Dr Suresh Singh
• Vertebrate Palaeontologist @ The Open University, UK • Studying the links between morphology, ecology & evolution across deep time, with a focus on terrestrial tetrapods & ecosystems • 🌿- 🦕- 🦖
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghRevealing the hidden patterns of shark and ray diversity over the past 145 million years: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
- Presenting a skull of the #dicynodont, Ischigualastia, at the BYU Museum of Paleontology in Provo, Utah 🇺🇸 for this #FossilFriday. This ancient, beaked herbivore was the size of a cow & lived in Argentina 🇦🇷 during the Late #Triassic (~230 Ma). #Paleontology #Science 🧵 1/
- This specimen was found on a 1964 expedition that took BYU's James A. Jensen & a Harvard team of paleontologists to the #Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina. This formation has yielded an amazing array of animal & plant fossils from the #Carnian stage of the Late #Triassic (237-227 Ma). 2/
- #Dicynodonts were an ancient & successful group of #synapsids that lived from the middle of the #Permian to the end of the #Triassic. They were among the largest terrestrial animals of their time, only really surpassed when large dinosaurs began to evolve in the Late Triassic. 3/
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View full threadDicynodonts survived multiple environmental upheavals & mass extinction events but finally met their end in the End-Triassic Mass Extinction (~201 Ma). Why they finally went extinct remains somewhat unclear - perhaps due to their increasing niche specialisation through the Late Triassic? 🧵 End.
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghI need a mood booster, let's talk about capybaras. Here's a capy demonstrating one of MANY ways they can move through the water: running along the bottom. They're 'semi-aquatic' mammals, just like hippos, seals & beavers. They LOVE water. (📷: Fernando Maidana)
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghSelected species of Dimetrodon. Here are various sketches showing some species of Dimetrodon, which was a quite diverse genus during the Early Permian. The genus includes about a dozen of species #paleoart #sciart #synapsids
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghJust in time for #FossilFriday
- A highly diverse Pennsylvanian #tetrapod ichnoassemblage from the Semily Formation (Krkonoše Piedmont Basin, Czechia) peerj.com/articles/204... @peerj.bsky.social #ichnology #paleontology #paleobiology
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghEarliest Cenozoic ammonoids: Machalski, M., Olszewska-Nejbert, D., Landman, N.H. et al. Ammonite survival across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary confirmed by new data from Denmark. Sci Rep 15, 45802 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghA chunk of Weald Clay from SE England, covered with fragments of ferns, conifers and other seed plants from 130 million years ago. Mesofossils may not look as appealing as large hand specimens, but can provide a better snapshot of vegetation. #FossilFriday ⚒🌏🌱🔬🌿🌲
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghFor #fossilfriday, The New York Times has written a good article about the Paleontological Research Institution, what the museum means to the field of Paleontology, and its current financial situation (much improved even from a few weeks ago). 🧪🦑⚒️🦣 #paleontology www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/s...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghApparently Bill Simpson, longtime Collections Manager of fossil vertebrates at the @FieldMuseum in Chicago, is retiring—after 46 yrs! Bill has always been so helpful, including pulling out the skull of @SUEtheTrex for study multiple times! Happy Retirement, Bill! 🎥: Emily Rieff #FossilFriday
- Nice new study by Martinez & Jenkins on procolophonid #parareptile tooth morphology & dietary #evolution ⬇️ Great to see their quantitative comparison to living reptiles 🦎 to infer procolophonid feeding habits 🍽️ #Paleontology #Science #Permian #Triassic www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
- A somewhat festive snapshot for this last #FossilFriday before Christmas! 🎄 - Presenting Sophie the #Stegosaurus, one of the most complete stegosaur skeletons ever found, proudly on display front & centre in the Earth Hall at the @nhm-london.bsky.social. #Paleontology #Science 🧵 1/
- Sophie was discovered in 2003 at Red Canyon Ranch in Wyoming, USA 🇺🇸. Her fossilised skeleton encompasses ~360 bones & is around 85% complete, making her perhaps the most complete #stegosaurus skeleton in the world. She was put on permanent display at the NHMUK 🇬🇧 at the end of 2014. 2/
- Sophie was not yet an adult when she died, so despite being 5.5 metres long & 2.9 metres tall, she still had some growing left to do! It’s thought that not many #dinosaurs reached their max size as just surviving to adulthood was difficult (especially with all the larger predators about… ). 3/
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View full thread#Stegosaurus is perhaps most known for the bony plates along its back. Their function is still unknown, but it has been proposed that they may been displays to help deter predators or attract mates. Or perhaps thermoregulation structures. Still much to learn about these #dinosaurs! 🧵 End.
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghNew #paleoart on #FossilFriday: #Tiktaalik sees the world. Discussions of early #tetrapods often focus on limbs and lungs, but major changes also took place in their eyes. Seeing further and clearer than any animal before, they were the first to clearly see sunsets, stars, and the moon. #sciart
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghThe Vertebrate Paleontology students did a great job 3D printing and painting skulls—look at that homology!
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghIn the early Devonian #lungfishes — now considered "living fossils" — were all the rage! A new #fish from China attests to this early diversification. www.cell.com/current-biol...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghExcited to announce that my second manuscript, “Fossilised Melanosomes Reveal Colour Patterning in A Sauropod Dinosaur” has been published in @royalsociety.org !! Diplodocus scales are complex and diverse, and it turns out their color patterning was even more so. A 🧵🦕 1/26
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghNew paper! Here we look at shape evolution of the mandible in Pelagiaria, a group of open-ocean fishes that includes tuna and mackerel. We find that shape disparity accumulated rapidly at the origin of the clade at around the K/Pg boundary... academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
- Interesting new paper by Alfonso-Rojas et al. on #anaconda 🐍 size #evolution using fossils from Venezuela 🇻🇪 - they suggest giant anacondas are survivors from the radiation of giant vertebrates in South America during the Miocene ⬇️ #Paleontology #Science #Snakes www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghPress release for my "Bringing Up Baby" paper finally out! cmns.umd.edu/news-events/...
- Great opportunity for ECRs, especially those with tight funding! ⬇️ Did a couple courses with @tscourses.bsky.social when I was a PhD student & would thoroughly recommend! #PhD #Postdoc #ResearchSkills #ScienceTraining #ProfessionalDevelopment
- Applications for our next Transmitting Science course fee waiver open soon! Learn more: transmittingscience.com/funding/fee-waiver/ #TransmittingScience #ScientificTraining #FeeWaiver #LifelongLearning
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghAnyone considering doing a #PhD with us at the OU in life science or #environment ILESLA is a fantastic opportunity to take part in a world class PhD training programme, find out more this Wednesday
- Thinking about a research degree in life or environmental sciences? We offer 4-year PhD studentships that cover your course fees, provide a tax-free living stipend, and include additional funding for project costs and travel. Find out more and register for our virtual open day. www.ilesla.ox.ac.uk
- A small selection of snapshots from #2025SVP last week for this #FossilFriday! This was my first @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social meeting since 2022 & it was fantastic to see so many friends & colleagues after so long. Presented my latest research & forged new connections - much exciting work ahead!
- 🚨 Save #Geology & #Paleobiology at Leicester Uni! 🚨 @uniofleicester.bsky.social bosses plan to dissolve the #EarthSciences dept. & entirely AXE the Centre for Palaeobiology & Biosphere Evolution & ALL of its academic staff. Please sign the petition to help halt these plans ✍️⬇️ c.org/8wDkwRBsgp
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghPGRs Amy Shipley (@sauropodlets.bsky.social) & Lydia Woods recently published a review in @globalchangebio.bsky.social showing that while today’s extinction rates aren't yet at "Big Five" mass extinction levels, they’re likely the highest seen in the last 66myrs. amdunhill.co.uk/2025/11/17/n...
- Great to see Prof. Mike Benton awarded the Romer-Simpson medal from @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social. Mike’s been an incredible teacher & mentor to me & so many others - I’m v. glad to see his enormous contribution to the knowledge & people of our field honoured here tonight 🏅 #2025SVP #paleontology
- Tomorrow I’ll be presenting my latest research at #2025SVP on eco-environmental drivers of crocodyliform 🐊 #macroevolution in South America! Stop by to see some of the current work at @openuniversity.bsky.social on Amazonian biodiversity, supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk ⬇️ #Paleontology #Science
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghSuper excited to welcome the world’s vertebrate palaeontologists to the historic Aston Webb building of the University of Birmingham. Hope you enjoyed yourselves #2025SVP
- Always enjoy conferences as they’re great opportunities for old lab mates to catch up - grand to see old friends after such a long while! #2025SVP
- Cool new FEA study from Srinivas et al. on crocodyliform skull biomechanical constraints and the #evolution of ancient terrestrial forms & modern, semi-aquatic #crocodiles. 🐊⬇️ #Paleontology #Science royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh Singh
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghInfo day on the world-leading @ilesla.bsky.social #PhD programme on 26th Nov. iles.web.ox.ac.uk/open-day-2025 fantastic opportunity to do a PhD with us here at Open University and take full advantage of the ILESLA training at Oxford at the same time @palaeosingh.bsky.social
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghMark Norell (1957–2025): Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh Singh📣Another exciting PhD available! Partnered with @nottswildlife.bsky.social and fully funded by the ACCE+ NERC Doctoral Landscape Award. We will look at morphological trait evolution, isolation and environment change, and rewilding of large herbivores. #evolution #WilderFuture #rewilding #PhD
- Reposted by Dr Suresh Singh#DinoConUK is coming to #Birmingham! Join us in 2026 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on July 25th-26th for the second DinoConUK. Events have yet to be announced (and tickets are not yet on sale) but places can be booked at the hotel. Talks, shows, events, vendors and more :) Please share!
- Given the new paper yesterday, here’s the skull of a #Nanotyrannus for this #FossilFriday. Once widely thought to be a juvenile #Tyrannosaurus rex, this dinosaur is now recognised as a separate genus & not even a tyrannosaurid! 🦖 #Paleontology #Science #Dinosaurs 🧵 1/
- Originally known only from skull material, Nanotyrannus was the subject of fierce palaeontological debate. Animals can dramatically change as they grow (e.g., see how we change from childhood to adulthood), so while this was obviously different from a typical T. rex, was it just a juvenile? 2/
- There were enough similarities to suggest a link with T. rex, but there were also big differences (e.g., the pointedly narrow snout), so what was this? A juvenile T. rex or another kind of #tyrannosaur? With only a skull for study, it was difficult to really say with much certainty. 3/
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View full threadMoreover, I think the fact that we were inching towards this conclusion before we could properly study the new fossil material also shows what can be done even with scarce data - new fossils are always illuminating but rigorous scientific research can still get results! 🧵 End.
- After lots of rumours of an impending #Nanotyrannus paper, here we are! Zanno & Napoli support Nanotyrannus as a true genus & not a juvenile #Tyrannosaurus rex 🦖 Final paper still a little way off yet, but the manuscript is live ⬇️ #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Science www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Just goes to show how new #fossils can have a big impact on our understanding of ancient life & more broadly, how paleontological science advances! Here’s a nice news article on the paper & its implications for this longstanding debate in vertebrate #paleobiology ⬇️ www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghFraser, D., Rybczynski, N., Gilbert, M. et al. Mid-Cenozoic rhinocerotid dispersal via the North Atlantic. Nat Ecol Evol (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghCentral Asian radiation of modern large-mammal faunas in Miocene | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- A side-on snapshot of the skull of Megacerops, a #brontothere (‘thunder beast’) from North America for this #FossilFriday. Sporting large bulbous horns, these large, ancient mammals looked a bit like rhinos 🦏 but are actually more closely related to horses 🐎. #Paleontology #Science #Cenozoic 🧵1/
- #Megacerops likely stood up to 8 ft tall at the shoulders, making it one of the largest herbivores of its time. It lived ~38-33 million years ago during the #Eocene epoch - a time when mammals were really coming into their own and diversifying. 2/
- #Brontotheres were among the first really big mammals to evolve, occupying large browser niches 🍃 in forest environments 🌳 Consequently, they diversified during the #Eocene when very warm climates & forest habitats prevailed ☀️ 3/
- Isotopic analysis of Megacerops tooth enamel revealed that it likely favoured moist environments, such as wet forests. Its teeth also show that it was a browsing herbivore, with teeth shaped for processing leafy vegetation 🍃 4/
- Nice thread below on new paper by Flynn et al. ⬇️ Great to have another end-Cretaceous fossil fauna from North America! Combined with new analytical methods & approaches, should help us understand what was going on with #dinosaur 🦖 diversity before the asteroid impact ☄️ #paleontology #science
- New paper today in @science.org: we date the Naashoibito Member (New Mexico) to 66.4–66.0 Ma, coeval with the Hell Creek, with important remarks on pre-extinction dinosaur diversity & regionalisation in North America 🦖🦕☄1/ Art: @nataliajagielska.bsky.social 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh Singh
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghThis is an INCREDIBLE advance in our understanding of coral diversification. 🪸🎉 Fantastic new work led by @claudiavaga.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghNew paper on crocodylian locomotor evolution led by Masaya Iijima, w/Richard Blob & me! More erect hindlimb postures help extant gators support their weight (esp. at ankle), & how these mechanics constrained giant Deinosuchus to a slow walk at best! The paper-- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Exciting new #PhD studentship available on flowering plant & insect #evolution in South America 🌺🐝 across the Cenozoic using biodiversity & #palaeoclimate modelling 🖥️ Join our growing #palaeobiology research group at @openuniversity.bsky.social! See below for more project & application info ⬇️
- 🌿 Fully funded #PhD alert! Are you curious about how species shape each other’s evolution? 🦋🌸 We’re looking for a student to study the co-evolution of insects & angiosperms in the Amazon using a multi-species mechanistic model. 🔗 centa.ac.uk/studentship/... #Evolution #Biodiversity #NERC #CENTA
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghN.G. McDonald et al. 2025 Triassic-Jurassic Lake-Shoreline Environments of the Hartford and Deerfield Basins: Fossils, Food Chains, and Facies-Linked Distribution of Dinosaur Tracks and Trackmakers. Bull. Peabody Museum of Natural History 66, 339-381, doi.org/10.3374/014....
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- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghHechenleitner, E.M., Martinelli, A.G., Rocher, S. et al. A long-necked early dinosaur from a newly discovered Upper Triassic basin in the Andes. Nature (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...
- New paper by Martínez et al. describing a new basal theropod #dinosaur 🦖 from the Late #Triassic of Argentina 🇦🇷 alongside an analysis of faunal assemblages that helps clarify how early dinosaurs diversified & expanded their ecological roles ⬇️ #Paleontology #Science www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghOn this #fossilfriday, take a few moments to read this. A touching tribute to the life, career, and discoveries of Mark Norell, from his long-time friend and field companion, Mike Novacek. In @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- A couple snapshots of an ancient apex predator for this #FossilFriday - presenting the fossil teeth & snout of an #Erythrosuchus africanus, the big-headed, hypercarnivorous archosauromorph from the Early-Mid #Triassic of South Africa 🇿🇦 #Paleontology #Science 🧵 1/
- Reaching up to 5 metres long, #Erythrosuchus was one of the first, really big terrestrial predators to emerge on land in the Triassic after the End-Permian mass extinction event (~251.9 MYA). It filled a top predator niche that had been previously occupied by #therapsids in the #Permian. 2/
- #Erythrosuchus was also notable for possessing an unusually large head for its size, with a skull that reached up to 1 metre in length. You can get a sense of its scale from the photo - that’s my hand holding just the tip of the snout! Its large head housed a very powerful set of jaws. 3/
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View full threadThough large & packing a formidable set of jaws, #erythrosuchids did not retain their position as top predators for too long, declining & being superseded by more upright & cursorial #archosaurs, such as pseudosuchian paracrocodylomorphs, through the Middle #Triassic. 🧵 End.
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghAnimated Scutellosaurus!! (Also Dilophosaurus, prosauropods, and dimorphodonts, but I think I've seen animations of all those before...) youtu.be/BYCjeNQvISM?...
- Reposted by Dr Suresh SinghFor #FossilFriday, in honor of the 120th naming of both species (tomorrow), the type specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex (at the Carnegie Museum) and Albertosaurus sarcophagus (@museumofnature)
