Research interests
- Current project: ECHO - Evolutionary convergence in historical oceans. The case of whales and ichthyosaurs, funded by the Norwegian Research council, Young talents grant. ECHO runs 2023-2026 and aims to determine the extent to which extent, across different eras and levels of biological organization, the convergent evolution of streamlined marine tetrapods results from similar evolutionary pathways. We use microstructure and morphological data from fossil and extant specimens, and study feeding, reproduction and locomotion.
- Ichthyosaurs: My PhD was on Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the family Ophthalmosauridae, focusing on phylogeny, taxonomy and evolution of anatomical features. I have also worked on Early-Middle Triassic ichthyosaurs from Svalbard, and specimens preserved with soft tissue from Solnhofen.
- Whales: In addition to their evolution, I am interested in museum collections of whales and their collection history and possible resulting biases, which I study in the Collecting Norden project.
- Plesiosaurs: Late Jurassic- Cretaceous specimens from the Arctic, focus on palaeohistology and taxonomy.
Background
- BSc in biology and MSc in geosciences
- PhD in vertebrate palaeontology (2018), Natural History Museum, Oslo
- US-Norway Fulbright postdoctoral fellow at NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 2021
- Researcher in trans-disciplinary project Collecting Norden 2022-2023
Tags:
vertebrate palaeontology,
convergent evolution,
ichthyosaurs,
whales,
collections,
Svalbard,
plesiosaurs
Publications
-
-
Rojo, Maximo A.; Delsett, Lene L.; Ruciński, Maciej; Hoffeker, Endre T. A.; Lund, Bjørn & Bjerke, Bjørn Aksel
[Show all 7 contributors for this article]
(2026).
Preparation and mounting of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758) at the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway.
Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM).
3.
doi:
10.3897/nhcm.3.191751.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
In this report, we detail the process undertaken for preparing and mounting a sperm whale skeleton ( Physeter macrocephalus Husson & Holthuis, 1974) specimen for exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Oslo, University of Oslo, which was displayed in 2022. We provide a detailed account of materials applied and techniques used in the specimen for skeletonisation, including defleshing, carcass composting and maceration. We highlight a successful and cost-effective application of horse manure as a bulking agent in carcass composting and readily available detergents in maceration. Furthermore, we describe the skeleton mounting process, addressing architectural limitations restricting the possible loads on the ceiling. Consequently, the adjusted mounting procedure had to be undertaken, which included the construction of a custom-made podium and a steel support structure. Lastly, we present the result of the skeleton mount, which is supplemented with a 3D photogrammetric model.
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2026).
The Whales Are Leaving: a Dolphin Skeleton and Its History of Collection, Curation and Research.
In Kaasa, Janicke S.; Spring, Ulrike & Delsett, Lene Liebe (Ed.),
Collecting the North.
Brill.
ISSN 9789004749665.
p. 273–291.
doi:
10.1163/9789004749665_015.
Full text in Research Archive
-
-
Brac, Mathieu Gabriel Faure & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2025).
Expanding the osteohistological toolbox for palaeophysiological studies.
Lethaia: An International Journal of Palaeontology and Stratigraphy.
ISSN 0024-1164.
59(1),
p. 1–14.
doi:
10.18261/let.59.1.4.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
One way to study the thermometabolism of extinct organisms is to infer 2D measurements of red blood cells (erythrocytes), namely their width and area, using histological data from skeletal elements and incorporating them into palaeophysiological models. However, this method suffers from a major issue, limiting its usefulness: the model is based on femoral sections, and this element is known to be reduced or even missing in several groups of amniotes, especially marine ones. Moreover, recent studies questioned the use of erythrocyte width and area and instead proposed to use the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), which would also significantly expand the available data. In order to incorporate MCV in our studies, we: 1) tested if a significant correlation exist between the harmonic mean of vascular canals (HMC) and MCV; and 2) tested if there is a significant difference between HMC from femur and humerus, in order to use humeral data when femoral ones are missing. Our results demonstrate a significant correlation between HMC and MCV, and the absence of a significant difference in the inferences using the two different bones. This supports the modification of the current model towards the use of MCV as the response variable and the incorporation of humeral data, greatly expanding the available data for many animal groups.
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe; Brac, Mathieu Gabriel Faure; Engelschiøn, Victoria Sjøholt; Alexandra, Houssaye,; Anusuya, Chinsamy, & Hurum, Jørn Harald
[Show all 7 contributors for this article]
(2025).
Vertebral microstructure marks the emergence of pelagic ichthyosaurs soon after the End Permian Mass Extinction.
Scientific Reports.
15.
doi:
10.1038/s41598-025-14335-y.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Ichthyosaurs were the first fully marine tetrapods, and evolved a streamlined body, flippers, live birth, and endothermy-like physiology. However, the transition to these adaptations and how it relates to divergence into ocean environments is ambiguous. Here, we use vertebral bone microstructure to document the first ontogenetic series of two Early Triassic taxa that include the oldest ichthyosaur foetal fossils. One series is from Grippia, an early ichthyopterygian with a small body, and limbs with some plesiomorphic features. The other is a large, contemporaneous ichthyosaur, Cymbospondylus. Together, they phylogenetically bracket the ichthyopterygian-ichthyosaurian transition. Grippia has a unique microstructure with a distinctive compacted outer layer, whereas Cymbospondylus vertebrae are cancellous throughout, indicating a different ecology and swimming style. The dissimilar distribution of woven-parallel complex in the histology between the two taxa indicates that growth progressed at different speeds. We also document birth lines in ichthyosaurs for the first time. Pelagic, tail-propelled, rapid-growing ichthyosaurs were thus present less than five million years after the End Permian mass extinction, alongside more anguilliform ichthyopterygians. These data capture the ecological and evolutionary transition from reptiles with eel-like swimming to whale-like ichthyosaurs, implying a paradigm shift in ecology and physiology that paved the way for ichthyosaur radiation.
-
Kinzella, Zoe; Cotton, Laura & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2025).
New plesiosaur fossils from the Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic) of Bornholm, including the first juvenile specimen from Denmark.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark.
ISSN 0011-6297.
74,
p. 197–208.
doi:
10.37570/bgsd-2025-74-10.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Plesiosaurs were an extremely successful, globally distributed group that thrived from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period. The Early/Middle Jurassic faunal turnover greatly affected plesiosaur evolution, although it remains poorly understood, partly due to the scarcity of plesiosaur fossils from the Pliensbachian age (192.0–184.2 Ma). This paper describes five fossil plesiosaur skeletal elements found in the Pliensbachian aged Hasle Formation on the Danish island of Bornholm. The five specimens are isolated remains, including a tooth, spinal fragments, a rib and a propodial. The tooth can be assigned to Pliosauridae indet. due to its robust form and ornamentation, and the spinal fragments to Plesiosauria indet. The neural spine is detached and could therefore either be from an osteologically immature individual or show signs of paedomorphism. Lastly, but most importantly, an osteologically immature propodial is described. It is the first of its kind found in Denmark.
-
Seon, Nicolas; Vincent, Peggy; Delsett, Lene Liebe; Poulallion, Eve; Suan, Guillaume & Lécuyer, Christophe
[Show all 10 contributors for this article]
(2025).
Reassessment of body temperature and thermoregulation strategies in Mesozoic marine reptiles.
Paleobiology.
ISSN 0094-8373.
51(2),
p. 323–343.
doi:
10.1017/pab.2025.2.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Ichthyosauria, Plesiosauria, and Metriorhynchidae were apex predators in Mesozoic oceanic trophic networks. Previous stable oxygen isotope studies suggested that several taxa belonging to these groups were endothermic and that some of them were homeothermic organisms. However, these conclusions remain contentious owing to the associated uncertainties regarding the δ18O value and oxygen isotope fractionation relative to environmental seawater. Here, we present new bioapatite phosphate δ18O values (δ18Op) of Ichthyosauria, Plesiosauria, and Metriorhynchidae (Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous) recovered from mid- to high paleolatitudes to better constrain their thermophysiology and investigate the presence of regional heterothermies. The intraskeletal δ18Op variability failed to reveal distinct heterothermic patterns within any of the specimens, indicating either intrabody temperature homogeneity or an overriding diagenetic overprint of the original biological δ18Op bone record. Body temperature estimates have been reassessed from new and published δ18Op values of well-preserved isolated teeth, recently revised Mesozoic latitudinal δ18O oceanic gradients, and 18O-enrichment factors of fully aquatic air-breathing vertebrates. Our results confirm that Ichthyosauria were homeothermic endotherms (31°C to 41°C), while Plesiosauria were likely poikilothermic endotherms (27°C to 34°C). The new body temperature estimates of the Metriorhynchidae (25°C to 32°C) closely follow ambient temperatures and point to poikilothermic strategy with no or little endothermic ability. These results improve our understanding of Mesozoic marine reptile thermoregulation and indicate that due to their limited body temperature variations, the δ18Op values from Ichthyosauria fossil remains could be used as valuable archives of Mesozoic oceans δ18Osw values that may help improve paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions.
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe; Smith, Adam S.; Ingrams, Stephen & Schneider, Simon
(2024).
Boreal waterways: An Early Cretaceous plesiosaur from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic and its palaeobiogeography.
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
ISSN 0567-7920.
69(4),
p. 565–585.
doi:
10.4202/app.01148.2024.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
A plesiosaur specimen collected from Ellesmere Island (Nunavut, Arctic Canada) by Danish geologist Johannes Troelsen in 1952 is described for the first time. The plesiosaur is late Berriasian to early Valanginian in age based on palynostratigraphy. The specimen is the only plesiosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous of the Sverdrup Basin in the Canadian Arctic, and is assigned to the cryptoclidid genus Colymbosaurus. From a taxonomic point of view, the presence of vertebrae from several regions and four propodials improve our understanding of the morphology of the genus. Furthermore, Colymbosaurus is shown to have survived through the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition. Its presence in the Sverdrup Basin is additional evidence for the connectivity of Arctic Canada and the Svalbard region during the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition, at a time when sea levels were low and microplankton, like dinoflagellates, experienced enhanced provincialism. Last but not least, the new plesiosaur adds to our knowledge of the palaeoenvironment of the Sverdrup Basin, ranking at the top of a food chain that is largely unrecorded from the area, due to adverse taphonomy and diagenesis.
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2024).
Collecting whales: processes and biases in Nordic museum collections.
PeerJ.
12.
doi:
10.7717/peerj.16794.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Whales are unique museum objects that have entered collections in many ways and for different reasons. This work studies three Nordic natural history museum collections in Norway and Denmark with more than 2,500 whale specimens in total, and gathers the available biological and collection data on the specimens, which include skeletal elements, foetuses and organs preserved in ethanol or formalin, and a few dry-preserved organs. It finds that influx of specimens, which were mainly locally common species that were hunted, to the collections, mainly happened in the latest 1800s and earliest 1900s, fuelled by research trends, nation building, local whaling, and colonial mechanisms. Norway was a major whaling nation, but the largest hunt for whales in the Southern Ocean in the mid-1900s is not reflected in the Norwegian museum collections, probably because of the commercial focus of the whaling industry and logistical challenges, combined with limited research interest in zoological specimens at that time. The results demonstrate that it is important to understand these processes and the resulting biases for future research, outreach, and conservation.
-
Simon-Ekeland, Alexandre & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2024).
Whales as a Nordic speciality: Collecting cetaceans for Natural History Museums (1860s–1910s).
Nordisk Museologi.
ISSN 1103-8152.
1,
p. 28–43.
doi:
10.5617/nm.11591.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Whales are not specifically Nordic animals, but Nordic whales have been central in European natural history collections since the second half of the nineteenth century; this article analyses how this came to be. Several factors came into play: the interest in whales among many researchers and curators working in natural history museums, the development of modern whaling from the 1860s, and the development of networks of exchange and sale of scientific specimens. We study these three factors through the traces they have left in the museums’ catalogues, in archives, and in the collections themselves and argue that, individually, these factors would not have had such a big impact. It is their combination in this period that has given Nordic whales such a central place in natural history collections.
View all works in NVA
-
Brac, Mathieu Gabriel Faure; Doriath-Döhler, Aimie & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2026).
Résultats thermométaboliques et physiologiques paradoxaux chez les ichtyosaures.
Full text in Research Archive
-
-
-
-
Kjørstad, Elise; Miedema, Feiko & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2026).
Forskere har funnet mange fostre i magene til fiskeøgler. Nå har de forsket på dem.
[Journal].
forskning.no.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
– Dette gir nye muligheter til å forstå reproduksjon hos dyr som for lengst er utdødd, sier forsker.
-
Kjørstad, Elise & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2026).
Beistet fra kritt-tiden kan være den største blekkspruten som er oppdaget.
[Journal].
forskning.no.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
For 80 millioner år siden fantes det blekkspruter i havet som kunne bli opp til 19 meter lange, ifølge en ny studie.
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe & Reiersen, Håkon
(2026).
Fra jura til vikingtid: Forskning på museumssamlinger endret vår tidsoppfatning.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
KRONIKK: Svært mye av kunnskapen om livets lange historie kommer fra forskning på naturhistoriske og kulturhistoriske museumssamlinger. I dag er samlingene viktigere enn noensinne, og fortjener økt prioritet.
-
Järnegren, Johanna; Delsett, Lene Liebe & Haave, Marte
(2026).
Ut på dyphavet.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Hva befinner seg egentlig ut på dyphavet? Hva betyr havforsuring og gruvedrift, og hva skjer med korallene?
Dette samfundsmøte er en del av maritim uke hvor vi arrangerer en rekke arrangementer som skal sette klima og miljø på kartet med havet i fokus.
Som et av de første landene i verden, vedtok den norske regjeringen i 2024 for å åpne våre dyphav for gruvedrift, noe som har møtt massiv kritikk fra EU og resten av verden. Denne beslutningen er tatt selv om vi mangler kunnskap om dyphavet - vi vet mer om månen enn dyphavet!
Er det realistisk å utvinne mineraler i dyphavet uten store miljøkonsekvenser? Og hva kan vi gjøre for å motvirke de negative miljøtendensene vi ser i dag?
Kom på samfundsmøte: Ut på dyphavet for å lære mer om dette, havforsuring, forsøpling og livet ute på dypet!
-
Gramling, Carolyn & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2025).
How an ancient marine predator snuck up on its prey.
[Journal].
Science News.
Full text in Research Archive
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Leine, Jan Erlend & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2025).
Ekko 11.februar 2025.
[Radio].
NRK P2.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Sensasjonell svaneøgle Oppdaga i 1952 og nesten øydelagd av vasslekkasje: Ein gigantisk svaneøgle frå Arktis som avslører mysterium frå fortida.
-
Jemterud, Torkild; Delsett, Lene Liebe; Sandtorv, Alexander Harald & Normann, Ben David
(2025).
Hvor kom energien til Big bang fra? - Abels tårn - NRK Radio.
[Radio].
NRK P2.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Hva fantes før begynnelsen på alt?
Send oss gjerne dine spørsmål også ved å trykke på snakkebobla øverst
-
-
Jemterud, Torkild; Delsett, Lene Liebe; Røyne, Anja & Hrubos-Strøm, Harald
(2025).
Hvorfor får du dårlig ånde av å sove? - Abels tårn - NRK Radio.
[Radio].
NRKP2.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Sammen med et ekspertpanel gir tårndiktator Torkild Jemterud svar på alt du ikke visste du lurte på.
Send oss dine spørsmål i appen NRKradio. Søk opp Abels tårn og trykk på snakkebobla
-
Jemterud, Torkild; Delsett, Lene Liebe; Espe, Emil Knut Stenersen & Røislien, Jo
(2025).
Kan et lyn redde livet ditt? - Abels tårn - NRK Radio.
[Radio].
NRKP2.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Hvis du får hjertestans, vil et lyn da kunne fungere som hjertestarter?
Send oss gjerne dine spørsmål ved å trykke på send-inn-knappen øverst
-
Kjørstad, Elise & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2025).
Denne ur-anda levde på samme tid som Tyrannosaurus rex.
[Journal].
forskning.no.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Forskere har funnet en skalle fra en tidlig moderne fugl.
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe & Aas, Vilde Aardahl
(2025).
For 100 millioner år siden herjet blekksprutene i havet.
[Journal].
forskning.no.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Nye funn forteller mer om livet i havet for 100 millioner år siden.
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2025).
Fiskeøgle-fostre fra Svalbard er med på å vise noe nytt om dyrenes utvikling.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Tett etter tidenes største masseutryddelse var fiskeøgler klare for åpent hav.
-
-
-
Goksøyr, Anders; Delsett, Lene Liebe & Aasland, Rein
(2025).
På sporet av moderne biologi i Museets samlinger.
In Aslaksen, Knut Olav; Tandberg, Anne Helene S.; Rio, Knut; Wrigglesworth, Melanie; Fossen, Haakon & Årrestad, Kari Klæboe (Ed.),
Årbok for Universitetsmuseet 2025: "200 år".
Universitetsmuseet i Bergen.
ISSN 9788278870617.
p. 103–119.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Naturhistorisk museum på Nygårdshøyden er et staselig murbygg som representerer 200 år med samlinger, forskning og formidling. Bak den høye eikedøren finner vi et moderne museum der mye av historien fortsatt er bevart i form av restaurerte glassmontre, preparater på glass og rengjorte hvalskjeletter i den majestetiske Hvalsalen. Men ikke alt av 200 års museumsinnsamling får plass i selve museet. Mye er lagret i museets magasiner. Vi reflekterer over samlingenes betydning gjennom 200 år til i dag og forbindelsene til moderne biologi, samt hvordan ny teknologi belyser gamle og nye spørsmål.
-
-
Anell, Ingrid; Jemterud, Torkild; Delsett, Lene Liebe & Joner, Erik
(2025).
Abels tårn - NRK Radio.
[Radio].
nrk.
Full text in Research Archive
Show summary
Sammen med et ekspertpanel gir Torkild Jemterud deg svar på alt du ikke visste du ville vite:
Hvorfor redde jorda når sola vil sluke oss?
Har livet oppstått flere ganger?
Hvordan påvirker insektdøden oss helt konkret?
Hvordan lager spekkhoggere hatter av laks?
I dagens panel paleontolog Lene Liebe Delsett, jordforsker Erik Joner og geolog Ingrid Anell
-
-
-
-
-
Korne, Haley De; Moen, Ole Martin; Drożdżowicz, Anna & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2024).
#13 Tverrfaglighet - til glede eller besvær?
[Radio].
Forskerrådet.
Full text in Research Archive
-
Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2024).
Universitetstoppenes moteord: — Ikke lett å få synlige resultater av det.
[Journal].
Khrono.
Full text in Research Archive
-
Jemterud, Torkild; Normann, Ben David; Swang, Ole & Delsett, Lene Liebe
(2024).
Abels tårn 18. november 2024.
[Radio].
NRK P2.
Full text in Research Archive
-
-
View all works in NVA
Published
Feb. 25, 2013 3:22 PM
- Last modified
Aug. 12, 2025 9:42 AM
