Maciej Roman Rucinski

• Rojo, Maximo A.; Delsett, Lene L.; Ruciński, Maciej; Hoffeker, Endre T. A.; Lund, Bjørn & Bjerke, Bjørn Aksel [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (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. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  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.

• Rucinski, Maciej Roman; Ruiz, Lope Ezquerro; Campos, Hugo; Mateus, Octávio; Fernandes, Paulo & Vilas-Boas, Margarida [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2026). Palaeoenvironments, stratigraphy and taphonomy of an Upper Triassic vertebrate-bearing unit, Silves Group, central Algarve, southern Portugal. Lethaia: An International Journal of Palaeontology and Stratigraphy. ISSN 0024-1164. 59(3), s. 1–31. doi: 10.18261/let.59.3.3. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Triassic to Lower Jurassic deposits known as the Silves Group in the Algarve, southern Portugal, have been studied for over 150 years. However, many of this unit’s sedimentological, stratigraphical, and palaeontological aspects remain poorly documented. Here, we present novel observations on sedimentology, stratigraphy, taphonomy, and fauna at the Rocha da Pena site, located in the central part of the Algarve Basin. The investigated sequence is established to correspond to the upper part of the Silves Group. The mudstone, calcrete, and palustrine carbonate facies comprise most of the sequence thickness and are interpreted as having been deposited within coastal alluvial mudflats to palustrine settings under semi-arid and seasonal climates. The overlying siltstone and sandstone facies indicate an environmental shift towards tidally influenced environments, subsequently covered by the latest Triassic to earliest Jurassic volcaniclastics and basaltic lava flows. Furthermore, novel faunal elements, including actinopterygian and unionoid bivalves, are described from mudstone layers. New fossiliferous beds are identified within palustrine facies that yield numerous but poorly preserved materials assigned to cyamodontoid placodonts, hybodont sharks, and actinopterygians. The poor preservation of the remains is attributed to the pedogenetic processes prevalent in the palustrine depositional setting. A distinct faunal composition between the mudstone and palustrine facies is observed. It is preliminarily hypothesized to be likely linked with salinity fluctuations, but sampling bias cannot currently be excluded. The recovered vertebrate fauna aligns most closely with the Carnian and, to a lesser extent, the Norian fossil record. Nonetheless, the precise age of the fossil-bearing levels remains uncertain and can currently be reliably constrained to the upper Carnian–Rhaetian interval. Consequently, this work provides new insights into the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the western Tethys margin during the Late Triassic and highlights the relevance of the Silves Group in reconstructing coastal-continental ecosystem dynamics in southwestern Iberia.

• Roberts, Aubrey J.; Rucinski, Maciej Roman; Kear, Benjamin P.; Hammer, Øyvind; Engelschiøn, Victoria Sjøholt & Scharling, Thomas Holm [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). Earliest oceanic tetrapod ecosystem reveals rapid complexification of Triassic marine communities. Science. ISSN 0036-8075. 390(6774), s. 727–727. doi: 10.1126/science.adx7390. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Tetrapods invaded oceanic environments after the cataclysmic end-Permian mass extinction (EPME), with temnospondyl amphibian to reptile-dominated assemblages succeeding across the Early Triassic [~251.9 to 247.2 million years ago (Ma)]. However, conflicting fossil occurrences, divergence estimates, and stratigraphic time averaging make the tempo of this landmark evolutionary transition uncertain. In this work, we describe an oceanic tetrapod ecosystem from a condensed mid–Early Triassic (early Spathian, ~249 Ma) bone bed on the arctic island of Spitsbergen. Apex predator ichthyosaurians, small-bodied ichthyopterygians, durophagous ichthyosauriforms, semiaquatic archosauromorphs, euryhaline temnospondyls, coelacanths, lungfish, ray-finned fish, and sharks formed an unexpectedly complex trophic network. Comparative diversity analyses further show that heterogeneous marine vertebrate communities were well established by the late-earliest Triassic (Dienerian-Smithian, ~251 Ma) and integrated fully variegate tetrapod niches by ~3 million years after the EPME.

• Rucinski, Maciej Roman; Campos, Hugo; Mateus, Octávio & Werneburg, Ingmar (2025). Novel record of placodont remains including a Henodus cranium from the Upper Triassic Silves Group of the Algarve, southern Portugal. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. ISSN 0272-4634. 44(5). doi: 10.1080/02724634.2025.2460445. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Recent fieldwork in the Upper Triassic deposits of the Silves Group in the Algarve, southern Portugal revealed novel cyamodontid placodont material. The collection includes a partial skull and numerous isolated armor plates from four localities in Silves and Loulé municipalities. The skull shows a strong affinity to henodontid placodonts, especially to Henodus chelyops from Tübingen-Lustnau in Germany. It shares features such as a rectangular outline of the cranium, occurrence of a broad spatulate rostrum, and toothless maxillae with curved longitudinally extending grooves. The only unambiguous difference observed pertains to the more robust and convex snout shape of the new specimen. Based on these multiple similarities, the specimen is identified as Henodus sp., but poor preservation prevents species-level identification. The new specimen from Portugal represents the second record of Henodus and illustrates a wider geographic distribution of that genus, extending beyond the Germanic Basin and reaching coastal areas near the westernmost branch of the Neotethys. The age of the deposits where the cranium was found is not well-established but refers to a time interval within the upper Carnian–Rhaetian, suggesting the specimen may be younger than other henodontid records. The novel Henodus material found in the continental, but likely the near-coastal depositional setting, concurs with the known records of brackish to the freshwater habitat of the other henodontid placodonts. The occurrence of abundant armor plates assigned to Cyamodontidae at multiple sites and stratigraphic horizons indicates that placodonts were common in the south Iberian margin.

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• Hurum, Jørn; Hammer, Øyvind; Roberts, Aubrey Jane & Rucinski, Maciej Roman (2025). Dinosaurene lever! doi: https:/www.verdenskulestedag.no/. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hurum, Jørn; Roberts, Aubrey Jane & Rucinski, Maciej Roman (2025). The Oldest Sea Where Reptiles Ruled. Now an article in the prestigious journal Science!!! doi: https:/norpal.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/the-oldest-sea-where-reptiles-ruled-now-an-article-in-the-prestigious-journal-science/. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hurum, Jørn; Roberts, Aubrey Jane & Rucinski, Maciej Roman (2025). Det eldste havet der reptilene hersket. Nå en artikkel i det prestisjefylte tidsskriftet Science!!! doi: https:/norpal.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/det-eldste-havet-der-reptilene-hersket-na-en-artikkel-i-det-prestisjefylte-tidsskriftet-science/. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hammer, Øyvind; Hurum, Jørn Harald; Roberts, Aubrey Jane; Engelschiøn, Victoria Sjøholt; Nakrem, Hans Arne & Delsett, Lene Liebe [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). EAVP 2024 Short introduction to the vertebrate paleontology of Svalbard, with excursions to the Triassic and Jurassic. Norsk Geologisk Forening. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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