Heather F. Smith. Ph.D.'s Avatar

Heather F. Smith. Ph.D.

@heatherfsmith

Editor-in-Chief, The Anatomical Record (@anatrecord.bsky.social). Professor of Anatomy. Evolutionary biologist, paleontologist, and educator studying fossil and extant turtles and carnivorans. anatomicalrecord.com

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06.09.2023
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Latest posts by Heather F. Smith. Ph.D. @heatherfsmith

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πŸ¦– Free Webinar: 200 Years of Vertebrate Paleontology in South Asia
Join Dr. Advait Jukar for a fascinating look at the history and future of vertebrate paleontology in South Asia.
πŸ“… March 11 | 12-1 PM ET
πŸ”— Register: anatomy.org/ANATOMY/Meet...

06.03.2026 12:00 πŸ‘ 59 πŸ” 26 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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New research reveals first comprehensive hypothesis of soft-tissue anatomy in ceratopsid dinosaurs. Reconstruction of Triceratops’ nasal nerves, glands & respiratory turbinates suggests unique innervation and head-cooling adaptations.
Tada et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

13.02.2026 12:00 πŸ‘ 59 πŸ” 18 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ¦–Bristol Channel reveals a new early croc relative! Bodenham et al describe Galahadosuchus jonesi, sister to Terrestrisuchus gracilis and part of Saltoposuchidaeβ€”a swift, erect runner from just before the end-Triassic extinction.
πŸ”— anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

20.02.2026 13:01 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Incredibly proud of my talented Menefee Paleo team who absolutely crushed it at WAVP 2026. Harry Brand won the early career podium presentation award, and Jessie Silverstein won the early career poster award
Thanks to Andy Farke & the amazing team at @alfpaleo.bsky.social for an awesome conference!

16.02.2026 17:00 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Excellent collections visit to the Raymond Alf Museum! We're describing a new geoemydid (pond turtle) from the Fayum, Egypt

14.02.2026 14:49 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science!
Thanks to the amazing mentors and role models who supported and inspired me along the way. Here’s to the next generation of scientists who will uncover the stories still buried in beneath the surface!

11.02.2026 15:08 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Thrilled to share that our new #OA paper is out in @anatrecord.bsky.social! You like horned dinosaurs including famous Triceratops? we provide the the first comprehensive hypothesis on their soft‐tissue anatomy, based on detailed comparisons with living reptiles! doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...

11.02.2026 14:45 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Our latest issue is live! anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...
The cover features an exciting new Homo habilis specimen from Ileret, Kenya by Fred Grine and colleagues: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

09.02.2026 12:01 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yep, it's the same genus, Archelon!

03.02.2026 21:03 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Cool specimens at the Tucson gem and mineral show

02.02.2026 02:06 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The Menefee Paleo Project’s abstracts have been accepted for presentation at the 2026 WAVP conference. Our contributions will feature turtle provinciality in the Campanian of Laramidia, Tsaya Canyon actinopterygians, Menefee coprolites & fossil turtle shell taphonomy & ichnotaxa.
#FossilFriday

30.01.2026 15:03 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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When scaled at equalized forces and skull lengths, tyrannosauroids had lower stress magnitudes than non-tyrannosauroid theropods, indicative of specialized predation capability.
New research by Evan Johnson-Ransom et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

29.01.2026 11:02 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Our latest issue is now available!
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...

The cover article by Deanna Goldstein et al. reports details on whole-bone shape of hominoid manual proximal phalanges: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

15.01.2026 12:00 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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🐒 🐟 Abstracts submitted! The Menefee Paleo Project is gearing up for Western Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists conference w/new findings on Menefee turtle shell taphonomy & traces, Tsaya Canyon actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes), Campanian turtle provinciality & first Menefee coprolites

19.01.2026 18:40 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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🦦✨Congratulations to MWU research students for their excellent #SICB2026 presentations, incl. student doctors James Bates & Blake Andrea who presented on how cranial morphology in otters & other mustelids shapes movement, sensing & survival. Exciting new research out of @squeacslab.bsky.social's lab

15.01.2026 19:26 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Iliopsoas muscle plays major role in lumbopelvic posture & gait in humans, & its distal tendon is often implicated in hip pain. Our latest project examined its tendon morphology measuring landmarks to understand how tendon shape relates to surrounding bone architecture
www.cureus.com/articles/438...

14.01.2026 15:30 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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KNM-ER 64061, most complete Homo habilis skeleton yet (Koobi Fora) shows primitive limb proportions: long forearms, thick cortices, small body mass & ~160 cm stature. Upper limbs like early Homo, but proportions differ from H. erectus
Grine et al anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

13.01.2026 11:15 πŸ‘ 32 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 4
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Happy New Year from the AR family! Please enjoy our top 9 article posts from 2025.
1. Dunkelosteus
2. Seeleyosaurus
3. Trucidocynodon
4. Special Issue on paleohistology of pseudosuchians
5. Megantereon
6. Falcarius
7. Basking sharks
8. Dinodontosaurus
9. Opossums

31.12.2025 12:01 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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🦦 If you're attending SICB 2026, don't miss my team’s presentations exploring how the cranial morphology of otters and other mustelids reflects how they move, sense, and survive in their environment.
#SICB2026

02.01.2026 16:19 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Wrapping up 2025 with a look back at the Top 9 IG moments that made the year unforgettable. From fieldwork and fossil discoveries to conference presentations and Anatomical Record milestones, it was a fun year.

Looking forward more turtley discoveries, outreach, and paleo adventures in 2026!

31.12.2025 16:12 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A novel marine turtle (Pan-Chelonioidea: Ctenochelyidae) from the Maastrichtian Neylandville Marl Formation of north central Texas, U.S.A - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology The marine turtle family Ctenochelyidae was a Late Cretaceous North American radiation of Pan-Chelonioidea, broadly distributed along the coastlines of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Mississippi Embay...

I’m also excited that my team’s paper describing Asmodochelys leviathan, a new species of giant Maastrichtian marine turtle from the Neylandville Marl Formation of Texas, is included in the volume: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

30.12.2025 19:09 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Huge thanks to the TES organizers and editors for the tremendous work that goes into assembling a volume like this, especially Walter Joyce, @sirjoscha.bsky.social, and Yann Rollot.

30.12.2025 19:08 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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🐒Happy to share that published proceedings from the 2024 international Turtle Evolution Symposium (TES) are now available! It was an awesome conference in Switzerland full of exciting research, lively discussions & an amazing global community of turtle researchers: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

30.12.2025 19:07 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Fun group data collection day for the Menefee Paleo Project, evaluating taphonomy & trace marks on our fossil turtles. By documenting preservation, abrasion, bite marks, ectoparasite borings & other traces, we’re reconstructing ecological pressures turtles faced & post‑depositional history 🐒

21.12.2025 16:45 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Intriguing! It does have a turtley sort of vibe. Do you have any Naomichelys otherwise known from the mega block?

17.12.2025 22:14 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

In this article, we look back at two decades of FAIR principles, share insights from a survey of CT researchers, and discuss practical steps to improve CT data access and reuse, like metadata schemas and persistent identifiers (PIDs).

17.12.2025 16:32 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Our work in NoCTURN explores how applying FAIR principlesβ€”Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusabilityβ€”can break down barriers created by proprietary software and siloed workflows.

17.12.2025 16:32 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Excited to announce our latest article on open science in non-clinical CT data! Open science is transforming image-based research by making data and processes more accessible.
πŸ‘‰ doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

17.12.2025 16:32 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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Our January issue just dropped!
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19328494...
🦈Cover article by Estevan Eltink et al. covers morphology & paleoecology of Priohybodus arambourgi, a hybodontiform shark w/serrated teeth from Jurassic of Brazil: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

10.12.2025 12:01 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Softshell turtle evolution is hard to decode. New analyses of 312 specimens show filtering rare & growth-related variation improves phylogenyβ€”but some branches remain fuzzy. Molecular or total-evidence frameworks still needed🐒
Girard & Joyce: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

15.12.2025 12:01 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0