paleontology Archives - Evolution@Vanderbilt Evolution@Vanderbilt

paleontology

Large fossil skull of an Archaeotherium (an extinct entelodont, or “hell pig”) resting on white foam supports on a museum storage shelf. The skull is shown in left side view, with a long snout, large eye socket, prominent cheek region, and several dark fossilized teeth visible, including enlarged canine teeth at the front of the jaw. A specimen label from the Yale Peabody Museum is positioned beneath the skull and identifies it as Archaeotherium wanlessi. A digital caliper lies in the foreground for scale, displaying a measurement of approximately 17.04 mm. The fossil is tan to light brown with visible cracks and surface texture from preservation.

Vanderbilt Research Reveals the Surprising Eating Habits of Ancient “Hell Pigs”

Jun. 24, 2026—By Fabiana Fragoso, PhD – ESI Scientific Communications Volunteer For more than a century, paleontologists have debated what the prehistoric mammals known as “hell pigs” were actually eating. Despite their nickname, these animals were actually more closely related to whales and hippos than to modern pigs. With unusually long snouts, massive jaws, and heavy skulls,...

A vintage newspaper-style promotional poster for an Earth Day Celebration event on April 15, 2026. The design mimics an old newspaper front page with "BREAKING NEWS" and "SPECIAL EDITION" banners at the top. The headline reads "Earth Day" in ornate gothic lettering, followed by "Greg Wilson Mantilla" in cursive script and "EVOLUTION" in large bold letters. The subheading states "ECHOES OF EXTINCTION, WARNINGS FOR TODAY." The poster features a central photograph of a bearded man in a baseball cap and sunglasses standing in a badlands landscape. Two text boxes on either side describe his research on life rebounding after the K-Pg extinction event and how his work connects fossil records to modern questions about climate change and conservation. The bottom of the poster displays three keywords: "FOSSILS," "RESILIENCE," and "CHANGE," separated by decorative asterisks. The motto "DIG! DISCOVER! DEFEND!" appears twice in boxed sections.

Renowned Paleontologist Greg Wilson Mantilla to Discuss Mass Extinction and Ecosystem Recovery for ESI Earth Day Lecture

Feb. 7, 2026—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Greg Wilson Mantilla, a professor of biology at the University of Washington and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke Museum, will present the Earth Day Lecture at Vanderbilt on April 15, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Medical Research Building III, Room 1220. The lecture is free...

A close-up of a hand holding a clear plastic container filled with muddy water and several large, segmented, worm-like organisms. The container appears to be covered in mud both inside and around the edges. The worms are light brown in color and vary in size.

Graduate Student Sheds Light on Ancient Worms as Early Ecosystem Engineers

Sep. 10, 2024—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Graduate student Kat Turk from Vanderbilt University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, along with an international team of collaborators, has uncovered new evidence that ancient priapulid worms, through their burrowing behavior, may have been some of the earliest ecosystem engineers. The study, “Priapulid neoichnology, ecosystem engineering, and...

Neil Kelley in the field with mountains in the distance

Unveiling Evolutionary Transitions: Vanderbilt Professor Explores Triassic Mammals’ Adaptations to Changing Environments

Apr. 26, 2024—By: Sarah Ward, Evolutionary Studies Communications Assistant Vanderbilt professor Neil Kelley assisted in a study which characterized the evolutionary response of 250-million-year-old (Triassic) mammals to habitat transitions. Their work was published August 2023 in the Swiss Journal of Paleontology, and it explores how similar mammals can react differently to the same environmental challenges. Kelley finds...

Kat in the field standing in front of some tents and smiling

Vanderbilt Graduate Student is Getting to the Bottom of Worm Burrows

Apr. 26, 2024—By: Sarah Ward, Evolutionary Studies Graduate Communications Assistant Vanderbilt graduate student Katherine Turk and colleagues found that worm burrowing behaviors could have emerged earlier in earth’s history than was previously thought. Her work Archaeichnium haughtoni: a robust burrow lining from the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition of Namibia was published this January 2024 in Papers in Paleontology, and...

Time scale of different ecological terms. Ecology is for hours to centuries, historical ecology is for decades to millenia. Paleoecology is millena to millions of years.

Vanderbilt researchers bring paleoecology into the 21st century

Jul. 7, 2022—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Science is an inherently collaborative endeavor. When a respected colleague courteously disagrees with your point of view, it can lead to great new papers, perspectives and collaborations. In that same vein, feedback from editors and reviewers of academic journals is an often-understated driver of new research directions. Assistant...

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