinct sea lion-like pinniped that was really athletic, nearly half a ton in life, and honestly a little horrifying? These guys lived along North Pacific coastlines roughly 10 to 15 million years ago.
November 30, 2024 at 1:27 AM
Another fossil marine mammal unearthed in Clallam County: Sitsqwayk cornishorum, an early baleen whale.

This incredible beast hails from the Twin River Quarry (Pysht Formation) even closer to home for me. Clallam County and the Olympic Peninsula has been great for paleo marine mammal finds.
November 30, 2024 at 1:22 AM
This one’s fun for me: Kolponomos clallamensis, the “otter bear”. It was an incredibly strange marine mammal from the coastlines of the Pacific Northwest during the Miocene. Neither otter or bear, Kolponomos’ appears to be a stem-pinniped, an odd, lost branch at the base of the seal et al lineage.
November 30, 2024 at 1:07 AM
This is Axestemys, a softshell turtle from around the same warm time period. Some species could reach sizes quite a bit larger than modern softshells. Check out the shape of the carapace with all that bone reduction. Similar to modern softshells, which have shuriken-like carapaces.
November 30, 2024 at 12:57 AM
Here’s the cranium of a Hyaenodon from around the same time period in North America. These animals were related to modern carnivores, but distinct. I’m always struck by how rugged their skulls looked; low slung and thick, with proportionally small braincases.
November 30, 2024 at 12:46 AM
Here’s Hoplophoneus primaevus, which lived in North American forests over 30 million years ago. While about the size and shape of a bobcat or a small cougar (+saber teeth), it was not actually a cat. Hoplophoneus was part of a related family of now-extinct carnivores, the Nimravidae.
November 30, 2024 at 12:38 AM
Visited the Burke Museum in Seattle last weekend, so here’s a short thread on some of the paleo stuff I thought was interesting:
November 30, 2024 at 12:18 AM
Post a picture you took (no description) to bring some zen to the timeline
November 17, 2024 at 1:05 AM
I’m located in a rural, drippy corner of Washington State, and spend a lot of time hiking in my region’s exquisite National Parks and Forests. I also dabble in nature photography, so you’ll be seeing that from time to time!
November 16, 2024 at 9:26 PM
Monet, but make it autumn in the quietest rainforest in the U.S.

Hoh Rainforest, October 22, 2023
October 25, 2023 at 7:18 PM
Me, groundlessly nervous, responding to the server that just asked “is Pepsi ok?”:
August 19, 2023 at 12:35 PM
This is Arya.

She has maple syrup eyes and is, of course, a very good girl.
May 18, 2023 at 10:09 PM