Matt McKeown

Screenshot of Dimetrodon from Surviving Earth and the concept art of it

Screenshots of baby Ischiguastia and my concept art of it

As the time to talk #SurvivingEarth nears, I wanted to say that I’m extremely proud to have been part of the amazing team who worked on it

I was commissioned by Tim Haines (producer of Walking with Dinosaurs) and his team, to create the concept art for MANY animals for this project!

#paleoart

this cures what ails me every time

CRUROTARSI🐊 these are only a few examples of how diverse the lineage Crocodiles come from used to be 🐊 #crurotarsi #pseudosuchia #paleoart #purussaurus #deinosuchus #postosuchus #plesiosuchus #arizonasaurus #phytosauria

New fossils may settle debate over mysterious sail-backed spinosaurs Spinosaurs have sometimes been portrayed as swimmers or divers, but a new species of these dinosaurs bolsters the idea that they were more like gigantic herons

In which I provide a few thoughts on the new Spinosaurus species, S. mirabilis.

www.newscientist.com/article/2516...

I also stressed the deep connections between one of the study authors - Nathan Myhrvold - and Geoffrey Epstein to New Scientist. They didn't mention it, neither has anyone else.

The Evolutionary Morphology Research Group (EvoMoRG: www.evomorg.org) at the Department of Palaeontology of the University of Vienna seeks a motivated PhD student (University Praedoc Assistant) as soon as possible.

For more information visit: jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...

My department at CSU Northridge is hiring a vertebrate functional morphologist! We've got a great EEB group, and we're looking for someone to carry forward a tradition of enriching organismal courses and community-engaged research. App review starts March 15

csucareers.calstate.edu/mob/cw/en-us...

Flattened fossils in a pale sandstone showing a long, catshark-shaped shark from the Jurassic. Below are grey silhouettes of these body shapes and a palaeoart reconstruction of the shark in life

Check out our new #OpenAccess paper in @commsbio.nature.com redescribing bewhiskered Jurassic shark Bavariscyllium, led by Sebastian Stumpf. Although relationships hard to pin down, its catshark-esque form shows sharks explored varied body shapes from the start. 🦈〰️

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

PhD Research Fellows in geosciences, planetary or exoplanetary sciences – up to three positions (294610) | University of Oslo Job title: PhD Research Fellows in geosciences, planetary or exoplanetary sciences – up to three positions (294610), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Sunday, March 1, 2026

Apply for PhD Fellowships at the Centre for Planetary Habitability in Oslo! There are projects for geologists, paleontologists, paleobiologists, astrobiologists, stats-y folks, geoscientists and planetary folks! www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Ophthalmosaurus skeleton mount positioned as if about to eat the camera

POV: you are ichthyosaur food

Job Opportunity at the RVC: Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences We have an exciting opening for up to two academics at Lecturer or Senior Lecturer level to join the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at our Camden campus.  The posts are suitable for res...

2 RVC faculty jobs are advertised now!
Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences
Comparative Biomedical Sciences Department
Location: Camden (King's Cross, London)
Very broad search in the CBS department's remit
jobs.rvc.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
EDI-friendly

Another #DAWNDINOS paper submitted! A deep dive into locomotor function and biomechanics in the awesome Late Triassic "rauisuchian" Postosuchus.

RVC will be advertising 2 new faculty posts soon, broadly in comparative biomedical science (our department name). Email me jhutchinson@rvc.ac.uk to get informed (I am not on the search panel; just helping). www.rvc.ac.uk/about/the-rv...

Ediacaran fossil surface on the coastline of Newfoundland, Canada

This #FossilFriday I am delighted to share a postdoctoral position that we @deeptimeecology.bsky.social @camzoology.bsky.social are advertising on early animal evolution in the #Ediacaran.

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc...

The first attempt to reconstruct Tyrannosaurus rex, in the 1905 paper in which Osborn named it and a panel mount of the skeleton (middle), from the 1916 paper in which Osborn described and named it.

Founders of modern paleontology, and their contributions to systemic racism, classism and sexism (🧵)

Henry Osborn (1857–1935), responsible for naming of Tyrannosaurus & Velociraptor; president of ANHM.
Co-founder of the American Eugenics Society. Contributing to books later praised by Hitler.

My first book, "Die Welt der Plesiosaurier," is now officially out!

It has nearly 300 pages and features a state-of-the-art overview of plesiosaurs. The book is also filled with numerous photographs and wonderful illustrations by @joschuaknuppe.bsky.social. 1/3
#book #fossils #plesiosaurs #nature

I'm pleased to announce that our reassessment of the Portuguese plesiosaur Lusonectes sauvagei was published yesterday in PeerJ. 1/4

Link to publication: peerj.com/articles/206...

#palaeontology #portugal #plesiosaur #jurassic

Herrera, Y. et al. 2026. A complete morphological description of Dakosaurus maximus (Crocodyliformes: Thalattosuchia) with further insights into their palaeoecology. Palaeontologia Electronica, 29(1):a4.
doi.org/10.26879/157...

Skeletal reconstruction of specimen DMA-JP-2009/001. Like other metriorhynchids its long with a streamlined body, triangular and deep skull with large eyes, long teeth, a tail fluke and very short arms.

The fossil of DMA-JP-2009/001 as it is preserved. The skeleton is complete and posed in a U-shape, with the head curving up to the right and the tail to the left. A scalebar is shown equivalent to 1 meter.

New paper just dropped finally describing a complete specimen of Dakosaurus maximus and what a beauty it is. Some highlights, in addition to this being a long time coming, is the presence of bitemarks on the face and chondrichthyan material in the stomach
doi.org/10.26879/1577

Three giant ichthyosaurs emerge from the water in front of a hazy, cloudy sky. The left animal has the arms of a large squid emerging from its mouth, and the right has surfaced far enough to show its front left flopper. The central animal looms above us, eclipsing the sun with its enormous snout. Two pterosaurs fly past the closest specimen, dwarfed by the emergent swimmer like pigeons circling a cathedral spire.

SPPOOOSSSHHH... PHHHFFFFFFF... SSSSSSHHHHHHHH...

To paraphrase Bob Ross, you have to make the noises when looking at #paleoart, otherwise it doesn't work.

2018 illustration of giant Triassic ichthyosaurs Shonisaurus, surfacing in waters that once covered Nevada. #art #fossil #paleontology #sciart

Soft-tissue preservation in an ichthyosaur from the lower Cretaceous (Barremian - Aptian) of Colombia In recent years, global research on soft-tissue preservation in fossils has grown significantly, offering insights into the biology, taphonomy, and di…

Soft-tissue preservation in an ichthyosaur from the lower Cretaceous (Barremian - Aptian) of Colombia
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What do you call a reptile that looks like a lizard but isn't? I'm Nothosaurus...

Helping to understand ecosystem recovery after the PT-extinction, a large new nothosaurian is described, adding to the evidence of large predators in the Tethys shallow seas! 🧪👇
doi.org/10.1093/zool...
#FossilFriday

Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity The Department of Biology was established in 2010 through the merger of the Departments of Ecology, Cell and Organism Biology, Biological Undergraduate Education, and the Biological Museums. The depar

Come and join me and my colleagues at the Department of Biology, #LundUniversity in #sweden! We have am open position as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity.

Apply here no later than February 11 2026:

https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:848749/type:job/where:4/apply:1

Post-Doctoral Opportunity in Evolutionary and Conservation Genomics!

If you are curious and passionate about ecology, evolution and the natural world come work with me in the Department of Biology at NYU!

More details here!
apply.interfolio.com/180051

Postdoctoral position in History of Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen

=> Philosophy job Copenhagen – postdoc early modern philosophy – Scandinavian and Latin required
employment.ku.dk/faculty/?sho...

Only 7 more days to apply for an NMNH Research Undergrad internship/experience! naturalhistory.si.edu/research/nat...

Last years field assistant holding a Manx Shearwater on the isle of Rum (under a towel), retrieving a GPS device after a bird has returned from a foraging trip!

We are looking to hire a Seabird Field Assistant for 2026 for our Manx Shearwater research project.

Please share this to anyone who'd like to get out in the field this summer and learn about biotelemetry, bird handling and research into animal behaviour.

drive.google.com/file/d/1SGZt...

NEW ARTWORK TO START 2026

Here's "Deep Blue Buffet," commissioned by The Etches Collection. Featured, from the Late #Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay, are #SeaRex #Hybodus #Hypsocormus #Metriorhynchus #Aspidorhynchus & #Allothrissops

#SciArt #PaleoArt #MarineReptiles #Pliosaurs #Pliosaurus #JurassicWorld

Artist's impression of rocks on a barren ocean floor, devoid of life, tectonism, or volcanic activity. Europa's seafloor is probably a bit like this, but in absolute darkness (which doesn't make for all that compelling a picture).

New paper alert!

tl;dr: the seafloor of Europa is probably tectonically inert, meaning little to no active fracturing that could expose fresh rock to seawater.

Without such water–rock reactions the prospect for there being life within Europa just took a big hit.

A thread:

Finally out! We studied the retinas of the longest-living vertebrate, the Greenland shark, and found that the retinas remain remarkably healthy in animals around 150 years old. What is the mechanism? It may be a highly efficient DNA repair system. Enjoy!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

AMNH REU

Come learn with us! #REU!