Dr Hazel L Richards
@p-hazael.bsky.social
Vertebrates collection manager at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, ex Museums Victoria, PhD Evans EvoMorph.
Megafauna, marsupials, morphology, CT & 3D imaging. She/her
Megafauna, marsupials, morphology, CT & 3D imaging. She/her
Pinned
Dr Hazel L Richards
@p-hazael.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Hi bsky, I'm Hazel.
I'm a functional morphologist and I love interesting critters, especially mammals. I research extinct marsupials, helped make a cool dinosaur exhibition at Melbourne Museum, and currently manage the vertebrate collections at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
I'm a functional morphologist and I love interesting critters, especially mammals. I research extinct marsupials, helped make a cool dinosaur exhibition at Melbourne Museum, and currently manage the vertebrate collections at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
I don't remember the last time I was this emotionally invested
April 15, 2025 at 3:46 AM
I don't remember the last time I was this emotionally invested
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
Today, got to work on marsupial moles. They are such fascinating marsupials. Would be nice to see one in the wild one day, but chances are pretty low.
January 23, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Today, got to work on marsupial moles. They are such fascinating marsupials. Would be nice to see one in the wild one day, but chances are pretty low.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
New sabertooth paper!
Dr Tahlia Pollock & her team of #evobio wizards look at how optimality landscapes may have driven the evolution of saber teeth. Also, they underscore that there aren't just 1 or 2 saber-shapes; nature is varied!
#paleobio #paleontology #Mammals
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Dr Tahlia Pollock & her team of #evobio wizards look at how optimality landscapes may have driven the evolution of saber teeth. Also, they underscore that there aren't just 1 or 2 saber-shapes; nature is varied!
#paleobio #paleontology #Mammals
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Functional optimality underpins the repeated evolution of the extreme “saber-tooth” morphology
Saber teeth are a classic example of convergence, having evolved repeatedly throughout mammalian history. Using 3D morphometrics, biomechanical testing, and a Pareto optimality analysis, Pollock et al. identify functional optimality as a key driver underpinning the repeated evolution of extreme saber-tooth morphologies.
www.cell.com
January 9, 2025 at 11:08 PM
New sabertooth paper!
Dr Tahlia Pollock & her team of #evobio wizards look at how optimality landscapes may have driven the evolution of saber teeth. Also, they underscore that there aren't just 1 or 2 saber-shapes; nature is varied!
#paleobio #paleontology #Mammals
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Dr Tahlia Pollock & her team of #evobio wizards look at how optimality landscapes may have driven the evolution of saber teeth. Also, they underscore that there aren't just 1 or 2 saber-shapes; nature is varied!
#paleobio #paleontology #Mammals
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Core childhood memory!
Welcome to the public domain, THE SKELETON DANCE (1929). 🎞️ 🎶👻 Walt Disney Studios' first Silly Symphony cartoon is a wordless masterpiece of synchronized animation & music featuring dancing skeletons in a graveyard.
➡️ https://blog.archive.org/2025/01/01/welcome-to-the-public-domain-in-2025
➡️ https://blog.archive.org/2025/01/01/welcome-to-the-public-domain-in-2025
January 1, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Core childhood memory!
Spotted in a second hand bookshop in Picton this weekend
🥲🥲 So inspiring
🥲🥲 So inspiring
December 19, 2024 at 8:52 AM
Spotted in a second hand bookshop in Picton this weekend
🥲🥲 So inspiring
🥲🥲 So inspiring
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
This statue depicts Saint Bartholomew, an early Christian martyr who was allegedly skinned alive. If you look closely, that's his dissected skin hanging around him. This stunning statute by Marco d’Agrate from c.1562 is currently on display at Duomo di Milano.
December 5, 2024 at 9:53 AM
This statue depicts Saint Bartholomew, an early Christian martyr who was allegedly skinned alive. If you look closely, that's his dissected skin hanging around him. This stunning statute by Marco d’Agrate from c.1562 is currently on display at Duomo di Milano.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
The absolute oddity that is Simosthenurus, a Pleistocene short-faced kangaroo.
These weirdos seemed to have walked with alternate strides on single-toed feet, had gaff-hook hands, and no matter how you approach them just don't come out right.
These weirdos seemed to have walked with alternate strides on single-toed feet, had gaff-hook hands, and no matter how you approach them just don't come out right.
December 9, 2024 at 3:12 AM
The absolute oddity that is Simosthenurus, a Pleistocene short-faced kangaroo.
These weirdos seemed to have walked with alternate strides on single-toed feet, had gaff-hook hands, and no matter how you approach them just don't come out right.
These weirdos seemed to have walked with alternate strides on single-toed feet, had gaff-hook hands, and no matter how you approach them just don't come out right.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
Hi bsky, I’m Douglass.
I’m a palaeobiology geek with a background in zoology & archaeology. You’ll find me deep into thylacines, megafauna marsupials, carnivores, morphology & ecology; thinking about how weird extinct critters lived.
I'm currently a content specialist at Australian Museum.
I’m a palaeobiology geek with a background in zoology & archaeology. You’ll find me deep into thylacines, megafauna marsupials, carnivores, morphology & ecology; thinking about how weird extinct critters lived.
I'm currently a content specialist at Australian Museum.
November 30, 2024 at 10:09 PM
Hi bsky, I’m Douglass.
I’m a palaeobiology geek with a background in zoology & archaeology. You’ll find me deep into thylacines, megafauna marsupials, carnivores, morphology & ecology; thinking about how weird extinct critters lived.
I'm currently a content specialist at Australian Museum.
I’m a palaeobiology geek with a background in zoology & archaeology. You’ll find me deep into thylacines, megafauna marsupials, carnivores, morphology & ecology; thinking about how weird extinct critters lived.
I'm currently a content specialist at Australian Museum.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
Thrilled to share: out in @natureportfolio.bsky.social (!) just in time for Thanksgiving, the dinosaurian history of how your turkey does the twist. Fibular reduction enabled mid-drumstick mobility, unlocking extreme knee long-axis rotation in theropods 🍗🦖🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08251-w
November 20, 2024 at 4:15 PM
Thrilled to share: out in @natureportfolio.bsky.social (!) just in time for Thanksgiving, the dinosaurian history of how your turkey does the twist. Fibular reduction enabled mid-drumstick mobility, unlocking extreme knee long-axis rotation in theropods 🍗🦖🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08251-w
Tried to pull together a pack of AU/NZ palaeo crew - there's gotta be more, who have I missed?
🦘🥝🦕
go.bsky.app/JU83Md1
🦘🥝🦕
go.bsky.app/JU83Md1
November 15, 2024 at 7:07 AM
Tried to pull together a pack of AU/NZ palaeo crew - there's gotta be more, who have I missed?
🦘🥝🦕
go.bsky.app/JU83Md1
🦘🥝🦕
go.bsky.app/JU83Md1
You're only one click away from all your CT science needs!
Dang I love starter packs.
Dang I love starter packs.
Do you love talking about tomography as much as I do? I made a starter pack full of people who use CT to do their science!! Let me know if you want to join in on the tomography talk! Other 3D imaging modalities also welcome ☢️🩻👩🔬
go.bsky.app/VjBpAAy
go.bsky.app/VjBpAAy
November 15, 2024 at 6:57 AM
You're only one click away from all your CT science needs!
Dang I love starter packs.
Dang I love starter packs.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
ok ok I have tried to pull together a list of all the natural history museums and people who work at them!
Unsurprisingly this is very NHM London biased, so if you work at or know of other natural history museums on here then let me know! 👇
go.bsky.app/NtdUnyF
Unsurprisingly this is very NHM London biased, so if you work at or know of other natural history museums on here then let me know! 👇
go.bsky.app/NtdUnyF
November 10, 2024 at 1:42 PM
ok ok I have tried to pull together a list of all the natural history museums and people who work at them!
Unsurprisingly this is very NHM London biased, so if you work at or know of other natural history museums on here then let me know! 👇
go.bsky.app/NtdUnyF
Unsurprisingly this is very NHM London biased, so if you work at or know of other natural history museums on here then let me know! 👇
go.bsky.app/NtdUnyF
Hi bsky, I'm Hazel.
I'm a functional morphologist and I love interesting critters, especially mammals. I research extinct marsupials, helped make a cool dinosaur exhibition at Melbourne Museum, and currently manage the vertebrate collections at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
I'm a functional morphologist and I love interesting critters, especially mammals. I research extinct marsupials, helped make a cool dinosaur exhibition at Melbourne Museum, and currently manage the vertebrate collections at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
November 10, 2024 at 1:02 AM
Hi bsky, I'm Hazel.
I'm a functional morphologist and I love interesting critters, especially mammals. I research extinct marsupials, helped make a cool dinosaur exhibition at Melbourne Museum, and currently manage the vertebrate collections at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
I'm a functional morphologist and I love interesting critters, especially mammals. I research extinct marsupials, helped make a cool dinosaur exhibition at Melbourne Museum, and currently manage the vertebrate collections at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
#marchifthemammals2024 day 17, a mama Propalorchestes novaculacephalus!
#sciart #paleontology #paleoart
#sciart #paleontology #paleoart
March 20, 2024 at 5:16 PM
#marchifthemammals2024 day 17, a mama Propalorchestes novaculacephalus!
#sciart #paleontology #paleoart
#sciart #paleontology #paleoart
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
I had fun time consulting on this episode of
@SciShow! It's great seeing it come together: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYs...
@SciShow! It's great seeing it come together: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYs...
This Video Game Software Helps Us Do Paleontology
The same technology that helps you rack up kills in your favorite FPS games also helps paleontologists solve million-year-old mysteries. Thanks to Dr. Anne K...
www.youtube.com
March 9, 2024 at 1:18 AM
I had fun time consulting on this episode of
@SciShow! It's great seeing it come together: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYs...
@SciShow! It's great seeing it come together: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYs...
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
I’m excited for the upcoming publication of our paper summarizing the lessons learned from seven years of specimen digitization. The oVert project has produced tens of thousands of datasets and is changing the way people view and use collections.
February 4, 2024 at 5:12 PM
I’m excited for the upcoming publication of our paper summarizing the lessons learned from seven years of specimen digitization. The oVert project has produced tens of thousands of datasets and is changing the way people view and use collections.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
is it time to bust out my "bigfoot is bears" photo collection again? if your mental image of a bear is a thick-furred, fat glossy male bear in autumn, you're probably not prepared for how weird their proportions can look in spring, or when walking upright, like they frequently do.
January 20, 2024 at 4:21 PM
is it time to bust out my "bigfoot is bears" photo collection again? if your mental image of a bear is a thick-furred, fat glossy male bear in autumn, you're probably not prepared for how weird their proportions can look in spring, or when walking upright, like they frequently do.
Throwing together a last-minute poster for CAVEPS2023 next week, and feeling like a Very Serious Scientist with my Lady Lovely Locks colour scheme.
November 24, 2023 at 6:16 AM
Throwing together a last-minute poster for CAVEPS2023 next week, and feeling like a Very Serious Scientist with my Lady Lovely Locks colour scheme.
I'm so fascinated by the posture and proportions of this thing! Monotremes are wild.
Have we all celebrated the rediscovery of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna yet, 🦊🧪 Bluesky?
It's been rediscovered in New Guinea by a team from @oxfordbiology.bsky.social led by James Kempton, after previously only being scientifically recorded once (in 1961).
www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11...
It's been rediscovered in New Guinea by a team from @oxfordbiology.bsky.social led by James Kempton, after previously only being scientifically recorded once (in 1961).
www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11...
November 11, 2023 at 10:24 AM
I'm so fascinated by the posture and proportions of this thing! Monotremes are wild.
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
Range of motion simulation shows that creodonts (a type of early placental mammals) had surprisingly mobile spines, despite the interlocking morphology of the vertebral articulations! New study by Anne Kort & Katrina Jones:
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
November 20, 2024 at 5:18 PM
Range of motion simulation shows that creodonts (a type of early placental mammals) had surprisingly mobile spines, despite the interlocking morphology of the vertebral articulations! New study by Anne Kort & Katrina Jones:
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Dr Hazel L Richards
New paper by my colleagues and I on the reproductive anatomy of a leopard seal 🦭
Leopard seal reproduction is mostly unknown. This note from a Monash Uni dissection discusses the importance of morphology in providing some clues.
Open access paper here:
doi.org/10.1111/mms....
Leopard seal reproduction is mostly unknown. This note from a Monash Uni dissection discusses the importance of morphology in providing some clues.
Open access paper here:
doi.org/10.1111/mms....
https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13067
Wiley Online Library requires cookies for authentication and use of other site features; therefore, cookies must be enabled to browse the site. Detailed information on how Wiley uses cookies can be fo...
doi.org
September 4, 2023 at 2:21 PM
New paper by my colleagues and I on the reproductive anatomy of a leopard seal 🦭
Leopard seal reproduction is mostly unknown. This note from a Monash Uni dissection discusses the importance of morphology in providing some clues.
Open access paper here:
doi.org/10.1111/mms....
Leopard seal reproduction is mostly unknown. This note from a Monash Uni dissection discusses the importance of morphology in providing some clues.
Open access paper here:
doi.org/10.1111/mms....