The abstract volume for CSVP 2026 is now available. Check it out to see the amazing research that will be presented!

journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.p...

For #FossilFriday, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who shared my letter. Ultimately I hoped to have many people read it and get people thinking and talking about these issues that effect many in our field. Had lots of constructive conversations and will continue to push for safety for all!

No problem! And if you like I can also message you/others at SVP some other contacts I have now that can help trans and other queer folks feel safe in Ohio too.

I’d love to have some sort of virtual option. Right now I’m mostly inspired by what sicb is doing: having a brown bag talk once a month. I’d love to keep the SVP community connected all year round and allow everyone to participate.

I’d also love to hear other ideas.

If there’s a desire for an online-based robust virtual paleontology “meeting”, my honest best advice is the folks that really really want this to happen aggregate a leadership team and make it happen. This isn’t a dig (🥁) at all, but it’s not going to happen through SVP this year. I ran the 2023 virtual meeting and promise there just isn’t enough time on the calendar to go the SVP route. If a team of 8-12 highly motivated, reliable individuals can be brought together on this and establish 10-point lists of benefits, challenges, and deliverable targets, I will enthusiastically help however I can in a consulting capacity. Please understand though that however much work you think this will be, double that and you might be close. Not trying to discourage anyone, but that’s the reality of these things. That said, accessibility is crucial and this overall concept is definitely worth pursuing.

Regarding potential virtual paleontology meetings. (I built and ran the 2023 SVP virtual meeting.)

It was pretty amazing hearing all the meaningless platitudes from the SVP president of only holding meetings where their membership can feel safe, then turn around and host it in fucking Ohio.

TransOhio TransOhio serves the Ohio transgender and ally communities by providing services, education, support, and advocacy, which promotes and improves the health, safety and life experience of the Ohio trans...

I am glad you're going to provide lots of info for travelers who are at risk. I will help out here by providing a link to Trans Ohio: www.transohio.org . They can help the SVP and anyone attending in person with the nuances of trans safety in Ohio. I have some other contacts too if interested!

They have been clear for years about their intended actions. Therefore, organizations caring for the safety of their members effected by actions of the government should have planned for the worst as soon as he was elected.

Im going to also push back on stating that the government is moving "too fast to respond well". This is simply not true. Yes, the Trump admin is constantly doing things quickly, but they are exactly what they said they would do years ago and along the schedule they outlined.

Regardless, I won't stop advocating for an online option. A "feature complete" online option is not the only option. There are several options that satisfy both conditions of relatively less effort and low cost. I am in talks with folks to try and form a proposal outlining how that would work.

Thanks for responding. It's unfortunate to hear that something virtual has been dismissed. It's especially frustrating as SVP executives in the last town hall suggested they would poll members for interest before making that decision, which did not happen.

Hey @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social

This letter here fully articulates the major problems with the annual meeting right now (there are others to be sure; but these are the big ones now).

I would urge you all to consider this proposal.

And think about the anecdotes presented; they were not cool…

Drumheller at the Tyrell Museum May 1 to 4. Unfortunately registration is closed and it is at max capacity (a good problem to have!).

Definitely not alone in that sentiment. The CSVP (Canadian Society of Vertebrate Paleontology) conference this year will have nearly double its normal attendance and that is mainly due to non Canadians attending. Presumably they're attending as it is an alternative to US based conferences.

A succinct and important message to the 2026 SVP Meeting this year! The United States has created dangerous environments for the LGBTQIA+ community, foreign travel, and Science in general. Not everyone has a safety net - Let's work to ensure that everyone has a safe way to continue participating!

Absolutely. There's been a huge uptick in phone searches at the Canada/US border and I know of at least one person denied entry due to social media posts related to bad mouthing Trump.

No one should have to compromise their safety for their career, and vice versa. @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social needs to add an online option.

Mira is one of the founders of PalaeoPoems. We presented at @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social years ago in Toronto and it gave us a real platform to talk about the project. An online option will give that chance to even more early career researchers!

Letter to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology advocating that their annual meeting have an online option in addition to the in person meeting in Cleveland. Unfortunately, alt text cannot have all of the letter text but the reasoning involves threatof violence to at risk groups in the US as well as issues related to contracting dangerous diseases and other safety threats.

Continuation of letter. Please read previous alt text for summary.

Today, for the safety of all SVP members, I request with this open letter that the @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social provides an online option for this year's annual meeting. Myself and many others no longer feel it is safe to travel to and within the USA. Please share the letter everywhere you can!

Paleontology has an Epstein problem. Women in the field say it's a symptom of a deeper misogyny | CBC Radio The names of hundreds of scientists have appeared in the Epstein files, including prominent dinosaur researchers. As the paleontology community reckons with the fallout of these revelations, women in ...

A few weeks ago CBC reporter Sheena Goodyear reached out to me for comment on the new Spinosaurus paper. I said I couldn’t, because of Epstein connection Nathan Myhrvold’s involvement with it. We got to talking about how paleontology - especially dinosaur research- remains hostile to women. 🧪

A skeleton of the Dinosaur Corythosaurus intermedius, left in the rocks it was found in. The photo views it from the spine. The head and neck are tucked and twisted under the body. The bones are a brown colour, contrasting with the pale gray sandstone. A white plastic cut out of the skull leans against the wall of the building the skeleton is found in.

TMP 1980.023.0004, a Corythosaurus intermedius skeleton left in the ground in Dinosaur Provincial Park. Despite being seen by thousands of visitors to the Park, this specimen and the rocks that preserve it have some surprising secrets to tell still. Stay tuned! #FossilFriday

New records of osteolepiforms, dipnoans (lungfish), onychodonts, and placoderms from Manitoba.
#ManitobaFossils #CanadaFossils
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/...

New paper! How weird could Permian animals get? Turns out, pretty weird. Meet the stem tetrapod Tanyka amnicola from the Pedra de Fogo Formation of northeast Brazil

royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Proof of my precognition, my guess last night for the next fire starter was "dog". Lo and behold.

Happy birthday! I relate to this so much. Especially since starting hrt, people constantly think I'm a decade younger than I am and am now sometimes mistaken for an undergrad 😅

Me looking at a black tree monitor in its enclosure. The monitor is looking right at my smiling face while bracing itself on the enclosure glass with it's front legs.

I love making new friends!

Result from the Joggins Formation #paleostream! This Canadian site is an absolute classic and even if you are not familiar with its name you probably know at least one of its major players...

I have nothing of substance to add re: the condemnation of paleo associations with Epstein, but as the initiator of one of the more recent high-profile SVP ethics cases who spent months going through their process, I have some thoughts re: SVP's handling of ethics cases/reports.

A thread 🧵:

Is @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social being serious here?
No, the presence of a name on an email doesn't establish wrongdoing. But the *content* of those emails is what so many members, including myself, are outraged about. This response does nothing but further degrade my confidence in SVP leadership

Oh sweet!