Really happy to see this paper out. Read Emile's thread for some background on our study ☺️
11.03.2026 18:31
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Really happy to see this paper out. Read Emile's thread for some background on our study ☺️
"These results call into question the validity of the self-domestication hypothesis and provide fresh insights into the evolutionary origins of human aggression."
(Captive) chimpanzees are not more aggressive than bonobos but target sexes differently. - exciting new paper!
doi.org/10.1126/scia...
Our new Tübingen research cluster 'HUMAN ORIGINS' is now on bsky: @humanorigins.bsky.social
Circular for new symposium on marine reptile palaeontology to be held at the Oxford Museum of Natural History between 7-8th October 2026. Abstract submission deadline: 1st June 2026.
🚨 Call for Abstracts 🚨
Abstract submission now open for a symposium meeting on #MarineReptile palaeontology hosted at @morethanadodo.bsky.social from 7-8th October 2026.
Abstract deadline: 1st June 2026
#Palaeontology #Science #SciComm
Regarding knuckle-walker traits in H. sapiens: If you mean scaphoid-centrale fusion, I would argue that the functional significance of this remains obscure.
Anyways, I think we can simply agree to disagree here. I appreciate the exchange though!
Orrorin dentition is better known and various similarities to humans have been described (incl. non-honing lower premolars). Cladistic analyses do not suggest Graecopithecus was a hominin based on dental traits: www.scielo.org.za/pdf/sajs/v11...
Why should we assume that the LCA was a knuckle walker? Evidence for this is rather tentative. And the dental traits linking Graecopithecus to humans are essentially non-existent.
As with the dentition paper, they do not even provide a phylogenetic analysis. Simply not compelling to me
1) "Most traits", as captured in this study by the PCA, point to "Graecopithecus" clustering within the knuckle walker morphospace.
2) I'm open to debate the hominin status of Orrorin, but apart from femur shape, we also have dental traits and biogeography that are in line with it being a hominin.
Result from the Wadi al Hitan #paleostream!
The "valley of the whales" as it is better known is a classic locality from the late Eocene of Egypt. Most famously it is place filled with the remains of early whales, Archaeoceti, but it's less straight forward as a piece than one...
Vector illustration of Birbalomys sondaari, a large squirrel-like ctenodactyloid rodent from Eocene South Asia, leaping towards the viewer, landing on its front feet. The animal is dark brown with a grey underbelly and bright orange cheeks
#marchofthemammals2026 Day 6: A leaping Birbalomys sondaari! Part of a pretty mysterious and obscure early radiation of rodents
I would disagree, given how rampant convergence in locomotor adaptations seems to be among apes (including ones related to bipedalism). Claiming this femur is that of a hominin requires complex assumptions, so that I think it's reasonable to take alternative explanations seriously.
Shared from my PhD lab’s WhasApp chat, how a journal published a paper about the Arctic fox which is 100% an AI hallucination, and journal isn’t retracting it.
www.canids.org/resources/Le...
Damn depressing how fake science and AI is increasingly flooding real science and real work.
What data do you feel are dismissed here?
Bird skeletons in a museum collection. Cassowary in focus.
3D-printed endocast of a nightjar. Segmented by students as part of the course.
Brain of a Nile crocodile - as the extant sister group to birds, crocodilians featured prominently in the course.
Hyacinth macaw taking a bath at Wuppertal zoo.
The last 3 weeks I spent teaching a special new course on bird ecology & behavior: From phylogeny to neurology & behavioral observations; visiting birds in the field, collections, zoos, & labs. Only possible thanks to dedidacted students & support from many excellent colleagues - awesome experience!
My two cents: Just as with previous Graecopithecus papers arguing for a hominin status and "Out of Europe", we are dealing with highly ambiguous data here and considering ape locomotor diversity, parallel evolution of bipedal habits in the Miocene might further complicate the story.
Thoughts?
This is really interesting. There is evidence for strong natural selection on titin (striated muscle elastic component) in snakes and other Squamata/Toxicofera -- especially in wide-gaped snakes. Which makes sense biomechanically. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A close-up of a dark seabird with a long hooked bill, dark blue eye, and a bright turquoise throat patch. Photographed in La Jolla, California.
A Brandt’s Cormorant rocking that electric blue!
#birds #nature #wildlife #photography
Sample images of worker ants of different sizes at various magnifications: 3D models (top) and section views of the heads of four ants (bottom)
#Digitalization: The “Antscan” web platform is the world’s largest digital database of 3D #insect data. It is the result of an international and interdisciplinary cooperation initiated by #KITKarlsruhe and the @oistedu.bsky.social in Japan. www.kit.edu/kit/english/...
"Two charismatic marsupial species that had been thought extinct for 6,000 years are alive in rainforest in remote West Papua."
Oh yeah this is super cool as both the pygmy long-fingered possum and ring-tailed glider were previously only known from fossils 🤯🧪🐀
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Even more excited — our paper is featured on the cover of Science Advances!
Huge thanks to @alexandrejan.bsky.social who took this incredible photo of a ctenophore (aka comb jelly) and the editors.
Here’s the cover 👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Congrats - all the best for things to come!
Result from the Koobi Fora #paleostream! This region on the east side of modern day Lake Turkana in Kenya is a treasure trove for fossils of the early Pleistocene and is most famous for many early human remains, with up to 6 species present throughout the layers...
✨ Starting a new postdoc ✨
I will study decision-making in great tits with @mothprof.bsky.social at the University of Amsterdam, conducting fieldwork with @jmappes.bsky.social in Finland. Very excited about this new adventure! 🤩
I’m excited to share a new project that I hope will be a valuable resource for the paleo community!
I'm working on a textbook about plesiosaurs and compiled a comprehensive overview of all currently valid plesiosaur taxa and some nomina dubia. 1/3
www.sachspal.de/plesiosauria/
#FossilFriday
Just saw the incredibly sad news that Hans-Dieter Sues has passed away. Beyond his major contributions to paleontology, in all my interactions with him over the years, he was a stellar human being. He took great joy in life and in being a paleontologist. I learned so much from him.
#Postdoc #Job opportunity in #AnimalBehaviour with Jorg Massen at @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social. Check out the position here: www.uu.nl/en/organisat...
The few observations that I have made are necessarily imperfect, but I send them, as they afford a method which might lead a naturalist to notice habits otherwise difficult to observe, and so to arrive at conclusions which I in my ignorance of natural history must leave to others. C. V. Bovs
We just don't end papers like this any more. Maybe the world would be better if we did?
⚒️🧪
Thank you - much appreciated!
