Dr Valentina Rossi

It was amazing having you with us! 💪🏻

I’m delighted to announce that I’m a Guest Advisor for an Article Collection for “All Earth” @tandfresearch.bsky.social called “Recent Advances in Biomolecular Paleontology”.

We want to increase our confidence in reporting Ancient Biomolecules and best practice in the field.

#paleontology

🐸 NEW PAPER OUT!
This time it’s all about FROGS and their melanosomes!

Falk et al., 2025, iScience: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.114220

#palaeontology #frogs #deeptime

New paper #alert
It’s all about melanin 🙌 and it stems one of the biggest discussion and collaboration I’ve ever been part of.
Thank you to all the coauthors and melanin experts for this incredible project.

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

#melanin #technology #palaentology #stem

A week of talks about synchrotron applications, art, archeology & palaeontology!!!

Incredible venue at @gettymuseum.bsky.social and amazing new and old colleagues 🔝

Thank you to the NSF SEES scholarship that enabled me to present my latest work on 300 Ma fossils 🙏

#womeninsteam #palaeontology

If you are in Cork the 24th of September don’t miss out on this free talk organized by the Cork Geological Association.
We’ll explore the world of fossil forgeries, their history and how modern palaeontology can help unmask them.

The event is free and open to ALL 😊
@ucc.ie

#palaeontology #stem

Our Short Course in Analytical Palaeontology 2025 is open for registration y’all!!

This is an intensive 5-day course in analytical palaeontology for researchers at any career stage.

Info&Registration 👇

www.ucc.ie/en/microbeam...

@ucc.ie
#stem #palaeontology #taphonomy

Illustration showing a pair of Mirasaura perched on fern fronds. The green animals show their tall orange, brown and white crests while a small beetle flies over one of them

Here it is! Please welcome the AMAZING Mirasaura grauvogeli, a NEW MARVELOUS Drepanosaur published in NATURE today!
This astonishing reptile lived during the Middle Triassic in Europe and it possessed an amazing crest made of plume-like structures!

I was commissioned to bring it to life
#paleoart

Is it a bird? A monkey? No, it's a 'miraculous' new prehistoric reptile Mirasaura grauvogeli had a featherlike crest and a tail like a monkey. “It's been a long time since I've been so blown away by a new fossil discovery.”

Proud to make my National Geographic debut with this incredible discovery! Meet Mirasaura, an extremely weird little guy with independently-evolved "feathers" that solves a longstanding Triassic mystery and makes one of the period's oddest families even stranger.

(Now with a fixed link!)

💪🏻

If you want to know more check out the video about #mirasaura with expert @stephanspiekman.bsky.social

It has been an incredible honor to work with you and all the team on such an incredible fossil! It was a dream come true 🤩

Analyses with @ucc.ie detected melanosomes within the crest's soft tissues. These resemble those in modern feathers more than those in reptilian skin or mammalian hair. This suggests the crest of #Mirasaura may have been pigmented and displayed visually 🌈 #FossilMelanosomes @she-paleo.bsky.social

🚨 So excited to finally share an incredible discovery from the #Triassic, Grès à Voltzia! Our international team, led by @stephanspiekman.bsky.social and published today in @nature.com, reveals a new reptile, #Mirasaura grauvogeli, donning an elaborate crest 🦎🔬✨
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Meet this marvelous fossil reptile from the Triassic that is challenging our current understanding of skin evolution!

@stephanspiekman.bsky.social @orlabe.bsky.social what an amazing journey and discovery!! What a great team! 🥳

@nature.com

#softtissues #triassic #reptiles

Artwork by Gabriel Ugueto

I am proud and grateful to present a dream project today in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Meet #Mirasaura grauvogeli, a #wonderreptilewith skin appendages that rival feathers and hairs, challenging our view of reptile #evolution🪶🦎

Incoming new short course in analytical palaeontology in Cork @ucc.ie

👩🏼‍💻 Are you working in taphonomy and/or soft tissue preservation? Would you like to expand your skills? This week-long course is for you!

You can bring your own samples!

#paleontology #stem #learning

How pterosaurs learned to fly: scientists have been looking in the wrong place to solve this mystery New findings may have solved the debate around why scientists have never found the missing link between dinosaurs and pterosaurs.

📚 Also on The Conversation for a #scicomm breakdown: theconversation.com/how-pterosau...

The lagerpetid Scleromochlus, one of the closest relatives of pterosaurs. Artowrk by Gabriel Ugueto

‪[1/n] New paper co-lead by @emmadnn.bsky.social‬ @macroecoevoale.bsky.social‬ and I: we combined fossil occurrences, biogeography and climate modelling to investigate the origins and early evolution of pterosaurs 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thrilled to have been awarded the Prof. Adrian Dixon 180 UCC PostDoc of the Year Award!
@ucc.ie @uccresearch.bsky.social
@uccinnovation.bsky.social

#research&innovation #palaeontology #womeninstem

This is so relevant to us 😱

Super interesting paper outlining the damaging impact of the 'Gollum effect': researchers who restrict access to resources.

Very relevant to palaeo work regarding the gatekeeping of collection material and the harm this causes to science. Worth a read!

www.cell.com/one-earth/fu...

Sharing the latest gossip about #fossils & #volcanoes during this week @pintofscienceie.bsky.social #pint25 #scicomm

What a great night 🔝

Nicole Todd @she-paleo.bsky.social Daniel Folk

@ucc.ie

@pintofscienceie.bsky.social Kristoff Nieves

I’m soooo excited for this year @pintofscienceie.bsky.social where I’ll be a speaker presenting the incredible story of an iconic fossil from Italy 🤩

Book your free ticket: pintofscience.ie/event/hidden...

Abstract submission is now open for #2025SVP in Birmingham! Deadline is June 3rd & all key information is here:

vertpaleo.org/abstract-sub...

A 30,000-Year-Old Feather Is a First-of-Its-Kind Fossil - Eos A new analysis of a fossil found in 1889 has unveiled the presence of zeolites—and an entirely new mineralization method.

A 30,000-year-old feather fossil is the first soft tissue known to have been mineralized by zeolites.

Comments from @she-paleo.bsky.social @ucc.ie and Mary Schweitzer at North Carolina State University.

eos.org/articles/a-3...

A Vinciguerria mabahiss from the northern Red Sea measuring 6.2 mm total length. Courtesy of Dr. Todd Clardy.

🐟 A new study shines a light on the mechanics of bioluminescence in the rare fish 𝘝𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘴 and we explore some of the other fish lighting up the deep: bit.ly/LightsBelow @realfishdoc.bsky.social

Decorative background of an artistic coral. Text says “Winifred Goldring Award. Apply by April 30th!” The logos for the Association of Women Geoscientists and the Paleontological Society are at the bottom

Opportunity for women students in paleontology! The Winifred Goldring Award will be presented to three women graduate students and the AWG Undergraduate Paleontology Award will be presented to a student pursuing a career in paleontology. Due April 30th. More information here: tinyurl.com/msdc3m68

Understanding Pliosaurs with Dr Judyth Sassoon - Episode1: What is a Pliosaur YouTube video by The Etches Collection

youtube.com/watch?v=zJBh...