In a blog posted late last year, paleontologist Sarah Werning made an important point that has stuck with me ever since – we need to stop apologizing for the fossil record. There are gaps and discontinuities and an astonishing amount of as-yet-undiscovered history, but a great deal of what has been found so far is truly exceptional. Werning picked prehistoric frogs as a prime example – several specimens of Liaobatrachus preserved in such detail that researchers were able to examine how the skeletons of the frogs transformed from cartilage to bone. A new look at a specific fossil amphibian discovered 140 years ago reminded me of her point. In a PLoS