252MYA

Meet Vampyroteuthis infernalis, the vampire squid from hell. Except it's not a squid, not an octopus, doesn't drink blood, and only grows to about 30cm. It's the sole surviving species in its order (Vampyromorphida), lives 600–900m down in the oxygen-minimum zones of the deep sea, and eats "marine snow," the drift of dead organic matter falling constantly from above. Bioluminescent all over. First described by Carl Chun in 1903 from specimens collected on the German Valdivia expedition. Still with us. Art by Lucas Lima. Poster at https://fossi.ls/dZfhKx

How do you get an entire animal wrong? Twice. Charles Walcott found the first fossils of Hallucigenia sparsa in 1911 and called it a bristle worm. In 1977 Simon Conway Morris realized it was something stranger and gave it its striking new name, but he reconstructed it upside-down and back-to-front. Spikes as legs. Tentacles waving from the back. What he called the head was actually a decaying gut. The upside-down was fixed in 1991 when a Chinese specimen revealed a second row of legs. In 2015, better Burgess Shale fossils finally showed the real head at the opposite end, with a pair of tiny eyes and a ring of teeth around the mouth. Named for its bizarre, dream-like appearance. About the size of your fingernail. A Cambrian lobopodian and a distant cousin of modern velvet worms. Art by Andrey Atuchin.

We'll be at DinoCon this weekend, July 25–26, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. Joschua Knüppe will have a booth with a limited selection of 252MYA merch and information about Pterosaurs: The Field Guide. Nick Garland, Pete Buchholz, and several of our artists will be around the con floor all weekend. Say hi if you spot us.

Xenokeryx amidalae. Named after Padmé Amidala from Star Wars because its horns resemble her hairstyle. A Miocene ruminant that lived in what is now central Spain about 16 million years ago, one of the palaeomerycids, an extinct group of three-horned ungulates. Formally described in 2015. Poster by Lucas Lima. fossi.ls/Xk8mBz

Here's the flip-through video we teased yesterday. Five years. Twenty illustrators. Around 390 pages. Over 200 pterosaur genera. Kickstarter launches August 1. pterosaursfieldguide.com

Our new book, Pterosaurs: The Field Guide, just showed its printed hardcover for the first time. Five years. Twenty illustrators. Over 200 pterosaur genera. Kickstarter launches August 1. https://fossi.ls/Nev1YT

Every Tyrannosaurus rex you've seen came from Hell Creek. Hell Creek Formation preserves the last 700,000 years of the Cretaceous, a stretch of Late Maastrichtian badlands across Montana and the Dakotas. T. rex, Triceratops, Edmontosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Thescelosaurus, Anzu wyliei, and Dakotaraptor all lived here. Directly above the formation sits the K-Pg boundary, a thin band of clay enriched in iridium, deposited in the aftermath of the Chicxulub impact. Art: Franz Anthony. Hell Creek in the shop. fossi.ls/HcRk8T

Glyptodont skull diversity is genuinely wild. Line ten of them up side by side and every single one looks different. These giant armored cousins of armadillos trundled across the Ice Age Americas, the biggest of them the size of a small car. This poster by Joschua Knüppe draws them like a classic natural history plate, with a human silhouette in the bottom row for scale. Printed on heavyweight luster paper with archival color. Available at https://fossi.ls/1ABDut.

Yeehaw F**k The Law has expanded. Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis, a Late Cretaceous tyrannosauroid from what is now Alabama, recast here as the outlaw it was always destined to be. Now available as a tee and a kiss-cut sticker, joining the apron already in stock. The long American tradition of telling unjust authority to kindly go to hell. Good for cookouts, kitchen subversion, and standing in your front yard with a pair of tongs. Go on, skedaddle. Art by @soft-biology. fossi.ls/Yh7CtF #paleoart #dinosaurs #appalachiosaurus #cretaceous #cowboy dinosaur #outlaw country #protest merch #yeehaw https://fossi.ls/Yh7CtF

The Yeehaw F**k The Law rocks glass just dropped and it features Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis, a Late Cretaceous tyrannosauroid from Alabama, recast as the outlaw it was always destined to be. Art by @soft-biology, inspired by the long American tradition of telling unjust authority to kindly go to hell. Go on, get it, skedaddle. #paleoart #paleontology #sciart #scientificillustration #prehistoriclife #naturalhistory #evolution #extinct #prehistoric #paleoartist 252mya.com/yeehaw

New apron drop: Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis, a Late Cretaceous tyrannosauroid from what is now Alabama, recast here as the outlaw he was always destined to be. Inspired by the long American tradition of telling unjust authority to kindly go to hell, and the upcoming Fourth of July BBQ season, where outlaws gather ‘round the grill. Perfect for cookouts, private kitchen subversion, and standing in your front yard with a pair of tongs. Gotta’ let some of your neighbors know where you stand. Heavyweight organic-cotton bib apron, printed when you order it. Go on, skedaddle! Art by @soft-biology. fossi.ls/Yh7CtF

Atopodentatus has one of the best paleontology glow-ups. When it was first described in 2014, scientists thought this marine reptile had a genuinely bizarre zipper-like mouth. Then in 2016, two new fossils showed up and revealed that the original specimen was badly crushed. Its actual face looked way more like a handheld vacuum cleaner than a zipper. Art by Joschua Knüppe. Merchandise available at https://fossi.ls/I5mFds.

DJ Washington's Be Gay Velociraptor has been a fan favorite since 2023, still going strong this Pride Month. Available as a tee or men's tank at 252mya.com/begay. 10% of every Pride sale this month goes to 500 Queer Scientists.

Day six of six. The finale of the Mortimer Moudry Pride series in new formats. This is the Progressive Pride piece, the most inclusive flag variant. Tupandactylus, a pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, carried one of the largest head crests known. The tee has been around since May. The tank and sticker join the lineup today at 252mya.com/tpf. 10% of every Pride sale this month goes to 500 Queer Scientists.

Day five of six. Mortimer Moudry's lesbian Pride piece, patterned in red-orange, orange, white, pink, and dark pink. The tee has been around since May. The tank and sticker join the lineup today at https://fossi.ls/DlWsef. 10% of every Pride sale this month goes to 500 Queer Scientists.

Day four of six. Mortimer Moudry's asexual Pride piece, patterned in black, grey, white, and purple. The tee has been around since May. The tank and sticker join the lineup today at https://fossi.ls/tpMzKF. 10% of every Pride sale this month goes to 500 Queer Scientists.

Day three of six. Mortimer Moudry's nonbinary Pride piece. Those twin head crests patterned in yellow, white, purple, and black. The tee has been around since May. The tank and sticker join the lineup today at https://fossi.ls/9VBtJm. 10% of every Pride sale this month goes to 500 Queer Scientists.