As we enter 2015, it’s a good time to reflect on the state of paleontology and the state of open access. Because…
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Dinosaurs The Open Access Dinosaurs of 2014
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PLOS ONE 2014: A Great Year for Hupehsuchia
I just can’t get enough of those bizarre hupehsuchians! These ancient marine reptiles–known exclusively from ~248 million year old rocks in China–had…
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Dinosaurs Assembling the Aquilops Paper
In my previous post, I introduced Aquilops, a new little dinosaur from ancient Montana, and talked about some of the science behind establishing…
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Dinosaurs Aquilops, the little dinosaur that could
Today, several colleagues and I named a really cute little dinosaur—Aquilops americanus. At around 106 million years old, Aquilops turns out to be…
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Open Access Lungfish brains ain’t boring
I tend to think of fish brains as fairly unremarkable. Too simple relative to mammal brains, too un-dinosaur-y relative to dinosaur brains…
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PLOS ONE Planting a Cretaceous Pond, South American Edition
If you close your eyes and visualize Mesozoic foliage, a few particular types of plants might spring to mind. There are probably…
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PLOS ONE Things That Make a Vertebrate Paleontologist Weep with Joy
There are times when I really wish I were born an invertebrate paleontologist. For many of them*, a few kilograms of rock…
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PLOS ONE Hupehwhat? Finding a home for some unusually odd marine reptiles
“Swimming sausage topped with armored mustard” is probably the best way to describe a hupehsuchian. These marine reptiles, known only from 248…
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PLOS ONE Baby moa bones: more than meets the eye
The name “moa” inevitably conjures up pictures of giant, lumbering bird-beasts, destined for extinction at the hands of humans. For fans of…
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Dinosaurs Dinosaurs and Open Access: the State of the Field
Open access publication has, for the most part, long since ceased to be controversial. Although it certainly isn’t without its minor issues…
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PLOS ONE Bony body tube for a bizarre marine reptile
Prehistoric marine reptiles were a weird lot, especially in light of their lizard-like ancestors on land. You take something that roughly looks…
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PLOS ONE Shake Your Tail Bone! (and shape your skeleton, if you’re a bird)
Those poor tail bones, always getting shortened and lost during the course of evolution. A long tail is the default condition for…