Author | Lightnews

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

@reptiliferous.bsky.social

1.5K followers 740 following 65 posts

Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History Paleontologist and proud Cajun. Love fossils, phylogenetics, and reptiles. (she/her). Cooking adventures on instagram @cook_with_kels

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Nov 16

So many new people are here! Let me repeat for them (pt. 1) ❤️

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Nov 11

Hi bluesky, I’ve recently migrated over and am hoping this will be the better place to keep in touch with other paleos, current research, and opportunities in academia.

About me, I love a Permian fossil, particular reptiles, sensory evolution, and phylogenetics 🦎🧬👩🏻‍🔬

#fossils #paleontology

1 5

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Armita R. Manafzadeh @armanafzadeh.bsky.social · Sep 2

I'm recruiting a PhD student to join the lab at @gtsciences.bsky.social in Fall 2026! Broad taxonomic and topical freedom under the umbrella of vertebrate joint form and function. Information here: www.manafzadeh.com – please share 🦴🩻

Armita R. Manafzadeh @armanafzadeh.bsky.social · Jul 2

✨Some news✨: after finishing my postdoc, I’ll be starting my lab as an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech. Join us in Atlanta to study how joints work and where they come from!

32 41

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Aug 12

Post your last photo of DC to show what a hell-hole it is.

That’s one green hell-hole. Taken from the top of the National Cathedral.

1 4

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Stephan Spiekman @stephanspiekman.bsky.social · Jul 23

I am proud and grateful to present a dream project today in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Meet #Mirasaura grauvogeli, a #wonderreptilewith skin appendages that rival feathers and hairs, challenging our view of reptile #evolution🪶🦎

14 96 250

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · May 23

Mesquite 4 beta released! Many new features, esp. phylogenomic. Check out the trailer and longer video on the home page: www.mesquiteproject.org, and use the download link there to get a copy.

Feedback welcome! Ask and discuss on our new Google Group (groups.google.com/g/mesquite-p...).

The Mesquite icon shown, as a Mesquite leaf against a black background, and as a leave against the sun and a blue sky.

1 60 130

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · May 21

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology is having a virtual town hall meeting tomorrow, Thursday, 22 May 2025, to discuss this year's annual meeting as well as to address logistics for future SVP meetings. Please attend if interested!

Text from letter:
"SVP PRESIDENT'S TOWN HALL MEETING
SVP Birmingham, England and Future SVP Annual Meetings

Next Thursday, May 22nd, all members of the Society are invited to join SVP president Stuart Sumida in the first in a series of town hall meetings designed to let members discuss opportunities, questions, concerns, and planning that impact our Society. The topic of the first town hall meeting will be our November 2025 meeting in Birmingham, England and the challenges of planning our future meetings. Please join us, whether you are planning to attend this year's Annual Meeting or not, or if you are as yet undecided. In order to better accommodate both our North American and non-North American members, there will be two sessions. Members may attend either session or both depending on their schedules. Each session will last approximately one hour."

Text from letter:
"SVP First Town Hall Meeting 1(A)
Meeting Link: https://csusb.zoom.us/j/85924784774?pwd=aGwgC70LQno7TWbx0AUf4a4klCCOvA.1
Meeting Passcode: SVP-TH1A
9:00 AM PST
12:00 PM EST
4:00 PM GMT

SVP First Town Hall Meeting 1(B)
Meeting Link: https://csusb.zoom.us/j/87600766193?pwd=iDZfvWaPoMOGzepa5YP7UQmfwEHYM3.1
Meeting Passcode: SVP-TH1B
Thursday, 22 May 2025
5:00 PM PST
8:00 PM EST
12:00 AM GMT

Thank you. I look forward to seeing many of you this coming Thursday, and at future town halls.

It is understood that that there are many other issues of extreme importance to the membership. Future town halls will address a variety of topics considered timely and important for SVP. If you would like to suggest a topic for a future town hall meeting, please feel free to contact us at svp@vertpaleo.org.

Stuart Sumida, President"

3 7 12

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Neil Shubin @neilshubin.bsky.social · May 21

New paper from the lab: Our teeth arose as sensory organs on the outside of the body of ancient jawless fish.!! Congrats to Yara Haridy and the team!
Background and video: phys.org/news/2025-05...
Open Access Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
News and Views: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Teeth first evolved as sensory tissue in the armored exoskeletons of ancient fish, fossil scans find

Anyone who has ever squirmed through a dental cleaning can tell you how sensitive teeth can be. This sensitivity gives important feedback about temperature, pressure—and yes, pain—as we bite and chew ...

phys.org

15 280 730

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Dr. Brendan Anderson @fossilsndcoffee.bsky.social · May 14

Our report on employment is out in Paleobiology
(They did let us append that the paper was accepted before the election/changes to NSF and other granting agencies)

Employment in paleontology: status and trends in the United States | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core - www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Employment in paleontology: status and trends in the United States | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core

Employment in paleontology: status and trends in the United States

www.cambridge.org

5 33 56

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · May 8

That moment when you're almost done writing the Discussion section, and you realize you need to run more analyses.

1 2

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · May 5

Learning about third eyes at the Smithsonian today!

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Dr. Brendan Anderson @fossilsndcoffee.bsky.social · May 5

Day 8 of photoshopping @lastweektonight.com's John Oliver with fossils in the hopes that he saves the Paleontological Research Institution

This Yorktown Formation Mercenaria in our collections might make a nice desk for our H. sapiens (if this were to scale)

#molluskmonday #savePRI

John Oliver in a grey suit and dark tie sitting with his arms atop a fossil clam shell with nice growth lines and some sediment still on it

18 46

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Apr 30

I can still picture the cabinet this specimen was sitting in 🥲

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

V is for תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ @alana-m-vincent.net · Apr 22

Hey, academics! Have you signed a book contract lately?
You should report your royalty/advance rate anonymously on this spreadsheet.
Are you negotiating, or about to be negotiating, a book contract? You should take a look at the spreadsheet.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Academic publishing rates sharing

docs.google.com

1 22 37

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Zoe Kulik @paleozoek.bsky.social · Mar 27

New pub alert! 🚨 and the final installment of papers from my dissertation!

Really happy to share this work on Triassic cynodonts that reveals surprising growth differences, helping to reshape our understanding of stem mammal evolution #ThinSectionThursday #Paleontology #Cynodonts #Triassic

Disparate life histories in coeval Triassic cynodonts and their implications for the evolution of mammalian life histories | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core

Disparate life histories in coeval Triassic cynodonts and their implications for the evolution of mammalian life histories

www.cambridge.org

8 18

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Mar 4

Ash you don’t know the equations I’ve seen today 🫠😵‍💫

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Mar 4

How’s your research going today? Because I’ve been oscillating between these two extremes.

1 14

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 28

www.eatonworkshop.com/en-us/washin...

Had to pull on some memory strings, but I remembered it!

Eaton DC | Boutique Hotel & Coworking in Washington DC

www.eatonworkshop.com

1 3

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 28

More info on this in the comments 😃

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 28

STUNNING

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 28

Not sure…would love to learn more!

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 28

I spotted it in a hotel window while I was on a walk. I forget the exact spot 😅

2 2

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 28

I’ve been waiting so long to share the most beautiful dinosaur display I’ve ever seen for #FossilFriday - spotted in downtown DC 😍

8 62 200

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 21

I’m rarely asked to review, which I find surprising. I’m sure there are biases about asking more established (& male) profs to review - widening the net to more ERCs would lighten the editor load and give ERCs reviewing opportunities. (Not implying you do this, just something I’ve generally noticed)

1 8

Kelsey Jenkins, PhD @reptiliferous.bsky.social · Feb 7

I was too lost in the scientific sauce to #FossilFriday today, so please enjoy an old pic from the Dr. Seuss gallery in New Orleans. What kind of creature even is this?

1 1 9

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Raywat Deonandan @deonandan.bsky.social · Feb 6

1 47 250

Reposted by Kelsey Jenkins, PhD

Caleb M. Gordon @caleb-m-gordon.bsky.social · Feb 4

Hey BlueSky! I’ll be defending my PhD dissertation on Monday, Feb 24 from 1–2pm US ET. Message me for Zoom info if you’re interested!

1 6 16