Laysan Ducks: Not as Degenerate as People Used to Think

I really like ducks, and my god there’s a lot to say about them. Here, we look at a small Hawaiian duck that once stood on the very precipice of extinction, some sources saying that it was reduced to a single individual at one point. I speak, of course, of the famous Laysan duck Anas laysanensis…

Birdwatching in Oregon

Back in December 2022, I had the remarkable privilege of visiting Portland, Oregon, for a conference. I’ve longed to visit the Pacific Northwest for my entire life and this was my first ever visit there. It was a dream trip and I had an amazing time, and while there’s a lot I could talk about… today we’re here to discuss THE BIRDS...

Discovering 'Hidden' Diversity Within Wealden Spinosaurid Dinosaurs

Over recent years, myself and colleagues at the University of Southampton have published a series of studies on the spinosaurid theropods of the English Wealden Supergroup (Barker et al. 2021, 2022, 2023a). And we’ve succeeded in improving our knowledge of Wealden spinosaurid diversity. But wait — there’s more!

My Own Personal Dinosauroid

Regular readers of Tetrapod Zoology content will be aware of the long-standing interest round these parts in the dinosauroid, a hypothetical humanoid theropod dinosaur posited to evolve in an alternative timeline where the end-Cretaceous extinction event never happened…

The Remarkable Basilisks

Way back in 2009 (the ScienceBlogs years) I published a Tetrapod Zoology article titled ‘Tell me something new about basilisks, puh-lease’ wherein I lamented the fact that people only ever say the same one thing about basilisks. Aware that there’s all too little squamate content here at Tetrapod Zoology ver 4, I here present a much augmented and updated version of that article…

Ancient Sea Reptiles Is Out Now

Plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs and the other sea-going reptiles of the Mesozoic seas are among the most fascinating and awesome animals of all time. But if you want a comprehensive, well-illustrated book that reviews them all… well, you’re out of luck, since no such volume exists. UNTIL NOW.

Pouches, pockets and sacs in the heads, necks and chests of baleen whales

Way back in 2010, I published a series of articles on the various pouches, pockets and sacs (virtually all of which are laryngeal diverticula of one sort or another) that exist in the heads, necks and chests of mammals. I never finished that series.