D. Rex Mitchell

Postdoc ronin. I study skull shape and feeding biomechanics
💀🦘💀🐨💀🐒💀🐀 💀
@Flinders @WeisbeckerLab

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

A new model of skull function just dropped!

It describes the skull as an arch-bridge like structure that uses tensile elements to guide arcs of compressive stress between the biting teeth and jaw joints.

Written by me! 💀💀💀

#skull #science

https://t.co/MR81pDcTxa

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

A video covering our new published research on the tiny marsupial with an unusual talent 💀 #skull #science https://t.co/plNnGEXjAD via @YouTube

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

Our lab just published a cool paper on seed-cracking bettongs. Not just any seeds, but some of the hardest seeds out there! Two species in the same genus showing different adaptatiosn to hard biting. Very cool 💀💀🤓🤓 #skull #science https://t.co/q500PXj0tk

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

This was a fun little side project I worked on while doing placoderm biomechanics analysis with the Flinders Gogo team. To be presented at @CAVEPS_Palaeo 💀🤓

#Devonian #fossil #placoderm #paleontology

https://t.co/QzDPlEZYkh

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

Achievement unlocked!
h-index of 10 😎
#skull #science

[Liam Revell @phytools_liam]

I only played a very small role in this @PNASNews article by @AbbyGraceDrake, @JLosos, et al., but it's cool, so please check it out! "Copy-cat evolution: Divergence and convergence within and between cat and dog breeds." https://t.co/NSjLuKAMju

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

What if the Rancor in @starwars was a domesticated breed similar to a pug or a bulldog? In the latest video from The Skullywag Lab, I "un-pug" the Rancor to see what a wild, undomesticated Rancor ancestor might look like!

#skull #science #starwars

https://t.co/3MOhVV0igo

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

New episode on ant and termite-eating animal skulls 💀💀💀
The feeding anatomy of these species is pretty bonkers tbh. Happy to finally explore it a bit

https://t.co/FXu7179N5u

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

Just made this for The Skullywag Lab website I'm building

Come sit by the fire and enjoy some skulls 💀🤓

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

A new episode of Monster ID just dropped! This time, the lab identifies the Beast of Tenby 💀

https://t.co/KlIF6QnZ2F

#skull #science

[The Conversation - Australia + New Zealand @ConversationEDU]

Knowing what an animal eats can help biologists find it – especially when a species is as elusive as this one. @KarlVernes @DRexMitchell @WeisbeckerLab @FlindersUniNews @uninewengland https://t.co/o8OyA9u8Hk

[D. Rex Mitchell @DRexMitchell]

Some interesting findings from our new methods paper. We used the skull of the extinct desert rat-kangaroo as a case study and discovered some important details about its feeding habits @WeisbeckerLab @TheSkullywagLab
https://t.co/DnJg6Y80tz via @ConversationEDU

[D. Rex Mitchell @DRexMitchell]

For any researchers that study skull function using comparative finite element analysis, our new paper presenting a framework for scaling muscle forces to adequately represent the hypothesis is extremely important

https://t.co/H7YPkKMXN5

[AmJournalPrimatology @AmJournalPrimat]

@gessiejomez @DRexMitchell @CookeSiobhan
Questions on socioecology? Rare behaviors? Skeletal lesion analysis helps! #primates #primatology https://t.co/vfYWFfDzEf

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

New study!

Measaurements of deer skulls from 38 species (300 individuals) show that larger species have more diverse skull ecomorphology.

Author concludes that size imposes ecological constraints 💀🤓

https://t.co/QMIVdDqEr4 #mdpifossstud via @FossilsMDPI

#skull #science

[D. Rex Mitchell @DRexMitchell]

@aNATomy_Lab @TheSkullywagLab Thanks Nat! 💀🤓

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

New video dropped, where I turn myself into a giant - for science! 🤓💀

https://t.co/RIv0sXo0XI

[TheSkullywagLab @TheSkullywagLab]

The latest video just dropped (link in bio).

We take a look at how missing teeth in the ancestors of the marsupial lion made evolution produce one of the most weird and powerful skulls known to science! 🤓💀

Artwork by Rudolph Hima,
Music by Max Brhon

[D. Rex Mitchell @DRexMitchell]

No luck on the DECRA. Moving on 🕺

[D. Rex Mitchell @DRexMitchell]

@TheSkullywagLab Thanks @drphilcox!