Extinct

The Philosophy of Palaeontology Blog

February 2026
- Feb 24, 2026 From the Archive: Comparisons with Teeth Feb 24, 2026
January 2026
- Jan 25, 2026 Burgess Beasties and Ediacaran Enigmas Jan 25, 2026
November 2025
- Nov 5, 2025 From the Archive: Lords of Marble and the Spear Nov 5, 2025
- Nov 2, 2025 What the Actual Hell is Going On (Or, the Great Reg Sprigg Nature "Rejection" Mystery...) Nov 2, 2025
October 2025
- Oct 9, 2025 A History of Geology Reading List, Part 2 Oct 9, 2025
September 2025
- Sep 10, 2025 For the love of Fortey Sep 10, 2025
July 2025
- Jul 29, 2025 American Primordial: remembering the Great Taconic Controversy Jul 29, 2025
- Jul 10, 2025 Troubling Times at the Tar Pits: Mark Dion’s Excavations Amidst Other Historical Mischiefs Jul 10, 2025
June 2025
- Jun 20, 2025 From the archive: What evidential role should (ancient) DNA play in paleoanthropology? Jun 20, 2025
- Jun 1, 2025 From Stromatolites to Martian Leopard Spots: Circumstantial Traces and the Reconstruction of Early Life Jun 1, 2025
May 2025
- May 14, 2025 Ode to Opabinia, or Why You Don't Hear as Much About Problematic Fossils as you Used to May 14, 2025
April 2025
- Apr 28, 2025 Why the Yanks whiffed on drift... was uniformitarianism to blame? Apr 28, 2025
March 2025
- Mar 29, 2025 "The great heart of nature beats" Mar 29, 2025
- Mar 16, 2025 "Nature Vibrates with Rhythms" Mar 16, 2025
February 2025
- Feb 25, 2025 Pulse of the Solid Earth Feb 25, 2025
- Feb 17, 2025 Second Thoughts on Lyell Feb 17, 2025
- Feb 17, 2025 Problematica: The Charles Lyell Collection Feb 17, 2025
- Feb 12, 2025 A History of Geology Reading List, Part 1 Feb 12, 2025
January 2025
- Jan 18, 2025 More Hidden Gems from YouTube Jan 18, 2025
- Jan 11, 2025 Now that's how you teach kids about science Jan 11, 2025
- Jan 6, 2025 From the Archive: Rugged Individualism in the Cretaceous Jan 6, 2025
December 2024
- Dec 28, 2024 From the Archive: “Truth also has its Paleontology,” or When Pragmatism Met Uniformitarianism Dec 28, 2024
- Dec 17, 2024 From the Archive: Skeletons, Specimens, Synoptic Series, Similarity, and Difference Dec 17, 2024
- Dec 9, 2024 From the Archive: The Once and Future Earth Dec 9, 2024
- Dec 1, 2024 Toulmania '53: Remembering the Practice-Turn that Didn't Happen Dec 1, 2024
November 2024
- Nov 20, 2024 Microbe-metazoan macroevolution: new directions for an old research program Nov 20, 2024
- Nov 19, 2024 America the volcano-less Nov 19, 2024
October 2024
- Oct 30, 2024 Future-Proof Explosion? Oct 30, 2024
- Oct 6, 2024 More basalt, more problems Oct 6, 2024
- Oct 1, 2024 The Case of the Mislabeled Axis Oct 1, 2024
September 2024
- Sep 19, 2024 Evidence of absence Sep 19, 2024
- Sep 13, 2024 Ancient Plates and Pirate Anchors: When Should we Treat Absence of Evidence as Evidence of Absence? Sep 13, 2024
August 2024
- Aug 28, 2024 Extraterrestrial Epistemology, or the Limits of Archives Aug 28, 2024
- Aug 18, 2024 Minnesota Gneiss Aug 18, 2024
July 2024
- Jul 17, 2024 Problematica x25 Jul 17, 2024
- Jul 12, 2024 Wild Thing Jul 12, 2024
- Jul 5, 2024 Release the Kraken Jul 5, 2024
June 2024
- Jun 26, 2024 The Bear Jun 26, 2024
- Jun 20, 2024 Mivart's Dilemma Confronted Jun 20, 2024
- Jun 12, 2024 St. George and The Dragon Jun 12, 2024
May 2024
- May 30, 2024 Amazing old science documentaries on YouTube May 30, 2024
- May 22, 2024 Going global: geology between Lyell and Suess May 22, 2024
April 2024
- Apr 16, 2024 “What we are witnessing is the collapse of the terrestrial globe” Apr 16, 2024
- Apr 5, 2024 Good Grief Apr 5, 2024
March 2024
- Mar 20, 2024 Alien versus Amphibian: War of the Worldviews? Mar 20, 2024
- Mar 11, 2024 When Will Scientific Disagreement Bear Fruit? The Case of Angiosperm Origins Mar 11, 2024
February 2024
- Feb 29, 2024 Red Ochre and Moon Cycles: Interpreting Bodily Adornment in Prehistory Feb 29, 2024
- Feb 16, 2024 Rugged Individualism in the Cretaceous: What George Simpson’s Fiction Reveals about His Philosophy of Evolution Feb 16, 2024
January 2024
- Jan 31, 2024 The Importance of Background Theory, or Why James Hall Left Mountains out of his Theory of Mountain Building Jan 31, 2024
- Jan 17, 2024 Another six months of the (De-) Extinct Blog Jan 17, 2024
- Jan 5, 2024 Dinosaur Time Jan 5, 2024
December 2023
- Dec 20, 2023 Equilibrium, Disrupted Dec 20, 2023
- Dec 19, 2023 From the archive: How to Change your Life using Punctuated Equilibria/Paradox of Stasis Dec 19, 2023
- Dec 1, 2023 A History of Resurrection Biology, Part Two: Righting Past Wrongs? Dec 1, 2023
November 2023
- Nov 22, 2023 A History of Resurrection Biology, Part One: Extinction, Redemption, and Nazi Cattle Nov 22, 2023
- Nov 7, 2023 The First Philosopher of Paleontology— er, 'Palaetiology' Nov 7, 2023
October 2023
- Oct 18, 2023 Science in a Fishbowl? The Case of Glass-Walled Fossil Preparation Laboratories in Museums Oct 18, 2023
September 2023
- Sep 28, 2023 Goddess in the Details Sep 28, 2023
- Sep 15, 2023 The Weird Early History of Paleontology: Robert Plot and Scrotum humanum Sep 15, 2023
- Sep 2, 2023 Re-thinking Living Fossils, Again Sep 2, 2023
August 2023
- Aug 14, 2023 Ediacaran Enigma: Uncertainty and Underdetermination in Precambrian Paleontology Aug 14, 2023
July 2023
- Jul 26, 2023 Ripe Science, Hype Science, Meteor Sideswipe Science Jul 26, 2023
- Jul 6, 2023 Paradox of Stasis Jul 6, 2023
June 2023
- Jun 27, 2023 Sixth months of the (De-) Extinct Blog Jun 27, 2023
- Jun 19, 2023 How to Change Your Life Using Punctuated Equilibria Jun 19, 2023
- Jun 5, 2023 Stray Thoughts on Contingency Following the MBL-ASU History of Biology Seminar Jun 5, 2023
May 2023
- May 30, 2023 Stable Isotopes in Unstable Times: Harold Urey’s paleothermometer and the nature of proxy measurement May 30, 2023
- May 12, 2023 From the Archive: Replaying Life's Tape— No Miracles Required May 12, 2023
- May 1, 2023 History, Kindness, and the Great Evolutionary Faunas May 1, 2023
April 2023
- Apr 17, 2023 The Once and Future Earth Apr 17, 2023
March 2023
- Mar 31, 2023 Is Contemporary Climate Change Really Unprecedented? Mar 31, 2023
- Mar 14, 2023 Lords of Marble and the Spear Mar 14, 2023
- Mar 6, 2023 Sizing up the "Biodiversity Crisis": Paleocurves, Measurements, and Problematic Inferences Mar 6, 2023
February 2023
- Feb 20, 2023 The Trouble with Ancestors Feb 20, 2023
- Feb 9, 2023 Hugh Miller, Misplaced Boulders, and a Challenge for “Historical Cognitivism” Feb 9, 2023
January 2023
- Jan 19, 2023 “Truth also has its Paleontology,” or When Pragmatism Met Uniformitarianism Jan 19, 2023
- Jan 9, 2023 Comparisons with Teeth: Two Hundred Years of Actualism in Paleontology Jan 9, 2023
- Jan 6, 2023 The De-Extinct Blog, and Introducing "Problematica" Jan 6, 2023
- Jan 2, 2023 Extinct: Relaunch! Jan 2, 2023
November 2019
- Nov 1, 2019 The Art of Paleontology Nov 1, 2019
October 2019
- Oct 1, 2019 Landmark Studies Oct 1, 2019
September 2019
- Sep 1, 2019 Skeletons, Specimens, Synoptic Series, Similarity, and Difference Sep 1, 2019
August 2019
- Aug 1, 2019 The Future Geologist and the Anthropocene Aug 1, 2019
July 2019
- Jul 1, 2019 Place, Place Baby Jul 1, 2019
June 2019
- Jun 1, 2019 Hype and Trust Jun 1, 2019
May 2019
- May 1, 2019 What to Do with Scientific Disagreement May 1, 2019
April 2019
- Apr 1, 2019 Not in My Boneyard Apr 1, 2019
March 2019
- Mar 1, 2019 Colorful Betting Practices Mar 1, 2019
February 2019
- Feb 18, 2019 Beginning at the beginning: Leibniz and the texts of deep history. Feb 18, 2019
- Feb 1, 2019 Data, Text & Simulation: Alisa Bokulich’s "Using models to correct data: paleodiversity and the fossil record." Feb 1, 2019
January 2019
- Jan 1, 2019 Extinct in 2018, Extinct in 2019! Jan 1, 2019
December 2018
- Dec 1, 2018 Philosophical Metaphor & Philosophical Analysis Dec 1, 2018
November 2018
- Nov 8, 2018 On Horses, In Solidarity Nov 8, 2018
October 2018
- Oct 1, 2018 A Metasequoia Moment Oct 1, 2018
September 2018
- Sep 1, 2018 Rethinking Living Fossils Sep 1, 2018
August 2018
- Aug 1, 2018 How do you pronounce "Parasaurolophus"? Aug 1, 2018
July 2018
- Jul 16, 2018 What's It Like to Be a Dinosaur? Jul 16, 2018
- Jul 1, 2018 Currie on Havstad on Currie Jul 1, 2018
June 2018
- Jun 1, 2018 Adrian Currie's "Rock, Bone, and Ruin" Jun 1, 2018
May 2018
- May 1, 2018 Consensus Schmosensus: Dead Dinosaurs, Big Rocks & Simple Stories May 1, 2018
April 2018
- Apr 2, 2018 History and Value Apr 2, 2018
March 2018
- Mar 1, 2018 Glastonbury: today, tomorrow, 2,250 years ago Mar 1, 2018
February 2018
- Feb 1, 2018 Extinction, resolved Feb 1, 2018
December 2017
- Dec 27, 2017 Writing about Science in 2017 Dec 27, 2017
- Dec 18, 2017 Systematics of Star Wars Dec 18, 2017
- Dec 11, 2017 Reptilian Flamingos? Dec 11, 2017
- Dec 4, 2017 Bringing Evolution to the Masses: Disney’s Fantasia as History of Biology Dec 4, 2017
November 2017
- Nov 27, 2017 Leaving a Legacy: Specimen Collection in Archaeology and Biology Nov 27, 2017
- Nov 20, 2017 The Chidi-Ross Spectrum: Role Models in Philosophy and Paleontology Nov 20, 2017
- Nov 13, 2017 Remeasuring Pisanosaurus Nov 13, 2017
- Nov 6, 2017 The missing fossils matter as much as the ones we have found Nov 6, 2017
October 2017
- Oct 30, 2017 Doing History & Philosophy of Science like Paleontology Oct 30, 2017
- Oct 23, 2017 Stop the Clocks (and the Other Geologic Timescale Metaphors, Too)! Oct 23, 2017
- Oct 16, 2017 Dinosaur at the Gas Station Oct 16, 2017
- Oct 9, 2017 Musical Prehistory, Obvious Inferences & Being Human Oct 9, 2017
- Oct 2, 2017 Consciousness and Paleobiological Laws: E. D. Cope as Philosopher Oct 2, 2017
September 2017
- Sep 25, 2017 You Should Read This Book Sep 25, 2017
- Sep 18, 2017 Paleontological luck Sep 18, 2017
- Sep 11, 2017 Natural Theology Still Shapes How We Think About Fossils Sep 11, 2017
- Sep 4, 2017 The secret epistemology of paleontological fieldwork. Sep 4, 2017
August 2017
- Aug 28, 2017 Beggar's Game and Game of Chance: Marketing Tendaguru Dinosaurs Aug 28, 2017
- Aug 21, 2017 Field camp 2017 journals Aug 21, 2017
- Aug 14, 2017 Adding Mary Anning: Reflections on Confederate Nostalgia, Counterfactual History, and the History of Paleontology Aug 14, 2017
- Aug 7, 2017 Try and say things that have a reasonable chance of being true... Aug 7, 2017
July 2017
- Jul 31, 2017 Counterfactual History & The Minimal Rewrite Rule Jul 31, 2017
- Jul 24, 2017 Thoughts on "Earth's Deep History" by Martin J. S. Rudwick Jul 24, 2017
- Jul 17, 2017 How Should Museums Organize Their Fossils? Jul 17, 2017
- Jul 10, 2017 The Transformative Value of Fossils Jul 10, 2017
- Jul 3, 2017 Why disagree? Jul 3, 2017
June 2017
- Jun 26, 2017 “Started from the bottom” - The unexpected rise of Lokiarchaeota from the depth of the oceans to evolutionary significance. Jun 26, 2017
- Jun 19, 2017 "Mass" Effects Jun 19, 2017
- Jun 12, 2017 Gypsy Moths and Devonian Invasions Jun 12, 2017
- Jun 5, 2017 Extinction Matters Jun 5, 2017
May 2017
- May 30, 2017 Paleontology after Gould May 30, 2017
- May 22, 2017 A Reading Invitation May 22, 2017
- May 15, 2017 Putting Pictures to Data: The Case of the Hypothetical Ancestral Mammal May 15, 2017
- May 8, 2017 From the War of Nature May 8, 2017
- May 1, 2017 From Humanoids to Heptapods: The Evolution of Extraterrestrials in Science Fiction May 1, 2017
April 2017
- Apr 24, 2017 Hobbits, Ghosts & Total Evidence Apr 24, 2017
- Apr 17, 2017 Some Questions About Dinosaur Feet Apr 17, 2017
- Apr 10, 2017 Some Questions About Dinosaur Hips Apr 10, 2017
- Apr 3, 2017 Much Ado About Niches Apr 3, 2017
March 2017
- Mar 27, 2017 What's Lost When a Species Goes Extinct? Mar 27, 2017
- Mar 20, 2017 Anomalies Like Anomalocaris Mar 20, 2017
- Mar 13, 2017 Parsimony Revisited Mar 13, 2017
- Mar 6, 2017 The Wilderness Before Time Mar 6, 2017
February 2017
- Feb 27, 2017 Paleoart As Science Feb 27, 2017
- Feb 20, 2017 Walt Disney's Dinosaurs: The Story of The Rite of Spring Feb 20, 2017
- Feb 13, 2017 A Paleontological Record Feb 13, 2017
- Feb 6, 2017 Four Features of Historical Counterfactuals Feb 6, 2017
January 2017
- Jan 30, 2017 The Strange Case of the Crocodile’s Snout. Part 2: exonerating the hopeless. Jan 30, 2017
- Jan 23, 2017 Replaying Life's Tape – No Miracles Required Jan 23, 2017
- Jan 16, 2017 Indiana Jones and the Griffin's Egg Jan 16, 2017
- Jan 9, 2017 Meditations on (First) Philosophy and (Then) Paleontology Jan 9, 2017
- Jan 2, 2017 Science, Religion, and Bad Poetry Jan 2, 2017
December 2016
- Dec 26, 2016 Extinct, One Year In! Dec 26, 2016
- Dec 19, 2016 Picturing Data, Narrating History Dec 19, 2016
- Dec 12, 2016 Historical Sciences and "Great Man" Approaches to History Dec 12, 2016
- Dec 5, 2016 The Strange Case of the Crocodile’s Snout. Part 1: Answerless Questions Dec 5, 2016
November 2016
- Nov 28, 2016 "Geoffrey," by "Plato" Nov 28, 2016
- Nov 21, 2016 Artificial Species Selection Nov 21, 2016
- Nov 14, 2016 The Swamp Zombie’s Journey: breathing new life into old data Nov 14, 2016
- Nov 7, 2016 ISH Goes Extinct at the PSA Nov 7, 2016
October 2016
- Oct 31, 2016 How Paleontology Made America Great Again Oct 31, 2016
- Oct 24, 2016 Why don't they call it "Stagnating Selection"? Oct 24, 2016
- Oct 17, 2016 Looking back and moving forward Oct 17, 2016
- Oct 10, 2016 Of Sea-Urchins and Computer Models Oct 10, 2016
- Oct 3, 2016 Excavating Hidden Truths Oct 3, 2016
September 2016
- Sep 26, 2016 Site-Specific Teaching in New England's Dinosaur Country Sep 26, 2016
- Sep 19, 2016 Teaching Philosophy of Science... With Science! Sep 19, 2016
- Sep 12, 2016 Transformation, Persistence, and Identity Sep 12, 2016
- Sep 5, 2016 Back to School Thoughts Sep 5, 2016
August 2016
- Aug 29, 2016 You Call That a Velociraptor? A Philosophical Review of "Jurassic Park" Aug 29, 2016
- Aug 26, 2016 Platyzilla & the Value of Fossils (a response to Turner’s “Are Dinosaurs Overrated?”) Aug 26, 2016
- Aug 22, 2016 Are Dinosaurs Overrated? Aug 22, 2016
- Aug 15, 2016 Triceratops Against Concepts Aug 15, 2016
- Aug 8, 2016 Is Internal/External Eternal? Aug 8, 2016
- Aug 1, 2016 The Paleontological Individual Aug 1, 2016
July 2016
- Jul 25, 2016 Paleoaesthetics in the Bisti Badlands Jul 25, 2016
- Jul 18, 2016 Penguins & Ceratopsids, Lumpers & Splitters. Jul 18, 2016
- Jul 11, 2016 From Bonebeds to Paleoecology Jul 11, 2016
- Jul 4, 2016 The Ossification of Ideas Jul 4, 2016
June 2016
- Jun 27, 2016 Humps and Lumps: Thoughts from Loch Ness During My Summer Vacation Jun 27, 2016
- Jun 20, 2016 The Macroevolutionary Puzzle of the Cycads Jun 20, 2016
- Jun 13, 2016 Shakespeare and the Sauropods Jun 13, 2016
- Jun 6, 2016 A Crush of Ceratopsids Jun 6, 2016
May 2016
- May 30, 2016 What, if anything, is a Tyrannosaurus rex? May 30, 2016
- May 23, 2016 "Leave No Trace" May 23, 2016
- May 16, 2016 The Dogmatist’s Debunker & the Fossil Preparator May 16, 2016
- May 9, 2016 What evidential role should (ancient) DNA play in paleoanthropology? May 9, 2016
- May 2, 2016 Reading (and Writing) about Rereading May 2, 2016
April 2016
- Apr 25, 2016 The Unspecific Unicorn Apr 25, 2016
- Apr 18, 2016 Extinction and Expiration Dates Apr 18, 2016
- Apr 11, 2016 Overcoming underdetermination Apr 11, 2016
- Apr 4, 2016 Exquisite Corpse: conservation-paleobiology & uniqueness Apr 4, 2016
March 2016
- Mar 28, 2016 Of Endlings Mar 28, 2016
- Mar 21, 2016 Conservation Paleobiology Mar 21, 2016
- Mar 14, 2016 Traces of the Past: Drumlins Mar 14, 2016
- Mar 11, 2016 Paleoart and Authenticity - A response to Rieppel Mar 11, 2016
- Mar 7, 2016 Going Complex Mar 7, 2016
February 2016
- Feb 29, 2016 A Philosophical Introduction to Paleontology: A Philosophical Introduction Feb 29, 2016
- Feb 22, 2016 Mo' parsimony, mo' problems Feb 22, 2016
- Feb 15, 2016 Nemesis Strikes Back: Lisa Randall's Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs Feb 15, 2016
- Feb 8, 2016 Romancing the Raptor Feb 8, 2016
- Feb 1, 2016 Casting Authenticity Feb 1, 2016
January 2016
- Jan 25, 2016 Sail Away? Jan 25, 2016
- Jan 22, 2016 Losing Digits & Gaining Banana-stands: a response to Finkelman Jan 22, 2016
- Jan 18, 2016 "What If" Prehistory Jan 18, 2016
- Jan 15, 2016 Wayne's Razor at the museum? A response to Currie Jan 15, 2016
- Jan 11, 2016 Wayne's Razor: in defence of speculation Jan 11, 2016
- Jan 6, 2016 Welcome to Extinct! Jan 6, 2016
- Jan 4, 2016 New to all this? Don't worry—I am too. Jan 4, 2016
- Jan 4, 2016 Against Simple Stories. Jan 4, 2016
- Jan 4, 2016 "Plus ca Change" and the Importance of Going Extinct Jan 4, 2016
- Jan 4, 2016 Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World Jan 4, 2016