Image description: Fabian Hardy, seen here at the Royal Ontario Museum with a Miocene rhinocerotid.
Fabian Hardy
USA
September 8, 2026
From fast pronghorns to fossil flights: New paleontological developments at Slippery Rock University
The physical environment shapes the evolution, distribution, and ecology of terrestrial mammals, and vegetation differences between regions can affect locomotor mode. We measured functional anatomy in artiodactyls to compare locomotor styles between the Mojave and Great Plains. Fossil Antilocapridae showed ankle anatomy consistent with cursorial locomotion, while Camelidae showed features tied to ambulatory locomotion regardless of region. We plan to extend this dataset to other regions to weigh the roles of phylogenetics versus environment in shaping mammalian locomotion. Separately, fossil surveys remain slow and labor-intensive, often complicated by difficult or inaccessible terrain. We tested a small drone mounted with a multispectral camera to distinguish vertebrate fossil material from surrounding sediment based on spectral reflectance. Working with Nevada State Parks, we piloted this method at known productive localities in the Las Vegas Formation. Preliminary results, with centimeter-scale resolution and confirmed fossil exposures, support low-altitude drone survey as a viable tool for fossil prospecting.
Pal(a)eoPERCS 