@stupond
PaleoStu. Self-employed creative specialising in scientific visualisation, illustration, motion graphics, graphic design, 3D. Avocational palaeontologist working on armoured dinosaurs. Scientific Associate at The Natural History Museum, London 🦕
A picture of fresh frogspawn in a local stream (seen today 230226), with a frog in attendance.
First frogspawn of the year seen this morning here at the foot of the Cheshire Peak District. prev at same location: 04.03.25; 29.02.24; 03.03.23; 08.03.22; 12.03.21; 09.03.20.
Just got my hot-off-the-press copy of the new edition of Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved, written by @tetzoo.bsky.social and yours truly, with gorgeous new cover art from @bobnichollsart.bsky.social: finally, a sauropodomorph on the cover 🦕🦕🦕 On sale soon!
I've decided to revise and update one of my most important and popular blogposts "How do I become a paleontologist?".
I still get asked this every few weeks so having a new version of this post to share is so useful to put people on track.
archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2026/02/17/h...
I'm really thrilled to see the "Cromhall Croc" finally getting the attention it deserves! Please welcome Galahadosuchus jonesi, named after Ewan's school science teacher, who inspired his love of the natural world ♥️
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
After a storm last week the sand stripped from the beach to reveal a 40 cm long iguanodontian dinosaur foot cast originally from the shores of a 120 million year old lagoon (Vectis Formation). #IsleofWight #FossilFriday
An isolated T. rex manual ungual found whilst prospecting in the Hell Creek, Montana in 2010
Got T. rex on my mind for the first time in a while. Here's an isolated T. rex manual ungual in the wild, found by one of the team whilst prospecting in the Hell Creek, Montana in 2010. #FossilFriday
A speculative reconstruction of the head and neck of Polacanthus with cutaneous spikes drawn in 2015.
If cutaneous spikes were widespread in ornithischians, it'd make any ankylosaurs sporting them look even more dramatic. I suspect they were more so than we often depict them (see Spicomellus). Speculative doodle of the head and neck of Polacanthus from a 2015 sketchbook. #ankylosaurs #SciArt
Cover for my book 'Tracking the Golden Isles: The Natural and Human Histories of the Georgia Coast,' with title, subtitle, and author name (Anthony J. Martin) at the bottom. Cover image is a photograph showing a sandy beach in front of a coastal dune with abundant tall grasses growing on it, and a human (my spouse Ruth) standing at the base of the dunes; on the white sandy surface are many tracks, some of which have a large sinuous trails between them, made by alligators coming to and from the ocean. Photo was taken on Sapelo Island, Georgia (USA).
Screenshot of University of Georgia (Athens) Press webpage with blurb for 'Tracking the Golden Isles: The Natural and Human Histories of the Georgia Coast' under banner of PRAISE: "The Sherlock Holmes of the Georgia coast, Anthony J. Martin bounds onto shores and marshes eager to solve mysteries found there. How does a knobbed whelk bury itself in the sand? Why, once buried, does it attract dwarf surf clams? Why are there two tiny holes next to each of them? Which gull has left its prints around? With remarkable passion, a lighthearted style, and a beautiful way of translating science into plain language, Martin teaches us to read the coastal landscapes. He pays attention to the smallest of details, tiny things I would miss. This mesmerizing book is being proudly added to my knapsack of field guides. ~Janisse Ray, author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood and Drifting into Darien"
My 2020 book 'Tracking the Golden Isles: The Natural and Human Histories of the Georgia Coast' (@ugapress.bsky.social) is coming out in paperback next month (March 15)! If you missed its debut in May 2020, you can get it now. Preorder at: www.ugapress.org/978082037806... 🧪📚 #Booksky
It's the weekend... and relax.
#FossilFriday The ischium bone on the right from #IsleofWight formed part of the iguanodontian dinosaur pelvis. In 1849 the bone was understandably still something of an enigma and here has been misidentified by Gideon Mantell as a clavicle.
A 43 years old daylight simulation bulb that popped last night.
This is one of two 60w daylight simulation bulbs purchased when I was an art student 43 years ago. The first popped in 2021 after 39 years of continuous service, near daily usage. The second incandesced for 4 years until it pinged last night. We shall not see their light again. #SciArt
For #FossilFriday a small #IsleofWight iguanodontian dinosaur tibia in the collections @nhm-london.bsk.social. What makes it special is that it is from the Gideon Mantell collection. The fossil takes me back 125 million years but its history casts me back to the 1820s.
Cool new paper from @peterfalkingham.com and Stephen Gatesy:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Oooh, grim. Like root canal work. Best of luck!
Cool new paper alert! Some of our rhabdodontids are not what they seem. Great work on European ceratopsians from @tweetisaurus.bsky.social et al.
I love this!
The foot of the #IsleofWight iguanodontian dinosaur Comptonatus chasei and a 125 million year old foot cast also from the island. The island provided Richard Owen with the first good evidence for the dinosaur origins of the tracks. #FossilFriday.
This is a delightful article about an event we all are familiar with. The world needs more philosophical mirth.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Good to see salmon back in the Mersey, Goyt and Bollin. Here at the foot of the Cheshire Peak District close to the Bollin‘s source, we see dippers, kingfishers, wagtails, trout, egrets etc. The river is not treated kindly as it winds its way join the Mersey.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I think this might happen if you listen from outside the UK, this might help: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/...
Great piece on this morning's Today program on Radio 4 about the discovery of the weird and very spiky Jurassic ankylosaur Spicomellus from Morocco, featuring @tweetisaurus.bsky.social, @richardjbutler.bsky.social, @ahmedoussou.bsky.social and @simonwills.bsky.social.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
JOB KLAXON! The @nhm-london.bsky.social is recruiting a micro-CT specialist! jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Me—oldish white guy with light-brown broad-brimmed hat, green shirt, olive-gray shorts, black running shoes—pushing up against a reddish sandstone layer above my head; another sandstone layer above that has a blue in its lower surface, which is a natural cast of a Late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur.
For #FossilFriday & in celebration of all teachers ("K to gray") finishing grades this time of the year, here's me performing a similar task, trying to keep a Late Jurassic sandstone bed with its natural cast of a sauropod track from falling off the outcrop; near Morrison CO (west of Denver). 🧪🦕🐾🪨⚒️
A dinosaur perk was that worn teeth got replaced. A section of the lower jaw of a big iguanodontian from the #IsleofWight shows the process. Tooth replacement was organised in waves known as Zahnreihen, so that large sections of the jaw weren’t left toothless (enlarge to see numbers). #FossilFriday
blimey
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter
In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career.
I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters.
Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
For #FossilFriday a sacrum from a medium sized iguanodontian in the collections of @nhm-london.bsky.social. Found at Sudmoor Point on the #IsleofWight by Reginald Hooley a wine merchant from Southampton who also discovered the fabulous Mantellisaurus in 1914. Iggy sacra are so aesthetic.
I’m a week late but it would be remiss of me not to mark the @nhm-london.bsky.social birthday of Sophie the Stegosaurus #FossilFriday 🎂🎂🎂
Dorsal view of the skull of Pinacosaurus, the specimen is still in its field jacket. Seen at the Dinosaurs of China exhibition in 2017.
Dorsal view of the skull of Pinacosaurus, the specimen is still in its field jacket. Seen at the Dinosaurs of China exhibition in 2017. #FossilFriday
