Synapsid Taxonomy is the Worst

Somehow I am this corner of Tumblr's resident mammal and stem-mammal poster

[wtf-scientific-papers]

[You should look a gift ungulate in the mouth: Using 2D occlusal cheek tooth morphology to study the evolution of molarization in ungulates]

Ashbaugh et al. (2026)

[inatungulates]

Kiang Equus kiang

Observed by migi30, CC BY-NC

[inatungulates]

Pronghorn Antilocapra americana

Observed by mrabenberg, CC BY-NC

[feather-bone]

Fisher! Sometimes called a Fisher cat - not a cat, doesn't fish. They're in the mustelid family with otters and weasels. They hunt hares and rodents, like squirrels and even porcupines. Well known in my native New England woods for their haunting call, which sounds exactly like a human child screaming!

[sqweanky]

YOOOO manic breakdown POSTPONED LOOK AT THIS THING

the kowari....

[alphynix]

Holocene Extinction Month #10 – Falkland Islands Wolf

The Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis) was the only native terrestrial mammal of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It stood around 60cm at the shoulder (~24in), and probably ate penguins and other ground-nesting birds, insects, and scavenged marine life along the islands’ beaches.

Although commonly called a “wolf” or a “fox”, it wasn’t closely related to either of those canids. DNA analysis has shown its closest living relative to be the similarly misleadingly-named maned wolf.

Hunted for its valuable fur, and persecuted by farmers who considered it a threat to their livestock, the Falkland Islands wolf was already rare when Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1833. By 1876 the species was completely extinct, the first known canid species to be wiped out in recent historical times.

[beardless-bearded-vulture]

The thylacine in Oslo! I like that they display it in its own diorama

[icantspellthings]

'They're a very elusive species': The 10-year effort to photograph the rare hyena stalking a diamond mining ghost town

Ten years in the making: The story behind the award-winning photo of an elusive brown hyena stalking Namibia's diamond ghost towns.

LOOK AT THEM THEY'RE SO CUTE 😭😭😭

[letspostwithmama]

Let’s be rare and elusive with mama!

[scienceskink]

Dimetrodon, everyone's favourite not-a-dinosaur

[snototter]

A wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) cooling off in a pond in Sri Lanka

by Roger Wasley

[panidanya]

after storm

watercolor, gouache

[panidanya]

after storm with mama

watercolor, gouache, mama

[animalphotorefs]

Photo of the Day: Bornean Orangutans - Let's snuggle with Mama

The Animal Photo Reference Repository is an independent, permanently open-access project and funded entirely by donations. Artists creating derivative or transformative works (without AI) have blanket permission to use all photos in the repository as references.

**Patreon** -- **Ko-Fi**

[synapsid-taxonomy]

in the stripped club. straight up "jonking it". and by "it", haha, well. let's justr say. My dinocephalian

(joke by @shadows-and-science-gone-mad)

[inatungulates]

Caucasian chamois Rupicapra rupicapra caucasica

Observed by kristofz, CC BY

[all-mammal-creechur]

Incan Shrew Opossum Lestoros inca

Also known as the Incan caenolestid, it is found in the southern Peruvian Andes. It feeds on insects and small invertebrates.

img source

[catboybiologist]

Imagine if a like 8 foot tall guy that looked kinda like an alien species just kinda showed up at the house you rent a room in and crashed on the couch and at first everyone hated him but you kinda just accepted this weird massive kinda-human alien species thing as a part of your group even though he's like twice the size of everyone else there

[catboybiologist]

Cuz that's literally happening to sea lions in San Francisco right now

[catboybiologist]

So there's two species of sea lion in North America: the California sea lion, ranging along California (including Baja) but not ranging into the north coast or into oregon

And the Stellar's sea lion, which are WAY bigger and live in Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska

A male Stellars sea lion showed up in SF like a month ago and just kinda. Didn't know what to do, and joined a colony of California sea lions, and is just kinda chilling there now.

[catboybiologist]

Weird vagrant species happen from time to time, but this is just a particularly funny instance of a highly social species getting very lost, and just trying to blend in with its closest nearby relatives

[amnhnyc]

Behold the Panamanian night monkey (Aotus zonalis)! Also known as the owl monkey, this pint-sized primate weighs up to 2 lbs (0.9 kg) and can be found in parts of Panama and Colombia. Actively primarily at night, especially around dusk and dawn, this critter uses its huge eyes to forage for food. Its diet includes flowers, nectar, leaves, and insects. It’s a monogamous primate, and mating pairs can remain together for life. 

Photo: cmmteixeira, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist