Mark Wright
@mesozoicmark.bsky.social
PhD from Harvard MCZ. I study how limbs evolved from sprawling 🦎 to upright 🐆. Passionate about teaching anatomy. I like to run 🏃🏻. he/him
awrightmark.github.io
awrightmark.github.io
Reposted by Mark Wright
Do you like cichlids? Fossils? Fossil cichlids? Would you like to study them as part of a graduate degree at the University of Michigan, joining an NSF-funded project? Get in touch.
September 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Do you like cichlids? Fossils? Fossil cichlids? Would you like to study them as part of a graduate degree at the University of Michigan, joining an NSF-funded project? Get in touch.
Reposted by Mark Wright
Yesterday I discovered that ChatGPT's PhD-level expertise didn't extend to bird anatomy. This morning I thought, perhaps I was being too hard on the half-trillion-dollar company. Birds are a little weird, anatomically speaking. Let's try something more familiar. A mammal. Behold.
August 14, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Yesterday I discovered that ChatGPT's PhD-level expertise didn't extend to bird anatomy. This morning I thought, perhaps I was being too hard on the half-trillion-dollar company. Birds are a little weird, anatomically speaking. Let's try something more familiar. A mammal. Behold.
Reposted by Mark Wright
The team of Ph.D. level experts in ChatGPT apparently doesn't include any anatomists.
August 13, 2025 at 10:06 PM
The team of Ph.D. level experts in ChatGPT apparently doesn't include any anatomists.
The way I convert has always been to start from:
0 C = 32 F
Then, every +10 C is +18 F
So,
10 C = 50 F
20 C = 68 F
30 C = 86 F
(+5 C is +9 F for filling in increments between when needed)
0 C = 32 F
Then, every +10 C is +18 F
So,
10 C = 50 F
20 C = 68 F
30 C = 86 F
(+5 C is +9 F for filling in increments between when needed)
For conversation purposes, double and add thirty to convert C→F, or subtract thirty and halve to convert F→C.
15°C→60°F (actual 59°F)
100°F→35°C (actual ~38°C)
15°C→60°F (actual 59°F)
100°F→35°C (actual ~38°C)
July 26, 2025 at 5:07 PM
The way I convert has always been to start from:
0 C = 32 F
Then, every +10 C is +18 F
So,
10 C = 50 F
20 C = 68 F
30 C = 86 F
(+5 C is +9 F for filling in increments between when needed)
0 C = 32 F
Then, every +10 C is +18 F
So,
10 C = 50 F
20 C = 68 F
30 C = 86 F
(+5 C is +9 F for filling in increments between when needed)
Reposted by Mark Wright
I'm so excited to share my latest paper out now! How did the ancestors of mammals make the switch from sprawling to upright, taking over the world in the process? Spoiler alert; it's complicated! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Adaptive landscapes unveil the complex evolutionary path from sprawling to upright forelimb function and posture in mammals
The ‘sprawling-to-parasagittal’ postural transition is a key part of mammalian evolution from non-mammalian synapsids. This study uses evolutionary adaptive landscapes to reveal parasagittal postures ...
journals.plos.org
June 25, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I'm so excited to share my latest paper out now! How did the ancestors of mammals make the switch from sprawling to upright, taking over the world in the process? Spoiler alert; it's complicated! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Today, my successfully defended dissertation was accepted by ProQuest in its final, correctly-formatted version! What a journey it has been to get to this point. #PhDone
May 14, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Today, my successfully defended dissertation was accepted by ProQuest in its final, correctly-formatted version! What a journey it has been to get to this point. #PhDone
Biggest story IMO from the first two meets of Grand Slam Track so far:
Jacory Patterson, unsponsored athlete and UPS driver, wins the 400 in Miami this weekend becoming the 26th fastest guy in history (43.98). Finishes 2nd in the Slam, takes home $50k. That's life changing
youtu.be/QJ4AhRONMjk?...
Jacory Patterson, unsponsored athlete and UPS driver, wins the 400 in Miami this weekend becoming the 26th fastest guy in history (43.98). Finishes 2nd in the Slam, takes home $50k. That's life changing
youtu.be/QJ4AhRONMjk?...
Jacory Patterson Talks Job At UPS + Racing Unsponsored After 43.98, 2nd In Long Sprints At GST Miami
YouTube video by CITIUS MAG
youtu.be
May 9, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Biggest story IMO from the first two meets of Grand Slam Track so far:
Jacory Patterson, unsponsored athlete and UPS driver, wins the 400 in Miami this weekend becoming the 26th fastest guy in history (43.98). Finishes 2nd in the Slam, takes home $50k. That's life changing
youtu.be/QJ4AhRONMjk?...
Jacory Patterson, unsponsored athlete and UPS driver, wins the 400 in Miami this weekend becoming the 26th fastest guy in history (43.98). Finishes 2nd in the Slam, takes home $50k. That's life changing
youtu.be/QJ4AhRONMjk?...
Reposted by Mark Wright
Early Cretaceous fossil of a humerus from a monotreme indicates semiaquatic burrowing lifestyle as in platypus (and echidna):
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Bone microstructure supports a Mesozoic origin for a semiaquatic burrowing lifestyle in monotremes (Mammalia) | PNAS
The platypus and four echidna species are the only living egg-laying mammals and the
sole extant representatives of Order Monotremata. The platypus...
www.pnas.org
April 29, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Early Cretaceous fossil of a humerus from a monotreme indicates semiaquatic burrowing lifestyle as in platypus (and echidna):
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Mark Wright
🚨 HISTORY LOADING... 🚨
Nike has announced that on June 26th, triple Olympic 1500m champion and mile world record holder Faith Kipyegon will attempt to do what no woman ever has: run a sub-4-minute mile.
Kipyegon currently holds the WR at 4:07.64.
💻 Read more: citiusmag.com/articles/fai...
Nike has announced that on June 26th, triple Olympic 1500m champion and mile world record holder Faith Kipyegon will attempt to do what no woman ever has: run a sub-4-minute mile.
Kipyegon currently holds the WR at 4:07.64.
💻 Read more: citiusmag.com/articles/fai...
April 23, 2025 at 2:01 PM
🚨 HISTORY LOADING... 🚨
Nike has announced that on June 26th, triple Olympic 1500m champion and mile world record holder Faith Kipyegon will attempt to do what no woman ever has: run a sub-4-minute mile.
Kipyegon currently holds the WR at 4:07.64.
💻 Read more: citiusmag.com/articles/fai...
Nike has announced that on June 26th, triple Olympic 1500m champion and mile world record holder Faith Kipyegon will attempt to do what no woman ever has: run a sub-4-minute mile.
Kipyegon currently holds the WR at 4:07.64.
💻 Read more: citiusmag.com/articles/fai...
Reposted by Mark Wright
🚨New publication alert!🚨 A big one! It might just be my *biggest* one: doi.org/10.1093/iob/... IMPORTANT THREAD! From the moment Dave Blackburn set me loose at the Florida Museum, I had a marvelous time using diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced CT (diceCT) to create anatomical datasets 🧪1/6
April 21, 2025 at 7:42 PM
🚨New publication alert!🚨 A big one! It might just be my *biggest* one: doi.org/10.1093/iob/... IMPORTANT THREAD! From the moment Dave Blackburn set me loose at the Florida Museum, I had a marvelous time using diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced CT (diceCT) to create anatomical datasets 🧪1/6
Reposted by Mark Wright
Shelly-Ann racing in her kid's Parents Day race at the school is the funniest thing I've seen all week LMAO
April 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Shelly-Ann racing in her kid's Parents Day race at the school is the funniest thing I've seen all week LMAO
Reposted by Mark Wright
Behold the western pygmy possum! This dainty marsupial typically weighs ~0.5 oz (14 g)—that's about as much as a AA battery! It inhabits treetops in forests throughout parts of Australia. As a nectarivore, it mainly feeds on plant nectar.
Photo: gilliank, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
Photo: gilliank, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
March 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Behold the western pygmy possum! This dainty marsupial typically weighs ~0.5 oz (14 g)—that's about as much as a AA battery! It inhabits treetops in forests throughout parts of Australia. As a nectarivore, it mainly feeds on plant nectar.
Photo: gilliank, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
Photo: gilliank, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
Absolutely love this illustration!
March 13, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Absolutely love this illustration!
Reposted by Mark Wright
A multi-tasking #platypus: chewing & scratching at the same time.
When #platypuses dive, they cram their cheek pouches full of food, to chew when they surface. Platypuses don't have teeth (they wear down too easily): they've replaced them with ever-growing horny ridges.
#Tasmania #fieldwork #WildOz
When #platypuses dive, they cram their cheek pouches full of food, to chew when they surface. Platypuses don't have teeth (they wear down too easily): they've replaced them with ever-growing horny ridges.
#Tasmania #fieldwork #WildOz
March 11, 2025 at 9:01 AM
A multi-tasking #platypus: chewing & scratching at the same time.
When #platypuses dive, they cram their cheek pouches full of food, to chew when they surface. Platypuses don't have teeth (they wear down too easily): they've replaced them with ever-growing horny ridges.
#Tasmania #fieldwork #WildOz
When #platypuses dive, they cram their cheek pouches full of food, to chew when they surface. Platypuses don't have teeth (they wear down too easily): they've replaced them with ever-growing horny ridges.
#Tasmania #fieldwork #WildOz
Reposted by Mark Wright
Don't miss out, we are inviting submissions to our upcoming Special Issue: The Integrative Biology of Exercise.
🧵1/3
journals.biologists.com/jeb/pages/ex...
🧵1/3
journals.biologists.com/jeb/pages/ex...
March 7, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Don't miss out, we are inviting submissions to our upcoming Special Issue: The Integrative Biology of Exercise.
🧵1/3
journals.biologists.com/jeb/pages/ex...
🧵1/3
journals.biologists.com/jeb/pages/ex...
At this point, the dissertation acknowledgements is definitely giving a shout out to coffee growers, coffee roasters, and the family Rubiaceae for giving rise to such a fine genus. Maybe also Ethiopian farmers for cultivating it and the Ottomans for bringing it to Europe if I feel particularly bold.
March 6, 2025 at 9:34 PM
At this point, the dissertation acknowledgements is definitely giving a shout out to coffee growers, coffee roasters, and the family Rubiaceae for giving rise to such a fine genus. Maybe also Ethiopian farmers for cultivating it and the Ottomans for bringing it to Europe if I feel particularly bold.
Reposted by Mark Wright
Announcing The first found, and most complete, #dinosaur skeleton from the Middle #Jurassic of Scotland! 📢🦖 So delighted to finally be able to share this great new fossil, published today! It was actually the first dinosaur found in #Scotland... thread 🧵 #OpenAccess #fossils doi.org/10.1017/S175...
March 6, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Announcing The first found, and most complete, #dinosaur skeleton from the Middle #Jurassic of Scotland! 📢🦖 So delighted to finally be able to share this great new fossil, published today! It was actually the first dinosaur found in #Scotland... thread 🧵 #OpenAccess #fossils doi.org/10.1017/S175...
Cannot give this film enough praise! So excited to see that it won the Oscar for Animated. Absolutely love the detail they put into animal movement and personality.
March 3, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Cannot give this film enough praise! So excited to see that it won the Oscar for Animated. Absolutely love the detail they put into animal movement and personality.
Felt appropriate
February 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Felt appropriate
Reposted by Mark Wright
Andrew Biewener & Alan Wilson discuss themes from the JEB Special Issue that aims to break down boundaries between the fields of #biomechanics, #energetics & #ecology by integrating laboratory and field studies through novel technologies across ecosystems
bit.ly/4hRSoeM
bit.ly/4hRSoeM
February 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Andrew Biewener & Alan Wilson discuss themes from the JEB Special Issue that aims to break down boundaries between the fields of #biomechanics, #energetics & #ecology by integrating laboratory and field studies through novel technologies across ecosystems
bit.ly/4hRSoeM
bit.ly/4hRSoeM
Already accomplished something for the week, and it's barely Monday afternoon 🏃
foddy.net/Athletics.ht...
foddy.net/Athletics.ht...
February 24, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Already accomplished something for the week, and it's barely Monday afternoon 🏃
foddy.net/Athletics.ht...
foddy.net/Athletics.ht...
Reposted by Mark Wright
How do you measure what isn't there?
Elska did a fantastic job leading this paper on how we can measure the volume of changing, 3D spaces inside XROMM skeletal animations. And, importantly, how good are those volume measurements?
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Elska did a fantastic job leading this paper on how we can measure the volume of changing, 3D spaces inside XROMM skeletal animations. And, importantly, how good are those volume measurements?
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
February 21, 2025 at 8:21 PM
How do you measure what isn't there?
Elska did a fantastic job leading this paper on how we can measure the volume of changing, 3D spaces inside XROMM skeletal animations. And, importantly, how good are those volume measurements?
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Elska did a fantastic job leading this paper on how we can measure the volume of changing, 3D spaces inside XROMM skeletal animations. And, importantly, how good are those volume measurements?
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
movies you've watched more than six times, gifs only
(*could not find a gif, so i'll go with a regular static image)
(*could not find a gif, so i'll go with a regular static image)
February 21, 2025 at 2:35 AM
movies you've watched more than six times, gifs only
(*could not find a gif, so i'll go with a regular static image)
(*could not find a gif, so i'll go with a regular static image)
Learned today that one of the paleobiologists whose work is strongly influencing my (nearly complete) dissertation, Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, helped to hide two Jewish women with her family during WWII
collections.yadvashem.org/en/righteous...
collections.yadvashem.org/en/righteous...
Kielan Franciszek & Maria ; Daughter: Rybicka Krystyna (Kielan); Daughter: Jaworowska Zofia (Kielan)
File 4836

Kielan, Franciszek
Kielan, Maria
Rybicka-Kielan, Krystyna
collections.yadvashem.org
February 16, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Learned today that one of the paleobiologists whose work is strongly influencing my (nearly complete) dissertation, Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, helped to hide two Jewish women with her family during WWII
collections.yadvashem.org/en/righteous...
collections.yadvashem.org/en/righteous...