Marc Srour
trilobutt.bsky.social
Marc Srour
@trilobutt.bsky.social
Producer at ABL Films. Flair operator. Phantom operator. Unreal Engine fanatic. Ex-palaeontologist.
1
Reconciling Species Concepts: An Ecological Perspective
doi.org/10.1002/ajpa...

Argues that hominin taxonomy has proliferated unnecessarily because researchers ignore the competitive exclusion principle and fail to distinguish pseudo-extinctions from true extinctions
doi.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:38 PM
2
Data equity in paleobiology: progress, challenges, and future outlook
doi.org/10.1017/pab....

This review documents how palaeobiology's 50-year digital revolution has increased data availability while failing to address fundamental inequities in fossil collection and access.
Data equity in paleobiology: progress, challenges, and future outlook | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Data equity in paleobiology: progress, challenges, and future outlook - Volume 51 Issue 1
doi.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:38 PM
3
Museum "dark data" show variable impacts on deep-time biogeographic and evolutionary history
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Unpublished museum specimens expand the geographic ranges of Palaeozoic echinoid genera by average 35%, barely affecting temporal ranges or diversity patterns.
Museum ‘dark data’ show variable impacts on deep-time biogeographic and evolutionary history
Abstract. The age of digitally accessible datasets has transformed palaeontology, enabling previously impossible macroevolutionary insights. However, a sub
doi.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:38 PM
4
Scientific and Artistic Representations in avian evolution
doi.org/10.7203/sjp....

Buscalioni finds that abstract artists intuitively captured the modular organisation of dino-bird evolution when reducing birds to geometric essentials.
Representaciones Científicas y Artísticas en la evolución aviar | Spanish Journal of Palaeontology
doi.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:38 PM
5
From linear measurements in multivariate analysis to computational palaeontology
doi.org/10.4435/BSPI...

This review tracks palaeontology's transformation from descriptive fieldwork to computational science.
Società Paleontologica Italiana - Homepage
La Società Paleontologica Italiana è una libera associazione culturale, apartitica e non lucrativa che opera per il progresso della Paleontologia...
doi.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:38 PM
1
A microscopic Burgess Shale: small carbonaceous fossils from a deeper water biota and the distribution of Cambrian non-mineralized faunas
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Describes a diverse microfossil biota from a Cambrian deep-water slope setting in Canada's Northwest Territories.
A microscopic Burgess Shale: small carbonaceous fossils from a deeper water biota and the distribution of Cambrian non-mineralized faunas
Abstract. (SCFs) have disclosed a record of organically preserved faunas from Cambrian epeiric seas. Their phylogenetically and functionally derived compon
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
2
Exotic cuticular specializations in a Cambrian scalidophoran
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Cambrian scalidophoran bearing complex arborescent cuticular projections with up to five recursive orders of branching, morphologically unlike anything in known scalidophoran counterparts.
Exotic cuticular specializations in a Cambrian scalidophoran
Abstract. Scalidophora, the ecdysozoan group including priapulids, kinorhynchs and loriciferans, comprises some of the most abundant and ecologically impor
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
3
Cambrian carbonaceous protoconodonts and the early fossil record of the Chaetognatha
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Describes abundant organic protoconodonts (grasping spines from chaetognaths) from Cambrian of Estonia and Sweden, preserved as carbonaceous fossils rather than the usual phosphatic ones.
Cambrian carbonaceous protoconodonts and the early fossil record of the Chaetognatha
Abstract. Fossil remains from the early Cambrian Period suggest an ancient origin for the phylum Chaetognatha. As macrofossils, Cambrian chaetognaths are r
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
4
A peritidal Burgess-Shale-type fauna from the middle Cambrian of western Canada
doi.org/10.1111/pala...

This paper reports the first Burgess Shale-type fauna from a periodically exposed tidal flat environment, where mudcracks show the seafloor regularly dried out between tides.
A peritidal Burgess‐Shale‐type fauna from the middle Cambrian of western Canada
Burgess-Shale-type (BST) faunas have proven critical for mapping the Cambrian assembly of animal-dominated ecosystems, but have so far only been reported from fully subaqueous deposits. Here we integ...
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
5
From organisms to biodiversity: the ecology of the Ediacaran/Cambrian transition
doi.org/10.1017/pab....

Traces how early animal ecosystems evolved from generalist-dominated communities in the Ediacaran (pre-558 Ma) to specialist-driven systems by mid-Cambrian times.
From organisms to biodiversity: the ecology of the Ediacaran/Cambrian transition | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
From organisms to biodiversity: the ecology of the Ediacaran/Cambrian transition - Volume 51 Issue 1
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
6
Fossil Lagerstätten and the enigma of anactualistic fossil preservation
doi.org/10.1017/pab....

Two modes of exceptional fossil preservation were widespread in the late Neoproterozoic and early Palaeozoic but no longer occur in comparable marine environments today.
Fossil Lagerstätten and the enigma of anactualistic fossil preservation | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Fossil Lagerstätten and the enigma of anactualistic fossil preservation - Volume 51 Issue 1
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
7
Stratigraphic paleobiology
doi.org/10.1017/pab....

Argues that the fossil record is fundamentally shaped by how sedimentary rocks accumulate, not just by the actual history of life, meaning you can't interpret fossil occurrences literally without understanding the underlying rock record.
Stratigraphic paleobiology | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Stratigraphic paleobiology - Volume 51 Issue 1
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
8
Early eukaryote diversity: a review and a reinterpretation
doi.org/10.1017/pab....

This study reveals that apparent peaks in early eukaryote diversity track sampling effort nearly perfectly rather than reflecting genuine biological radiations.
Early eukaryote diversity: a review and a reinterpretation | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Early eukaryote diversity: a review and a reinterpretation - Volume 51 Issue 1
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
9
Earliest amniote tracks recalibrate the timeline of tetrapod evolution
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Describes footprints from earliest Carboniferous in Victoria (359-354 Ma) that show crown-group amniotes existed at least 35-40 Ma earlier than previously known.
Client Challenge
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
10
Reproductive biology and anatomy of ammonites
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

This paper describes the first ammonite fossil preserving ovaries with immature eggs still in place (along with other internal organs like the digestive tract).
Client Challenge
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 3:20 PM
1
Living Fossil: A Metaphor's Travels Across Popular Culture and the Foundations of Darwinian Evolution and Anthropology
doi.org/10.1007/s107...

This paper traces how "living fossil" bounced between popular culture and science in the Victorian era.
Client Challenge
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
2
Tentzel and the elephant in the room. Inconsistencies in the history of nature and history of humans (not) being discussed when 'fossils' were found in Thuringia in 1695
doi.org/10.1080/0003...

This paper examines a 1695 fossil dispute in Thuringia.
Tentzel and the elephant in the room. Inconsistencies in the history of nature and history of humans (not) being discussed when ‘fossils’ were found in Thuringia in 1695
In 1695 the fossils of a woodland elephant were excavated in Burgtonna (Thuringia). This article deals with the debate between Gotha’s court historiographer Wilhelm Ernst Tentzel (1659–1707), who i...
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
3
Flying turtles in the earliest trees of life: scientific transparency in the phylogenetic works of Ernst Haeckel
doi.org/10.1186/s133...

This paper examines how Ernst Haeckel repeatedly revised his phylogenetic trees between 1866 and 1898.
Client Challenge
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
4
Isaac Newton's pint flagon: beer, veneration, and the history of science
doi.org/10.1098/rsnr...

This paper traces the provenance of a wooden beer flagon Newton gave to his Trinity College mate John Wickins and reveals how beer permeated Newton's life beyond mere drinking.
Isaac Newton’s pint flagon: beer, veneration, and the history of science
Abstract. The first part of this article is the biography of a drinking vessel. The authors examine evidence that a wooden flagon that Newton is on record
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
5
Darwin's scientific gardener: John Scott, the "physiological test" and the importance of character in Victorian science
doi.org/10.1017/S000...

John Scott conducted experiments that appeared to create new species, potentially the experimental proof of evolution Darwin needed
Darwin’s scientific gardener: John Scott, the ‘physiological test’ and the importance of character in Victorian science | The British Journal for the History of Science | Cambridge Core
Darwin’s scientific gardener: John Scott, the ‘physiological test’ and the importance of character in Victorian science - Volume 58 Issue 1
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
6
The late origins of the timeline, or: three paradoxes explained
doi.org/10.1080/0003...

This paper shows that the timeline emerged in the 1750s-1780s through figures like Priestley and Playfair.
The late origins of the timeline, or: three paradoxes explained
We are all used to drawing straight lines to represent time, and above them, we plot historical events or physical or economic data. What to us is a self-evident convention, is however of an astoni...
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
7
Werner Nachtigall (1934-2024)
doi.org/10.1007/s003...

Honours Werner Nachtigall (1934-2024), who essentially created the field of biomimetics in Germany through decades of meticulous work on how insects, birds, and fish actually move through fluids.
Client Challenge
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM