FHSU Paleo

Reminder that our vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology database can be accessed by the public! If you're looking for Western Interior Seaway or Neogene and Quaternary fossils, you can find them here: sternbergca.fhsu.edu

We are thrilled to have keynote speaker @LEW999 Dr. Laura Wilson present at #CSVP2024 in Winnipeg! Everyone is welcome to attend, thanks to @RiddellFaculty!

El Niños also bring increased rainfall, making the islands lush with vegetation. The increased food supply on land can increase the population of Darwin’s finches, but also increase the number of invasive species like rats. (4/4) #DarwinDay

Fish are the Galapagos penguins’ favorite food, and the lack of them leads to the penguin population to decrease. El Niño also kills off algae, which in turn leads to a decline in the marine iguana population. (3/4)

El Niño is a natural event that is based in the Pacific Ocean and happens every two to seven years. The Galapagos Islands are located on the Equator, and it is particularly affected by El Niño. 🧵(1/4) #DarwinDay #DarwinDay2024

In Argentina in 1832, Charles Darwin collected his first large vertebrate fossil: Megatherium, a giant ground sloth. He soon realized that studying fossils was essential for understanding how evolution worked. #FossilFriday #DarwinDay #DarwinDay2024 #evolution #SciComm

#DarwinDay #DarwinDay2024 #evolution #SciComm

#DarwinDay #DarwinDay2024 #evolution #SciComm

#DarwinDay #DarwinDay2024 #evolution #SciComm

#DarwinDay #DarwinDay2024 #evolution #SciComm

🐦‍⬛Hey, did you know that the Galapagos Cormorant lost flight because there weren't mammal predators on the islands? #DarwinDay #DarwinDay2024 #evolution 🦆

The Galapagos tortoise is large because of island gigantism. Their ancestors arrived at the islands around 12 Ma. Without competition and predation from large mammals, the tortoises grew bigger over generations to become the primary herbivores. #galapagos #evolution #DarwinDay

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading this thread. I hope you learned something about what made Darwin so fascinated by these Islands. 🧵End of Thread

These terrestrial zones lead to a high variety of different species thriving in the Galapagos from the Galapagos sea lion to the Blue-footed booby.

🧵To understand the story of Charles Darwin, we need to first look at how the Galapagos Islands formed, and its climate. This thread is to give insight to why Darwin and many others find the animals they did on the Galapagos 🧵 #DarwinDay