Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social · 2d

SVP President @stuartsumida.bsky.social speaks to Open Access Government about the importance of vertebrate paleontology and science in the United States.

www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-importan...

The importance of palaeontology, Earth history, and science

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology discusses the significance of paleontology, Earth history and science in this insightful opinion piece

www.openaccessgovernment.org

16 29

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · 3d

A phenomenal paleontologist and a pleasure to talk to at SVP conferences. Mark will be missed.

Mark Norell obituary: palaeontologist who showed that dinosaurs still walk among us — as birds

Through fieldwork and innovative research, he transformed how scientists and the public perceive the prehistoric world.

www.nature.com

2 12 41

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Juan Liu @liujuan.bsky.social · 8d

Excavated from the Pisces Point locality of Scollard Formation in Alberta, Canada, ~67 million years old, Acronichthys maccognoi, newly reported in @science.org, was recovered from ancient water body that flipped seasonally between fast-flowing channels and quiet, still pools.

1 6 11

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · 8d

It’s time for my biennial reminder that I love where I live and that I can access this any time I want, and that I need to vist more often. #fieldgeology #quarrypark

1 5

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · 9d

The student of a friend would like input on the public perception of paleontologists (from non-paleontologists) for an assign. So help a student out, would you please? :) docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Paleontology Survey

docs.google.com

1 2

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 10d

“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.”
― Jane Goodall

💙 RIP to a real one. My childhood hero

Jane Goodall with monarch butterfly scarf

480 6.9K 33K

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · 17d

Visiting an active quarry is absolutely fascinating! I think the Field Geology class enjoyed it as well. Thank you to Martin Marietta St. Cloud Quarry @martinmariettam.bsky.social for the opportunity!

7

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Minnesota Earth Science Teachers Association @mestaorg.bsky.social · 21d

The 2026 MESTA conference program is coming together! With keynote speaker Danielle Heffernan, sessions on hydrology, astronomy, & geology, and networking opportunities for Minnesota Earth Science teachers, it's sure to be a great time. Register now at www.mnearthscience.org

Minnesota Earth Science Teachers Association

www.mnearthscience.org

1 1 1

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · 23d

Team SCSU fishes!! today.stcloudstate.edu/2025/09/18/s...

SCSU students honored for research at ichthyology and herpetology conference | St. Cloud State TODAY

today.stcloudstate.edu

2 2

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Katie Slivensky @kslivensky.bsky.social · Aug 21

Look again! This isn't a close up of a planet. Definitely not Jupiter.

This is a thin section of shale under a microscope (4x magnification). 😊

#STEMphotography
#SciArt

A thin slice of shale under a microscope. Many horizontal brown and gold lines make it look similar to the planet Jupiter. My photo.

1 4 26

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Aug 2

Come visit me today at the Science Museum of Minnesota’s annual DinoFest! I’ll have fish fossils and Donnie the Dimetrodon with me and ready to talk about all things fossiliferous! Smm.org

9

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Aure Free Press :verified: @free-press.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · Jul 30

TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

From Cape Mendocino to the Oregon border

GET AWAY FROM THE COASTLINE!
#aurefreepress #News #press #headline #earthquake #Breaking #breakingnews

2 85 120

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Jul 23

The Dark Side of Being a Female Shark Researcher | Scientific American

The Dark Side of Being a Female Shark Researcher

Being a scientist should not require developing the grit to continually endure misogyny, discrimination, harassment, assault or bullying

www.scientificamerican.com

2 27 65

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 23

And Part 2: sarahzgibson.com/2017/04/13/p...

Paleoartist Profile: The Historian Himself, Brian Engh, Part 2

UPDATED July 2025: Fixed broken links and images, updated contact information for Brian. Continuing our interview with Part 1 of our interview with paleoartist Brian Engh of Living Relic Production…

sarahzgibson.com

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 23

Speaking of Brian Engh, I interviewed him years ago for PLOS Blogs, and have archived those posts on my personal website. They might be a bit outdated (I just updated them a bit) but check them out and give him some deserved love: sarahzgibson.com/2017/04/12/p...

Paleoartist Profile: The Historian Himself, Brian Engh, Part 1

UPDATED July 2025: Fixed broken links and images, updated Brian’s contact information. You may recognize the artwork above as that of Aquilops, a pint-sized ceratopsian that was recently desc…

sarahzgibson.com

2 2

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 23

The research lab space continues to get upgraded. Finally got my Brian Engh art prints hung up! Depictions of the Kayenta Fm (Sarah’s Fish Bed), Aquilops, and the Chinle Fm (featuring several fishies I described!).

Brian’s a great paleoartist, check out his work: www.livingrelicproductions.com

1 6

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 16

A revision of the Late Jurassic fish Aphnelepis australis from the Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed of New South Wales, Australia www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A revision of the Late Jurassic fish Aphnelepis australis from the Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed of New South Wales, Australia

The discovery of an exceptionally preserved specimen of the Mesozoic teleost fish Aphnelepis australis from the upper Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed in New South Wales, tog...

www.tandfonline.com

1 2 7

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 16

Hemicalypterus no longer hold the record for oldest herbivorous fish, and that's okay
Early ray‐finned herbivores: the dental system of Eurynotoidiidae (Actinopterygii; middle–late Permian, European Russia) and implications for palaeobiology and palaeoecology
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Early ray‐finned herbivores: the dental system of Eurynotoidiidae (Actinopterygii; middle–late Permian, European Russia) and implications for palaeobiology and palaeoecology

Eurynotoidiformes are a little-known group of actinopterygian fishes from the Permian of European Russia, characterized by the possession of multicuspid marginal teeth arranged in a single row. Morph....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

1

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 16

A new species of the ray-finned fish Saurichthys (Actinopterygii) from the Dockum Group of Texas (Upper Triassic, Norian) highlights the late appearance of elongate jaws in neopterygians
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

A new species of the ray-finned fish Saurichthys (Actinopterygii) from the Dockum Group of Texas (Upper Triassic, Norian) highlights the late appearance of elongate jaws in neopterygians

The Triassic fossil record (252–201 Ma) preserves shifts in ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) assemblages from stem-group “palaeoniscoids” to primarily neopterygians, which comprise half of extant v...

www.tandfonline.com

1

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 16

A new Triassic metoposaur from the Popo Age Fm, Wyoming
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

A new metoposaurid (Temnospondyli) bonebed from the lower Popo Agie Formation (Carnian, Triassic) and an assessment of skeletal sorting

Metoposaurid-dominated bonebeds are relatively commonplace in Upper Triassic continental deposits with at least ten monodominant, densely-packed bonebeds globally. The biostratinomy of several classic...

dx.plos.org

1 6

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Insta Science @instascience.bsky.social · Jul 13

Fascinating! Ice cleaving and a 200 ft tower rises from the water.

440 1.7K 8.9K

Reposted by Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD

Michalis Mihalitsis @mikemihalitsis.bsky.social · May 6

Super excited that our new paper is out today in
@pnas.org. Title: Lateral jaw motion in fish expands the functional repertoire of vertebrates and underpins the success of a dominant herbivore lineage.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

1 10 19

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 12

Congrats to my grad student Spencer Ott @beardedvultur3.bsky.social for winning the #JMIH25 Storer Best Student Poster in Ichthyology! So proud!!! :)

1 1 14

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 12

I want to give a special shoutout to those that donated to or advocated for childcare at the #JMIH25 meeting. Because childcare is available on site, I have been able to attend the meeting and present my research. It is a lifeline for early career researchers, particularly women!

5 35

Dr. Sarah Z. Gibson, PhD @gombessagirl.bsky.social · Jul 11

Proud of my students Aimee and Spencer for presenting their fossil fish work at #JMIH2025 #JMIH25 in St. Paul.

1 4 24