The paper that turned me into a macroevolution hater...

Update: the Stoplight Loosejaw model is now functional! Later on I'll paint it and give it teeth and gills, but for now I'm setting it aside to focus on other projects.

This fish is quite small, with known specimens usually not growing over a foot long, so my model is about 3-4x life size.

Polypterus senegalus (gray bichir) - my favorite fish!

Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Picasso triggerfish)

Pristigenys alta (short bigeye), with a triggerfish behind it

A cowfish from the Ostraciidae family, not sure which species. It's missing its left horn.

Please enjoy some forward-facing fish from the Biomes Marine Biology Center in RI. Species names in alt text.

#fish #aquarium

Picked up these two from Barnes & Noble today! I've been meaning to read The Last Days of the Dinosaurs by @restingdinoface.bsky.social for a while now, so far it's captivating. I'm afraid I can't tag Darwin but rly looking forward to finally reading Origin too.

Working on a prototype for a Stoplight Loosejaw kinetic model! I wanted to test all the pivot points with paper before doing it with cardboard.

This deep sea fish has one of the most unique and bizarre jaw arrangements, utilizing both the "true" jaw and the hyoid in its gape.

I like to pretend sturgeons don't exist sometimes

Tried drawing a generic fish skull from memory. Who needs a suspensorium anyway.

Photograph of a fossil fish skull in right lateral view. The bone is dark brown/black against a gray matrix.

Out now in Contributions from me and @gilespalaeo.bsky.social, a deep dive into an early member of the sturgeon and paddlefish lineage. Bear with me, but there’s a long backstory highlighting uncertainty about the anatomy of living species and how well-studied fossils can still yield new insights.

Beautiful sunrise

Mola mola often lay on their side at the water surface to sun themselves and warm up their bodies, earning them the common name "sunfish". I was thinking about them a lot at 2 am the other night which spawned whatever this is.

#molamola #sunfish #fish

Dark, shallow underwater scene showing three Astraspis, yellow, finless, jawless fish with armored head swimming to the right, surrounded by some algae and rocks. 3D artwork.

Murky underwater scene with two Eriptychius, dark brownish, finless, jawless fish facing each other, half buried in the soft sediment, with rocks in the background. 3D artwork.

Top view of a shallow marine environment with Eriptychius and Astraspis, two different species of jawless fishes, loitering around the soft sediment and rocks. 3D artwork.

Look at my fesh
#Art #SciArt

Another brilliant example that nature has never been limited by the strict human definitions of "male and female". Fish especially show a mind-blowing variety of reproductive strategies!

Thrissops formosus JME Ett 3111 on display at MHNH

feesh

Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

I'm making a fish-core playlist! What songs should I add?

-looking for fish related lyrics or just vibes

-no soundtracks please, unless you feel strongly about one particular song (I know subnautica exists, love it, not what I'm looking for here)

Who up deciphering they taphonomic processes

Disc-shaped fossils with concentric grooves scattered through a limestone block.

Image of the apex of the Great Pyramid, taken from the base of the southeast corner. The layers of massive blocks of limestone composing the pyramid are clearly visible. The pyramid is set against a sunny blue sky.

I've seen fossils in some remarkable places, but this takes the prize: the benthic foram Nummulites in the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza. These massive blocks were quarried from the Eocene Mokkatam Formation when a relictual population of woolly mammoths still lived on Wrangel Island.

Thank you! Glad I got the expert approval.

Absolutely thrilled to have seen the new Chicago Archaeopteryx exhibit. This specimen never ceases to amaze me. Featuring my fanart of said dead bird.

#chicagoarchaeopteryx #fieldmuseum

SUE looking delightfully green

#fieldmuseum #trex

This is one of the most absurd things I've ever seen in a crystal shop. Top tier impulse purchase.

I think they were more concerned with trying to suck on the tank wall lol

Tomorrow :D

Reptiles doing the reptile things (Burpee museum)

Got to pet a sturgeon at the Burpee museum, my life has peaked

Hi Jane

Mahjong in Chicago with friends and my Therizinosaurus son named Chad Kroger

Flag of California. It features a grizzly bear walking atop a grassy field, a red star on the upper left, a red bar at the bottom, and the words "California Republic" all on a white background

Flag of Chernyshevsky District. It features blue and green regions on the background, white lines dividing them, and atop them, a golden flower(?) and an illustration of the dinosaur Kulindadromeus

Flag of Dornogovi. It features horizontal blue, yellow, and green stripes. On the top left is a blue-and-orange emblem with a white silhouette of a sauropod in it

Flag of Srednekolymsk. It features a red sun on the top right, a stylized river, and a red mammoth

Flags with extinct animals on them:
- California (California grizzly bear)
- Chernyshevsky District, Russia (Kulindadromeus)
- Doronogovi, Mongolia (sauropod)
- Srednekolymsk, Russia woolly (mammoth)

Hell nah no chondrichthyes in this house 😤

Listening to Limp Bizkit while drawing fish skeletals. Not sure if this is making me feel more or less sane tbh

Gaze upon this magnificent artifact I found at the local thrift store the other day