@charlespaxton4.bsky.social
Statistical and aquatic ecologist, and very occasionally an historian of sea monsters. I also teach scientific thinking.
New source of Nessie sightings www.bbc.com/news/article...
October 31, 2026 at 8:19 AM
New source of Nessie sightings www.bbc.com/news/article...
The latest episode of Looking for Leviathans: the story of the sea monk from the chap who actually wrote the paper on it m.youtube.com/watch?v=0U9u...
October 21, 2026 at 2:50 PM
The latest episode of Looking for Leviathans: the story of the sea monk from the chap who actually wrote the paper on it m.youtube.com/watch?v=0U9u...
A month to go of my ten year bet with Blake Smith of Monstertalk, that a big giant squid would be found. I think he is going to win, alas! But big ones are out there, oh yes, there was a partial specimen that might have been big enough. @karenstollznow.bsky.social
October 5, 2026 at 10:11 AM
A month to go of my ten year bet with Blake Smith of Monstertalk, that a big giant squid would be found. I think he is going to win, alas! But big ones are out there, oh yes, there was a partial specimen that might have been big enough. @karenstollznow.bsky.social
How to create a false tradition of a monster in the 21st century. On Looking for Leviathans m.youtube.com/watch?v=8DJO...
September 17, 2026 at 12:26 PM
How to create a false tradition of a monster in the 21st century. On Looking for Leviathans m.youtube.com/watch?v=8DJO...
What is the real story of the relationship of whale penises and sea serpents...
See the latest episode of Looking for Leviathans
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTd...
See the latest episode of Looking for Leviathans
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTd...
LFL3: Sea Serpents and Moby's Dick
YouTube video by Looking For Leviathans
www.youtube.com
September 1, 2026 at 11:07 PM
What is the real story of the relationship of whale penises and sea serpents...
See the latest episode of Looking for Leviathans
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTd...
See the latest episode of Looking for Leviathans
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTd...
The second part of the story of the the strange life of the Victorian "sea serpent monomaniac" Capt. George Drevar now available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnN2...
Apologies for the sound, er, lighting and er, editing, I am still learning!!!
Apologies for the sound, er, lighting and er, editing, I am still learning!!!
www.youtube.com
August 19, 2026 at 11:00 AM
The second part of the story of the the strange life of the Victorian "sea serpent monomaniac" Capt. George Drevar now available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnN2...
Apologies for the sound, er, lighting and er, editing, I am still learning!!!
Apologies for the sound, er, lighting and er, editing, I am still learning!!!
I have started a YouTube series "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters (not necessarily in that order!). The first episode has just come out, all about the life of the Victorian "sea serpent monomaniac" Captain George Drevar. www.youtube.com/channel/UCVa...
www.youtube.com
August 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
I have started a YouTube series "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters (not necessarily in that order!). The first episode has just come out, all about the life of the Victorian "sea serpent monomaniac" Captain George Drevar. www.youtube.com/channel/UCVa...
I was asked if o e of my papers(!) could be filmed for this. I hope it made the final cut. m.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Ew...
July 28, 2026 at 10:21 PM
I was asked if o e of my papers(!) could be filmed for this. I hope it made the final cut. m.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Ew...
Coming very soon a new video podcast for
YouTube called "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters, with quite a lot of history (but no AI!) by yours truly. So if you want high quality scholarly info on aquatic monsters stories, accounts and what generates them watch this space.
YouTube called "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters, with quite a lot of history (but no AI!) by yours truly. So if you want high quality scholarly info on aquatic monsters stories, accounts and what generates them watch this space.
July 2, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Coming very soon a new video podcast for
YouTube called "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters, with quite a lot of history (but no AI!) by yours truly. So if you want high quality scholarly info on aquatic monsters stories, accounts and what generates them watch this space.
YouTube called "Looking for Leviathans", science, statistics and sea monsters, with quite a lot of history (but no AI!) by yours truly. So if you want high quality scholarly info on aquatic monsters stories, accounts and what generates them watch this space.
A group of us here at St Andrews have just published a comment on the statistics of the recent Nanaimoteuthis paper in Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... TLDR version lots of unknowns, not really a statistical estimate, unproven at current time. But not impossible.
Earliest octopuses were giant top predators in Cretaceous oceans
Top predators drive changes in ecosystem structure. For the last ~370 million years, large-sized vertebrates have dominated the apex of the marine food chain, while invertebrates have served as smalle...
www.science.org
June 5, 2026 at 1:23 PM
A group of us here at St Andrews have just published a comment on the statistics of the recent Nanaimoteuthis paper in Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... TLDR version lots of unknowns, not really a statistical estimate, unproven at current time. But not impossible.
Statistical commentary on the recent giant Nanaimoteuthis paper submitted to Science....
May 12, 2026 at 7:44 AM
Statistical commentary on the recent giant Nanaimoteuthis paper submitted to Science....
This could be a problem for scholars of the anomalous.
“Never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant,” reads OpenAI's coding agent instructions. www.wired.com/story/openai...
OpenAI Really Wants Codex to Shut Up About Goblins
“Never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant,” reads OpenAI's coding agent instructions.
www.wired.com
May 1, 2026 at 12:13 PM
This could be a problem for scholars of the anomalous.
Working on a comment on the Nanaimoteuthis paper in Science...
April 30, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Working on a comment on the Nanaimoteuthis paper in Science...
Dare I ask this? What is the consensus? Is it "Bigfoot" or "bigfoot"? Before anyone says I know the plural is not "Bigfeet!! Although it would be cool if it was.
April 15, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Dare I ask this? What is the consensus? Is it "Bigfoot" or "bigfoot"? Before anyone says I know the plural is not "Bigfeet!! Although it would be cool if it was.
I touched a book with a hand written comment by Galileo today. Awesome.
April 14, 2026 at 3:58 PM
I touched a book with a hand written comment by Galileo today. Awesome.
A new Nessie doc, with (unusually) interviews with scientists who actually have published papers in cryptozoology!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezT...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezT...
IFLScience Investigates The Loch Ness Monster: The Science, Story, And Power Of Belief
YouTube video by IFLScience
www.youtube.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:12 AM
A new Nessie doc, with (unusually) interviews with scientists who actually have published papers in cryptozoology!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezT...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezT...
Just received
"Dear Dr. Monstrum,
I’m reaching out to invite you to consider joining the editorial board of Academia Animal and Veterinary Science, an upcoming Open Access peer-reviewed journal from Academia.edu Journals. "
Actually I rather like being called "Dr Monstrum"
"Dear Dr. Monstrum,
I’m reaching out to invite you to consider joining the editorial board of Academia Animal and Veterinary Science, an upcoming Open Access peer-reviewed journal from Academia.edu Journals. "
Actually I rather like being called "Dr Monstrum"
Academia.edu - Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers
Academia.edu is the platform to share, find, and explore 50 Million research papers. Join us to accelerate your research needs & academic interests.
Academia.edu
October 29, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Just received
"Dear Dr. Monstrum,
I’m reaching out to invite you to consider joining the editorial board of Academia Animal and Veterinary Science, an upcoming Open Access peer-reviewed journal from Academia.edu Journals. "
Actually I rather like being called "Dr Monstrum"
"Dear Dr. Monstrum,
I’m reaching out to invite you to consider joining the editorial board of Academia Animal and Veterinary Science, an upcoming Open Access peer-reviewed journal from Academia.edu Journals. "
Actually I rather like being called "Dr Monstrum"
Latest article: This may make me unpopular in the scientific skeptical movement but it should not do...
skepticalinquirer.org/2025/10/weir...
skepticalinquirer.org/2025/10/weir...
Weird Things Some Scientific Skeptics Say about Science | Skeptical Inquirer
Despite their commitment to critical thinking and evidence-based approaches to solving problems, some otherwise very clear-thinking skeptics occasionally pr ...
skepticalinquirer.org
October 27, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Latest article: This may make me unpopular in the scientific skeptical movement but it should not do...
skepticalinquirer.org/2025/10/weir...
skepticalinquirer.org/2025/10/weir...
Reposted
I am opposed to AI products and services because of the extra power they require... IN A CLIMATE CRISIS. I am opposed to AI results - texts and illustrations - because they've been created unethically, via theft and non-consensual use of the work of others. Share if you agree.
September 7, 2025 at 10:16 AM
I am opposed to AI products and services because of the extra power they require... IN A CLIMATE CRISIS. I am opposed to AI results - texts and illustrations - because they've been created unethically, via theft and non-consensual use of the work of others. Share if you agree.
A well rounded article from the Daily Mail(!) on our recent research on Nessie
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
If you want the original article it can be found here.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
If you want the original article it can be found here.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
Those who spot the Loch Ness Monster are telling the truth, study says
Nessie spotters are telling the truth and really do see humps in the loch, a jaw-dropping new study has revealed.
www.dailymail.co.uk
July 7, 2025 at 11:44 AM
A well rounded article from the Daily Mail(!) on our recent research on Nessie
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
If you want the original article it can be found here.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
If you want the original article it can be found here.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
New paper by Adrian Shine and myself. A cultural exploration of aquatic monsters with an unexpected twist about eyewitness testimony.
Hoops, loops and eyewitness reliability: a history of biologically impossible aquatic monsters.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
Hoops, loops and eyewitness reliability: a history of biologically impossible aquatic monsters.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
June 25, 2025 at 8:37 AM
New paper by Adrian Shine and myself. A cultural exploration of aquatic monsters with an unexpected twist about eyewitness testimony.
Hoops, loops and eyewitness reliability: a history of biologically impossible aquatic monsters.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
Hoops, loops and eyewitness reliability: a history of biologically impossible aquatic monsters.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKArabuHw...
What to know about the history of sea serpents with loops? Coming very soon.
June 24, 2025 at 6:59 AM
What to know about the history of sea serpents with loops? Coming very soon.
From ChatGPt
"Cryptozoology, as practiced by Charles Paxton, is not pseudoscience."
Nice to know.
"Cryptozoology, as practiced by Charles Paxton, is not pseudoscience."
Nice to know.
June 22, 2025 at 3:52 PM
From ChatGPt
"Cryptozoology, as practiced by Charles Paxton, is not pseudoscience."
Nice to know.
"Cryptozoology, as practiced by Charles Paxton, is not pseudoscience."
Nice to know.
How do witnesses report biologically impossible sea monsters....coming soon.
June 21, 2025 at 8:53 AM
How do witnesses report biologically impossible sea monsters....coming soon.
I'm a big fan of the "sea monster upsets people in rowing boat" art motif. Here is an example I just discovered.
June 17, 2025 at 7:39 AM
I'm a big fan of the "sea monster upsets people in rowing boat" art motif. Here is an example I just discovered.