Alberta Claw
@albertonykus.bsky.social
Researcher studying extant and fossil birds. Alternatively, North American alvarezsaurid described in 2009. They/them.
Links: https://linktr.ee/albertonykus
Links: https://linktr.ee/albertonykus
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Least Sandpipers are the smallest sandpiper in North America, about the size of a sparrow. They're easy to miss on a big beach because they are so small! I love them so much.
November 28, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Least Sandpipers are the smallest sandpiper in North America, about the size of a sparrow. They're easy to miss on a big beach because they are so small! I love them so much.
Reposted by Alberta Claw
I'm a little friend, I'm not your only friend, but I am a little glowing friend, but actually.....
Build a little birdhouse in your soul.
When I die, I hope it's the song I hear in my head.
Build a little birdhouse in your soul.
When I die, I hope it's the song I hear in my head.
November 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I'm a little friend, I'm not your only friend, but I am a little glowing friend, but actually.....
Build a little birdhouse in your soul.
When I die, I hope it's the song I hear in my head.
Build a little birdhouse in your soul.
When I die, I hope it's the song I hear in my head.
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Of all the wonderful depictions of Pleistocene life shown in Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, few can compare with the beauty and realism of these psilopterines. I don't think I'm exaggerating to say this is the first and only time terror birds have been done properly in a documentary.
November 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Of all the wonderful depictions of Pleistocene life shown in Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, few can compare with the beauty and realism of these psilopterines. I don't think I'm exaggerating to say this is the first and only time terror birds have been done properly in a documentary.
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for Centuriavis lioae, a 10 million year old fossil relative of turkeys. It was a lot of fun describing this stunning specimen with Catherine Early, Kate Dzikiewicz, and Amy Balanoff. The fossil is named after our amazing museum colleague Suzanne Lio.
November 27, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for Centuriavis lioae, a 10 million year old fossil relative of turkeys. It was a lot of fun describing this stunning specimen with Catherine Early, Kate Dzikiewicz, and Amy Balanoff. The fossil is named after our amazing museum colleague Suzanne Lio.
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Annual turkey day cartoon reminding everyone that birds are theropod dinosaurs. 🦃🦖
November 27, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Annual turkey day cartoon reminding everyone that birds are theropod dinosaurs. 🦃🦖
Reposted by Alberta Claw
#PrehistoricPlanetIceAge
- 'I thought you said that we can enjoy free baby buffets on the #PrehistoricPlanet team!'
- 'That's before I realised that us dinosaurs aren't the focus of this season!'
- 'Told you two not to expect too much from a show made by mammal showrunners...'
- 'I thought you said that we can enjoy free baby buffets on the #PrehistoricPlanet team!'
- 'That's before I realised that us dinosaurs aren't the focus of this season!'
- 'Told you two not to expect too much from a show made by mammal showrunners...'
November 27, 2025 at 12:47 PM
#PrehistoricPlanetIceAge
- 'I thought you said that we can enjoy free baby buffets on the #PrehistoricPlanet team!'
- 'That's before I realised that us dinosaurs aren't the focus of this season!'
- 'Told you two not to expect too much from a show made by mammal showrunners...'
- 'I thought you said that we can enjoy free baby buffets on the #PrehistoricPlanet team!'
- 'That's before I realised that us dinosaurs aren't the focus of this season!'
- 'Told you two not to expect too much from a show made by mammal showrunners...'
Reposted by Alberta Claw
I know this is no fault of @tetzoo.bsky.social, who has been campaigning to try and make this happen for years, but I would absolutely kill for a "behind the scenes" Prehistoric Planet book that discusses the depth of research, decision-making and concept work that went into each episode
November 27, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I know this is no fault of @tetzoo.bsky.social, who has been campaigning to try and make this happen for years, but I would absolutely kill for a "behind the scenes" Prehistoric Planet book that discusses the depth of research, decision-making and concept work that went into each episode
Dinosaurs were nearly wiped out 66 million years ago, long before the start of the Quaternary ice age. However, #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge shows that the few surviving dinosaurs (birds) would go on to become highly successful. Let's meet the ice age dinosaurs featured in the series! 🪶🧪
November 27, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Dinosaurs were nearly wiped out 66 million years ago, long before the start of the Quaternary ice age. However, #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge shows that the few surviving dinosaurs (birds) would go on to become highly successful. Let's meet the ice age dinosaurs featured in the series! 🪶🧪
New species of jewel-babbler, the hooded jewel-babbler (Ptilorrhoa urrissia), described based on individuals pictured in camera trap photos: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🪶🧪 (📷Woxvold et al.)
November 27, 2025 at 3:38 PM
New species of jewel-babbler, the hooded jewel-babbler (Ptilorrhoa urrissia), described based on individuals pictured in camera trap photos: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🪶🧪 (📷Woxvold et al.)
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Honoured to have contributed to a new paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social led by Mario Bronzati and lots of excellent and brainy (yes, pun intended) colleagues, showing that pterosaurs and birds evolved flight-capable brains but in different ways. www.cell.com/current-biol...
November 27, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Honoured to have contributed to a new paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social led by Mario Bronzati and lots of excellent and brainy (yes, pun intended) colleagues, showing that pterosaurs and birds evolved flight-capable brains but in different ways. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Observations on #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge: wonderful, of course. But a strange reluctance in narration to a) state where in the world a scene takes place and b) use genus names. Odd, since no such reluctance in the Mesozoic series.
November 27, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Observations on #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge: wonderful, of course. But a strange reluctance in narration to a) state where in the world a scene takes place and b) use genus names. Odd, since no such reluctance in the Mesozoic series.
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
November 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Reposted by Alberta Claw
My recommendation to my students tomorrow is that if they get stuck in an uncomfortable Thanksgiving conversation with family, just start manually tearing apart the turkey to show off the theropod synapomorphies. I promise that will derail whatever the previous topic was.
a turkey is standing in a grassy field with other birds .
Alt: a turkey running awkwardly in a grassy field with other birds
media.tenor.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:34 PM
My recommendation to my students tomorrow is that if they get stuck in an uncomfortable Thanksgiving conversation with family, just start manually tearing apart the turkey to show off the theropod synapomorphies. I promise that will derail whatever the previous topic was.
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Great Shearwater leaving a tiny track where it dipped (sheared) a wingtip in the water. South Atlantic off #Argentina 🪶🦑
November 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Great Shearwater leaving a tiny track where it dipped (sheared) a wingtip in the water. South Atlantic off #Argentina 🪶🦑
Reposted by Alberta Claw
One of my favourite #Pleistocene mammals - and, yes, it has a role in #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge - is the big predatory marsupial #Thylacoleo. Here's an introduction to this fantastic animal.... tetzoo.com/blog/2025/11... #marsupials
Thylacoleo, the Incredible Marsupial Lion — Tetrapod Zoology
Among the most striking and interesting of extinct mammals is the so-called marsupial lion of Australia, or Thylacoleo carnifex …
tetzoo.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:51 PM
One of my favourite #Pleistocene mammals - and, yes, it has a role in #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge - is the big predatory marsupial #Thylacoleo. Here's an introduction to this fantastic animal.... tetzoo.com/blog/2025/11... #marsupials
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Pleco plushies are in stock again over at www.palaeoplushies.com !!
Support a small business (me and my sister) this holiday season, so we can keep doing this!
Support a small business (me and my sister) this holiday season, so we can keep doing this!
November 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Pleco plushies are in stock again over at www.palaeoplushies.com !!
Support a small business (me and my sister) this holiday season, so we can keep doing this!
Support a small business (me and my sister) this holiday season, so we can keep doing this!
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Happy Origin Day! Published OTD in 1859
November 24, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Happy Origin Day! Published OTD in 1859
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Paleo folks: Please recommend researchers (incl yourselves) interested in phylogenetic reconstruction in deep time, molecular clocks (discord w/ fossil clocks), foundational/methodological issues in phylo/paleo-reconstruction & who'd be interested in hanging w/ historians & philosophers of science ⚒️
November 24, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Paleo folks: Please recommend researchers (incl yourselves) interested in phylogenetic reconstruction in deep time, molecular clocks (discord w/ fossil clocks), foundational/methodological issues in phylo/paleo-reconstruction & who'd be interested in hanging w/ historians & philosophers of science ⚒️
Reposted by Alberta Claw
I would sell my entire soul for all my fellow science communicators to stop ending the "story of the dinosaurs" at the end-cretaceous extinction and dive into, even briefly, the story of cenozoic birds. I'm also willing to offer cash, I just don't have much of it.
November 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM
I would sell my entire soul for all my fellow science communicators to stop ending the "story of the dinosaurs" at the end-cretaceous extinction and dive into, even briefly, the story of cenozoic birds. I'm also willing to offer cash, I just don't have much of it.
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Merlin stoop! 🪶
November 1, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Merlin stoop! 🪶
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Gannet shows how its done.
#SuperSeabirdSunday
#SuperSeabirdSunday
November 23, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Gannet shows how its done.
#SuperSeabirdSunday
#SuperSeabirdSunday
Reposted by Alberta Claw
Our lab just published a cool paper on seed-cracking bettongs. Not just any seeds, but some of the hardest seeds out there! Two species in the same genus showing different adaptations to hard biting. Very cool 💀💀🤓🤓 #skull #science academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
November 20, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Our lab just published a cool paper on seed-cracking bettongs. Not just any seeds, but some of the hardest seeds out there! Two species in the same genus showing different adaptations to hard biting. Very cool 💀💀🤓🤓 #skull #science academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...
Reposted by Alberta Claw
it is truly one of the treasures of nature that they look so elegant from every angle except this one
November 22, 2025 at 10:20 PM
it is truly one of the treasures of nature that they look so elegant from every angle except this one
Reposted by Alberta Claw
The first of a paleoart series I'm calling "Perspectives," which aims to highlight the evolution of life on Earth with a variety of different creatures and styles.
This one is "Pale First Dot," depicting good ol' LUCA, the last universal common ancestor.
#sciart #paleoart #paleontology
This one is "Pale First Dot," depicting good ol' LUCA, the last universal common ancestor.
#sciart #paleoart #paleontology
June 9, 2025 at 5:18 PM
The first of a paleoart series I'm calling "Perspectives," which aims to highlight the evolution of life on Earth with a variety of different creatures and styles.
This one is "Pale First Dot," depicting good ol' LUCA, the last universal common ancestor.
#sciart #paleoart #paleontology
This one is "Pale First Dot," depicting good ol' LUCA, the last universal common ancestor.
#sciart #paleoart #paleontology