Neil Adams
@neilfadams.bsky.social
Curator of Fossil Mammals 🦴 Mammal palaeoecology and palaeo-diet researcher 🦷 Associate Researcher at OUMNH and Honorary Visiting Fellow at University of Leicester. Hiker and rambler 🥾 (he/him)
Despite major FOMO from missing #2025SVP and general wintery gloominess, a refreshing start to today with an early morning museum view for government DCMS colleagues - showcasing our exciting Moves programme, new joint projects with @uniofreading.bsky.social, and the wonder of NHM fossil mammals!
November 13, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Despite major FOMO from missing #2025SVP and general wintery gloominess, a refreshing start to today with an early morning museum view for government DCMS colleagues - showcasing our exciting Moves programme, new joint projects with @uniofreading.bsky.social, and the wonder of NHM fossil mammals!
Reposted by Neil Adams
We need to be more honest about the nature of the job market with students, and one way of doing that is by showing them the data. Turns out, we also need better data collection on (at least US) paleo careers www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
October 30, 2025 at 5:15 AM
We need to be more honest about the nature of the job market with students, and one way of doing that is by showing them the data. Turns out, we also need better data collection on (at least US) paleo careers www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Somehow another year has flown by and today marks my third anniversary as fossil mammal curator at the @nhm-london.bsky.social! ☺️ It's been a whirlwind year full of a huge diversity of projects 🌪️ but most of all the prep for our imminent collections move to Reading 📦 Exciting plans ahead for 2026!
October 17, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Somehow another year has flown by and today marks my third anniversary as fossil mammal curator at the @nhm-london.bsky.social! ☺️ It's been a whirlwind year full of a huge diversity of projects 🌪️ but most of all the prep for our imminent collections move to Reading 📦 Exciting plans ahead for 2026!
Reposted by Neil Adams
Celebrating #NationalFossilDay with a new paper describing specimens of the most whimsical of weasel relatives, leptarctine ("slender bear") mustelids, from the collections of @ucmpberkeley.bsky.social.
Their teeth are so much fun to look at! 🦷
doi.org/10.5070/P9.4...
(Cover image by P. Holroyd)
Their teeth are so much fun to look at! 🦷
doi.org/10.5070/P9.4...
(Cover image by P. Holroyd)
October 15, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Celebrating #NationalFossilDay with a new paper describing specimens of the most whimsical of weasel relatives, leptarctine ("slender bear") mustelids, from the collections of @ucmpberkeley.bsky.social.
Their teeth are so much fun to look at! 🦷
doi.org/10.5070/P9.4...
(Cover image by P. Holroyd)
Their teeth are so much fun to look at! 🦷
doi.org/10.5070/P9.4...
(Cover image by P. Holroyd)
Reposted by Neil Adams
Just out in @frontiersin.bsky.social our systematic review of the late Quaternary megafauna extinction debate.
We analyzed and coded 360 articles to trace the development of the debate, identify key themes in the literature, and propose a forward-looking research agenda.
We analyzed and coded 360 articles to trace the development of the debate, identify key themes in the literature, and propose a forward-looking research agenda.
Frontiers | The state of the late Quaternary megafauna extinction debate: a systematic review and analysis
With its origins in the late 18th and early 19th century, the question of what drove the late Quaternary megafauna extinctions remains one of science’s most ...
www.frontiersin.org
October 16, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Just out in @frontiersin.bsky.social our systematic review of the late Quaternary megafauna extinction debate.
We analyzed and coded 360 articles to trace the development of the debate, identify key themes in the literature, and propose a forward-looking research agenda.
We analyzed and coded 360 articles to trace the development of the debate, identify key themes in the literature, and propose a forward-looking research agenda.
Reposted by Neil Adams
Just out, our new paper "The state of the late Quaternary megafauna extinction debate...". We review the various perspectives, methods, and datasets which have been used to explore the extinction of many large animals. Was it humans, climate, or a mix of both? The debate continues!
Frontiers | The state of the late Quaternary megafauna extinction debate: a systematic review and analysis
With its origins in the late 18th and early 19th century, the question of what drove the late Quaternary megafauna extinctions remains one of science’s most ...
www.frontiersin.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Just out, our new paper "The state of the late Quaternary megafauna extinction debate...". We review the various perspectives, methods, and datasets which have been used to explore the extinction of many large animals. Was it humans, climate, or a mix of both? The debate continues!
Reposted by Neil Adams
New preprint: Brawn before bite in endemic Asian mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction. #Paleontology #Mammals #Extinction
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
TLDR: S. China mammals diversified dentally, tracked environment, then leveled up bite mechanics all within the first 10 m.y. post K-Pg.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
TLDR: S. China mammals diversified dentally, tracked environment, then leveled up bite mechanics all within the first 10 m.y. post K-Pg.
Brawn before bite in endemic Asian mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction
The first 10 million years (Myr) following the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction marked a period of global greenhouse conditions and dramatic rise of placental mammals. Because ~80% of known...
www.biorxiv.org
September 29, 2025 at 3:22 PM
New preprint: Brawn before bite in endemic Asian mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction. #Paleontology #Mammals #Extinction
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
TLDR: S. China mammals diversified dentally, tracked environment, then leveled up bite mechanics all within the first 10 m.y. post K-Pg.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
TLDR: S. China mammals diversified dentally, tracked environment, then leveled up bite mechanics all within the first 10 m.y. post K-Pg.
Reposted by Neil Adams
Job alert! jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Lecturer...
Lecturer in Earth Sciences
Lecturer in Earth Sciences
jobs.open.ac.uk
September 22, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Job alert! jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Lecturer...
Reposted by Neil Adams
Feeding strategies of the Pleistocene insular dwarf elephants Palaeoloxodon falconeri and Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Sicily (Italy) - Strani - 2025 - Papers in Palaeontology - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Feeding strategies of the Pleistocene insular dwarf elephants Palaeoloxodon falconeri and Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Sicily (Italy)
The fossil record of the Mediterranean islands attests to several cases of insular dwarfism. The extinct large-sized straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus underwent this process at least tw...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 22, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Feeding strategies of the Pleistocene insular dwarf elephants Palaeoloxodon falconeri and Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Sicily (Italy) - Strani - 2025 - Papers in Palaeontology - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Neil Adams
One week left to apply for our postdoc position on Deep-Time Small Rodent Palaeogenomics!
This is a 2-year full-time position that includes Swedish employment benefits, as well as funding for research expenses and work-related travel.
More info and application link:
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
This is a 2-year full-time position that includes Swedish employment benefits, as well as funding for research expenses and work-related travel.
More info and application link:
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
September 15, 2025 at 1:07 PM
One week left to apply for our postdoc position on Deep-Time Small Rodent Palaeogenomics!
This is a 2-year full-time position that includes Swedish employment benefits, as well as funding for research expenses and work-related travel.
More info and application link:
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
This is a 2-year full-time position that includes Swedish employment benefits, as well as funding for research expenses and work-related travel.
More info and application link:
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Reposted by Neil Adams
New paper: quantifying sexual dimorphism and growth stage of walrus skulls and mandibles. A useful tool for identifying the sex and age of modern and fossil walrus material! #OA #marinemammal 🐋 Read it here: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
September 17, 2025 at 2:40 PM
New paper: quantifying sexual dimorphism and growth stage of walrus skulls and mandibles. A useful tool for identifying the sex and age of modern and fossil walrus material! #OA #marinemammal 🐋 Read it here: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Neil Adams
oh crap. MNHN-the Paris Natural History Museum paralyzed by cyber-attack! If you've been unable to access their database, website or other resources, here is why.. www.sortiraparis.com/en/news/in-p...
Paris: cyber-attack hits Natural History Museum, cancels exhibition
The massive cyberattack that has paralyzed the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris's 5th arrondissement since late July 2025 has forced the institution to cancel the "Tropical Autumn: Palms,...
www.sortiraparis.com
September 10, 2025 at 8:19 PM
oh crap. MNHN-the Paris Natural History Museum paralyzed by cyber-attack! If you've been unable to access their database, website or other resources, here is why.. www.sortiraparis.com/en/news/in-p...
Reposted by Neil Adams
Prehistoric Planet Ice Age out later this year... such a thrill to put this series together, oh my goodness are you in for a treat :) Hopefully news on events and publicity coming soon! Sloths, cats, rhinos, glyptodonts AND SOOOO MUCH MORE!!
September 10, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Prehistoric Planet Ice Age out later this year... such a thrill to put this series together, oh my goodness are you in for a treat :) Hopefully news on events and publicity coming soon! Sloths, cats, rhinos, glyptodonts AND SOOOO MUCH MORE!!
Reposted by Neil Adams
Yesterday I co-presented a Meet the Scientist at the @nhm-london.bsky.social: we talked about the giant ground sloth Mylodon (or Neomylodon) skin the museum received from F. P. Moreno in 1899. Thanks to @neilfadams.bsky.social, we had the actual specimen. Turns out it's real big!
August 20, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Yesterday I co-presented a Meet the Scientist at the @nhm-london.bsky.social: we talked about the giant ground sloth Mylodon (or Neomylodon) skin the museum received from F. P. Moreno in 1899. Thanks to @neilfadams.bsky.social, we had the actual specimen. Turns out it's real big!
Reposted by Neil Adams
My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...
A reconstruction of the lost Crystal Palace #Palaeotherium (2023), by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. Commissioned by
@cpdinosaurs.bsky.social with guidance from @nhm-london.bsky.social & @markwitton.bsky.social. Part 1 of 5.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #CrystalPalacePark
A reconstruction of the lost Crystal Palace #Palaeotherium (2023), by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. Commissioned by
@cpdinosaurs.bsky.social with guidance from @nhm-london.bsky.social & @markwitton.bsky.social. Part 1 of 5.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #CrystalPalacePark
July 22, 2025 at 3:44 PM
My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...
A reconstruction of the lost Crystal Palace #Palaeotherium (2023), by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. Commissioned by
@cpdinosaurs.bsky.social with guidance from @nhm-london.bsky.social & @markwitton.bsky.social. Part 1 of 5.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #CrystalPalacePark
A reconstruction of the lost Crystal Palace #Palaeotherium (2023), by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. Commissioned by
@cpdinosaurs.bsky.social with guidance from @nhm-london.bsky.social & @markwitton.bsky.social. Part 1 of 5.
#SciArt #PaleoArt #CrystalPalacePark
Reposted by Neil Adams
A jade (nephrite) Siberian mammoth (object number 02.18.807). Donated to the Met in New York in 1902 by the trustee, businessman, and jade collector Heber Reginald Bishop. Many curious things in the Met's digitised Open Access collections.
July 18, 2025 at 7:14 AM
A jade (nephrite) Siberian mammoth (object number 02.18.807). Donated to the Met in New York in 1902 by the trustee, businessman, and jade collector Heber Reginald Bishop. Many curious things in the Met's digitised Open Access collections.
Reposted by Neil Adams
Currently prepping these wooden beauties for a new display on Richard Owen’s science, art and legacy going into the NHM’s Images of Nature gallery tomorrow! #woodengraving #megatherium #bones #specialcollections
July 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Currently prepping these wooden beauties for a new display on Richard Owen’s science, art and legacy going into the NHM’s Images of Nature gallery tomorrow! #woodengraving #megatherium #bones #specialcollections
Reposted by Neil Adams
A new paper of mine just came out in the Journal of Anatomy! Learn more about Conoryctes and why the insides of its bones are important on my website. Or, check out the open-access paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Digging into the rise of mammals
gregfunston.com/2025/07/14/d...
Digging into the rise of mammals
gregfunston.com/2025/07/14/d...
Digging into the rise of mammals
A new study of mine has just been published in the Journal of Anatomy! The paper is open access, courtesy of UC Davis, so it is free to access and read for all. You can find it here. The paper is p…
gregfunston.com
July 14, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A new paper of mine just came out in the Journal of Anatomy! Learn more about Conoryctes and why the insides of its bones are important on my website. Or, check out the open-access paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Digging into the rise of mammals
gregfunston.com/2025/07/14/d...
Digging into the rise of mammals
gregfunston.com/2025/07/14/d...
Reposted by Neil Adams
[Open Access] sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10....
An indentation in a 33,000-year-old right calcaneus of the ground sloth Lestodon (Xenarthra, Folivora) from Uruguay and its possible human agency - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology
Several sites in the Americas are proposed to have evidence of human occupation before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The timing of human colonisation of the Americas is a matter of debate due to its...
sjpp.springeropen.com
July 6, 2025 at 8:43 AM
[Open Access] sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10....
Completely missed this video coming out last month, but for #fossilfriday why not learn about Darwin’s mysterious fossil mammal Toxodon? An interview with yours truly
Well, of course you and I knew about Toxodon. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LJd...
Charles Darwin's fossil mammal you never knew about | Natural History Museum
YouTube video by Natural History Museum
www.youtube.com
July 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Completely missed this video coming out last month, but for #fossilfriday why not learn about Darwin’s mysterious fossil mammal Toxodon? An interview with yours truly
Great day of outreach at @uniofreading.bsky.social for their #CommunityFestival. Sharing the wonder of our recent joint project and @nhm-london.bsky.social fossil mammals from Westbury Cave! Some citizen science to top it off, having the public sort field samples for tiny micromammals! 🐁🦷
May 17, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Great day of outreach at @uniofreading.bsky.social for their #CommunityFestival. Sharing the wonder of our recent joint project and @nhm-london.bsky.social fossil mammals from Westbury Cave! Some citizen science to top it off, having the public sort field samples for tiny micromammals! 🐁🦷
Reposted by Neil Adams
In @nature.com we report the presence of the Mesolithic on Malta - upending everything we knew about the seafaring capabilities of late European hunter-gatherers and pushing back Maltese prehistory by 1000 years. Watch the clip, link to open access paper is below. 1/5
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
April 9, 2025 at 3:08 PM
In @nature.com we report the presence of the Mesolithic on Malta - upending everything we knew about the seafaring capabilities of late European hunter-gatherers and pushing back Maltese prehistory by 1000 years. Watch the clip, link to open access paper is below. 1/5
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Neil Adams
🚨Job offers🚨
Two tenure-track positions for researchers at the Senckenberg in Weimar (Germany) on:
- Quaternary Megafaunas 🦣
- Palaeobiology of Quaternary Small Mammals 🐁
www.museumsbund.de/stellenangeb...
Two tenure-track positions for researchers at the Senckenberg in Weimar (Germany) on:
- Quaternary Megafaunas 🦣
- Palaeobiology of Quaternary Small Mammals 🐁
www.museumsbund.de/stellenangeb...
Quaternary Megafaunas and Palaeobiology of Quaternary Small Mammals | Deutscher Museumsbund e.V.
Job announcement Ref. #03-25001
The Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (SGN) was founded in 1817 and is one of the most important research institutions in the field of biodiversity. At its t...
www.museumsbund.de
March 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
🚨Job offers🚨
Two tenure-track positions for researchers at the Senckenberg in Weimar (Germany) on:
- Quaternary Megafaunas 🦣
- Palaeobiology of Quaternary Small Mammals 🐁
www.museumsbund.de/stellenangeb...
Two tenure-track positions for researchers at the Senckenberg in Weimar (Germany) on:
- Quaternary Megafaunas 🦣
- Palaeobiology of Quaternary Small Mammals 🐁
www.museumsbund.de/stellenangeb...
An exciting new study for #fossilfriday! Fur colour of not one but six Mesozoic mammals revealed for the first time!🐀 All of them seem uniformly dark—all the better to blend into the night and avoid becoming a dino snack!🦖
My take with words by @jamesashway.bsky.social
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
My take with words by @jamesashway.bsky.social
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
Fur colour of ancient mammal relatives revealed for the first time | Natural History Museum
Dark brown was in fashion for mammals and their relatives over 150 million years ago.
www.nhm.ac.uk
March 14, 2025 at 10:39 AM
An exciting new study for #fossilfriday! Fur colour of not one but six Mesozoic mammals revealed for the first time!🐀 All of them seem uniformly dark—all the better to blend into the night and avoid becoming a dino snack!🦖
My take with words by @jamesashway.bsky.social
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
My take with words by @jamesashway.bsky.social
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
Reposted by Neil Adams
Excited to share our new paper on the most complete mixodectid fossil ever discovered! Phylogenetic results support Mixodectes as most closely related to primatomorphans (primates and colugos) among mammals.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New remarkably complete skeleton of Mixodectes reveals arboreality in a large Paleocene primatomorphan mammal following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - New remarkably complete skeleton of Mixodectes reveals arboreality in a large Paleocene primatomorphan mammal following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction
www.nature.com
March 11, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Excited to share our new paper on the most complete mixodectid fossil ever discovered! Phylogenetic results support Mixodectes as most closely related to primatomorphans (primates and colugos) among mammals.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...