Episode 152: Lissamphibian Origins Pt2 Palaeo cast 2023-01-25 | Part 2. Caecilians, sometimes known as ‘blind worms’, are a lesser-known group of lissamphibians (all living amphibians). Most modern caecilians are all fossorial (burrowing) and are restricted to the moist soils and leaf litter of tropical forests. Adaptation to this specific ecology has led to radical modification of their bodies, from fusion of the bones in the head and the function of the jaw, to the loss of limbs and development of unique sensory organs. The fossil record of caecilians is incredibly poor, with only 10 specimens available for researchers to piece together their evolutionary history with. This is further problematic because without a firm understanding of caecilian evolution, we can’t understand the origins of lissamphibians, which includes the ecologically significant groups of frogs and salamanders. Published in Nature today, a new study led by Ben Kligman, Petrified Forest National Park and Virginia Tech, details numerous specimens of a new fossil caecilian. Discovered within a Triassic deposit, Funcusvermis gilmorei is not only the oldest known caecilian, but it also displays a unique combination of anatomical characteristics that helps illuminate the evolutionary origins of caecilians and all lissamphibians. Whilst this discovery goes some way to answer some of the bigger questions, other problems that are raised, most notably why there is such an over-representation of Funcusvermis‘s lower right jaw.Website: palaeocast.com/lissamphibian-originsPatreon: patreon.com/palaeocast
Episode 151: Lissamphibian Origins Pt1 Palaeo cast 2023-01-25 | Caecilians, sometimes known as ‘blind worms’, are a lesser-known group of lissamphibians (all living amphibians). Most modern caecilians are all fossorial (burrowing) and are restricted to the moist soils and leaf litter of tropical forests. Adaptation to this specific ecology has led to radical modification of their bodies, from fusion of the bones in the head and the function of the jaw, to the loss of limbs and development of unique sensory organs. The fossil record of caecilians is incredibly poor, with only 10 specimens available for researchers to piece together their evolutionary history with. This is further problematic because without a firm understanding of caecilian evolution, we can’t understand the origins of lissamphibians, which includes the ecologically significant groups of frogs and salamanders. Published in Nature today, a new study led by Ben Kligman, Petrified Forest National Park and Virginia Tech, details numerous specimens of a new fossil caecilian. Discovered within a Triassic deposit, Funcusvermis gilmorei is not only the oldest known caecilian, but it also displays a unique combination of anatomical characteristics that helps illuminate the evolutionary origins of caecilians and all lissamphibians. Whilst this discovery goes some way to answer some of the bigger questions, other problems that are raised, most notably why there is such an over-representation of Funcusvermis‘s lower right jaw.Website: palaeocast.com/lissamphibian-originsPatreon: patreon.com/palaeocast
Episode 150: Palaeoart in Pop Culture Pt3 Palaeo cast 2023-01-19 | Palaeontology (dinosaurs in particular) are incredibly well represented in nearly all forms of popular media today. From documentaries and films to computer games and even specialist podcasts. But where did the public fascination in dinosaurs come from? Has it always been there, ever since the existence of dinosaurs was first revealed, or has interest grown cumulatively with every public engagement milestone. In this third and final part examines the need for modern films and documentaries to be able to substantiate their claims. How do we know whether or not the scenes they depict are based on palaeontological facts? Then the series ends by stepping back and considering what the point of all this science communication is anyway.Website: palaeocast.com/palaeoart-in-pop-culturePatreon: patreon.com/palaeocast
Episode 149: Palaeoart in Pop Culture Pt2 Palaeo cast 2023-01-01 | Palaeontology (dinosaurs in particular) is incredibly well represented in nearly all forms of popular media today. From documentaries and films to computer games and even specialist podcasts. But where did the public fascination in dinosaurs come from? Has it always been there, ever since the existence of dinosaurs was first revealed, or has interest grown cumulatively with every public engagement milestone?In this second part of a special three-part episode, Vicky Coules talks all about dinosaurs in films and animation, but examining titles from within their original historical scientific and social contexts. How have such titles been influenced by the world around them? But equally, how were these titles able to influence science?Website: palaeocast.com/palaeoart-in-pop-culturePatreon: patreon.com/palaeocast
Episode 148: Palaeoart in Pop Culture Pt1 Palaeo cast 2022-12-15 | Palaeontology (dinosaurs in particular) are incredibly well represented in nearly all forms of popular media today. From documentaries and films to computer games and even specialist podcasts. But where did the public fascination in dinosaurs come from? Has it always been there, ever since the existence of dinosaurs was first revealed, or has interest grown cumulatively with every public engagement milestone. In this special three-part episode of Palaeocast, guest host Dr Suresh Singh interviews Vicky Coules about the history of palaeontology in pop culture. Vicky is a PhD student at the University of Bristol, but has a background in art, engineering and documentary production. Her current research focuses on the interrelationship between palaeontology as a science and as an art, with a focus on late 19th and early 20th century America.Website: palaeocast.com/palaeoart-in-pop-culture
Episode 147: Palaeo Gaming Pt2 Palaeo cast 2022-11-15 | Computer games are a colossal industry, eclipsing those of both film and music combined. With so many people playing games, and with so many titles focussing on palaeontological themes, should we be concerned about the accuracy and quality of their content? Joining us for the second part of this interview are Thomas Clements and Jake Atterby, lead authors on a paper in which they address this issue as communicators of science. We discuss what some of the most common negative tropes within these games are, whether or not games should be used to teach palaeo, and why any of us should care anyway. If you like this content and wish to see full reviews of many of these games (and lots more), please check out the Palaeocast Gaming Network channel on YouTube.Link: palaeocast.com/palaeo-gaming
Episode 146: Palaeo Gaming Pt1 Palaeo cast 2022-10-21 | Computer games are a colossal industry, eclipsing those of both film and music combined. With so many people playing games, and with so many titles focussing on palaeontological themes, should we be concerned about the accuracy and quality of their content?Joining us for this episode are Thomas Clements and Jake Atterby, lead authors on a paper in which they address this issue as communicators of science. We discuss what some of the most common negative tropes within these games are, whether or not games should be used to teach palaeo, and why any of us should care anyway.Link: palaeocast.com/palaeo-gaming
Episode 145: Scleromochlus Palaeo cast 2022-10-05 | Scleromochlus is an animal that has been known for over 100 years, and has been frequently suggested as being an ancestor to pterosaurs. It hails from the Late Triassic of Scotland, and there are fewer than 10 specimens known. Unfortunately the preservation of this small reptile means that it is very difficult to interpret. However, thanks to the wonders of modern technology and CT scanning, new evidence from Scleromochlus reveals new anatomical insights, and further supports Scleromochlus as a lagerpetid, the group most closely related to pterosaurs. In this episode we discuss these new discoveries with the lead author of the study Dr Davide Foffa who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Tech, though this work was part of his previous position at the National Museum of Scotland (NMS). This is part of a larger project looking at the Late Triassic 'Elgin Fauna' along with collaborators Richard Butler (University of Birmingham), Stig Walsh and Nick Fraser (NMS), Steve Brusatte (University of Edinburgh) and Paul Barrett (Natural History Museum, London).
Episode 144: Russells Dinosauroid Palaeo cast 2022-09-15 | The end-Cretaceous mass extinction was caused by a large asteroid that struck the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Within an instant, the course of history was altered and the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. As we piece together the timeline of the event, assisted by such amazing sites as Tanis, we can’t help but think “what if the asteroid had missed and this extinction never happened?”.Dr Dale Russell of the Canadian Museum of Nature decided to explore this question further than most. He, along with model-maker Ron Séguin, produced a speculative model of what the Late Cretaceous dinosaur, Stenonychosaurus, might have evolved into had the extinction event not happened. This ‘dinosauroid’ has proven to be very controversial to say the very least.In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Will Tattersdill, a literary critic and expert in science fiction from the University of Birmingham, UK. He gives us unique insights into the dinosauroid, as we explore its concept, reception and legacy. We weigh up the value of the model as piece of palaeoart, as an academic statement, and as a conversation starter.Link: palaeocast.com/russells-dinosauroid
Episode 143: The Palaeontographical Society Pt2 Palaeo cast 2022-09-08 | Our celebration of the 175th anniversary of PalSoc continues and here, in part two, we speak to Dr Caroline Buttler, a palaeontologist from National Museums of Wales, and the first woman president of PalSoc. She tells us how PalSoc is changing to meet the needs of the palaeontological community in the 21st Century, and we discuss the place of scientific monographs in modern scientific practice. She also reflects on the slow pace of change when it comes to diversity in scientific societies, and the role that women have played in PalSoc since its formation.palaeocast.com/palsoc
Episode 142: The Palaeontographical Society Pt1 Palaeo cast 2022-08-16 | This year marks the 175th anniversary of The Palaeontographical Society. Having been established in 1847, PalSoc is the world’s oldest Society devoted specifically to the advancement of palaeontological knowledge in existence. The primary role of PalSoc is to promote the description and illustration of British fossils, which it does through monographs. In the first part of this two-part episode, we speak to Dr Victor Monin a historian of science who specialises in the history of palaeontology, especially palaeoart. How did PalSoc influence how fossils were visually represented in scientific literature?Website: palaeocast.com/palsoc
Episode 141: Bolca Fish Palaeo cast 2022-07-15 | Bolca is a site of exceptional preservation of fossils (termed a konservat lagerstätte) located close to Verona, Italy. This 50 million year old limestone was deposited in the Eocene Epoch and contains over 500 species of plants, arthropods terrestrial vertebrates and most notably a lot of fish! The preservation at Bolca is so detailed that even the external colouration of the skin and internal anatomy of many of these fossils can be seen. Exploring the taphonomy (the processes that occur to a body between death and discovery) and palaeoecology (how fossil organisms lived and interacted with other organisms and their surroundings) of some of the fish from Bolca is Dr Valentina Rossi from University College Cork, Ireland. In this episode, we look at how colour patterns are preserved in a fossil moonfish and look at what that can tell us about how the species lived.Website: palaeocast.com/bolca-fish
Episode 140: Aquatic Spinosaurids Palaeo cast 2022-06-20 | In the last few years there has been lots of new work on the iconic Spinosaurus - was it aquatic? What about its relatives? What kind of evidence can we look at to tell us this answer? In this episode we speak with Dr. Matteo Fabbri, from the Field Museum of Chicago, who has been working on Spinosaurus and other relatives and has recently published a detailed study supporting the idea that some spinosaurids were likely a swimming, aquatic dinosaur at least part of the time. He walks us through the evidence for spinosaurids being semi-aquatic and tells us why they think they could swim.Website: palaeocast.com/aquatic-spinosaurids
Episode 139: Marrellomorphs Palaeo cast 2022-05-16 | Marrellomorphs are the group of early Paleozoic arthropods that get their name from the well-known Burgess Shale fossil Marrella splendens. They have for a long time been considered to be closely related to the trilobites, based on similarities in their gills, but numerous studies have since suggested they are closer related to mandibulate arthropods (crustaceans, insects & myriapods), although their strange appearance means other relationships might still be plausible.Since they have a soft exoskeleton, marellomorphs have a very poor fossil record and so the discovery of any new specimens outside of the Burgess Shale can be incredibly significant. In this interview, we speak to Joe Moysiuk of the University of Toronto and Royal Ontario Museum about his newly described species Tomlinsonus dimitrii.Website: palaeocast.com/marrellomorphs
Episode 138: Hispaniolan Sloths Palaeo cast 2022-04-20 | Sloths (or do you pronounce it “sloths”?), are a group of tree-dwelling xenarthrans from South and Central America. They are well known for their sedentary lifestyles where they just hang around and seemingly do fairly little. But has this always been the case? When we look back at the fossil record of sloths, what kinds of ecologies do we see? How far back does their fossil record actually go?In this episode, we speak to Dr Robert McAfee (Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Georgia) about his research looking into the fossil record of sloths in all of its “beautiful absurdity”. His work has been focussed on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and the remarkably rich cave deposits found there.palaeocast.com/hispaniolan-sloths
Episode 137: Tanis Palaeo cast 2022-02-25 | 11:50 Start of the discussionWebsite: palaeocast.com/tanisThe end-Cretaceous mass extinction was a cataclysmic asteroid impact that ushered in the end of the non-avian dinosaurs and forever changed the course of evolution on Earth. But what can we say about the timing of the event, other than it happened 66 million years ago? Well, it turns out that Tanis, a relatively-recently discovered fossil site in North Dakota, is full of lines of evidence that are allowing earth scientists to piece together when the impact occurred. In this episode, we’re joined by Melanie During, Uppsala University, who has been examining the details of the bones of fish to say more about the world either side of the event.
Episode 136: Burmese Amber Pt2b Palaeo cast 2022-02-15 | Continuing our mini series on Burmese Amber, we now turn our focus to the ethics of working on this fossil material. Can possessing or working on amber from Myanmar ever be considered ethical? In the first part of this episode, we examined the political context, work around Myanmar’s fossil exportation laws and follow the money back through the trade routes. Now, in the second part, we discuss why it’s currently unethical to study Burmese amber, what palaeontologists can do about that, and whether the situation might change in the future. Joining us to guide us through this process are Nussaïbah Raja (Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg) and Dr Emma Dunne (University of Birmingham).palaeocast.com/burmese-amber-pt2
Episode 135: Burmese Amber Pt2 Palaeo cast 2022-02-03 | Continuing our mini series on Burmese Amber, we now turn our focus to the ethics of working on this fossil material. Can possessing or working on amber from Myanmar ever be considered ethical? In the first part of this episode, we examine the political context, work around Myanmar’s fossil exportation laws and follow the money back through the trade routes. In the second part (released in two weeks), we’ll be discussing why it’s currently unethical to study Burmese amber, what palaeontologists can do about that, and whether the situation might change in the future. Joining us to guide us through this process are Nussaïbah Raja (Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg) and Dr Emma Dunne (University of Birmingham), authors of a soon-to-be-released study looking at exactly these issues.Website: palaeocast.com/burmese-amber-pt2
Episode 134: Mammal Locomotion and Ecology Palaeo cast 2022-01-16 | In this episode we talk to Professor Christine Janis about mammal palaeontology, and her career. Christine is one of the world’s foremost experts in mammal palaeontology and mammalogy. She has authored dozens of scientific papers, and has been co-author of the major textbook Vertebrate Life for the last 20 years. Christine has had a long and distinguished career, and is currently a researcher at the University of Bristol in the UK. Her work is particularly focused on mammal locomotion and ecology. We’ll be talking about some of the research Christine has led, including on hoofed mammals, sabre-toothed South American ‘marsupials’, and Australia’s extinct giant kangaroos. We’ll talk about the use and limits of comparative anatomy, the importance of direct observation of specimens in the discipline of palaeontology, and how things have changed for researchers during her lifetime.Link: palaeocast.com/mammal-locomotion-and-ecology
Episode 133: Drawing and Painting Dinosaurs Palaeo cast 2022-01-02 | It can be argued that palaeoart is the single biggest hook for getting people interested in prehistoric life. It takes the complex scientific terminology and data found within the academic literature and translates it into a reconstruction of an extinct organism. It is only through palaeoart that we can visualise some extinct organisms (particularly the vertebrates, and dinosaurs in this instance, whose external tissues are rarely preserved as fossils) and show some of the behaviours they might have possessed. Any kind of reconstruction that attempts to accurately depict an extinct organism as a living one could be considered palaeoart and this covers all forms of media, from traditional painting, to animation, 3D models and even how skeletons are posed in a museum. In this episode, we speak to behavioural geneticist and palaeoartist and Dr Emily Willoughby, University of Minnesota. We take a look at what palaeoart is, how to go about making your own artwork and the release of her new book ‘Drawing and Painting Dinosaurs‘.palaeocast.com/drawing-and-painting-dinosaurs
Episode 132: Burmese Amber Pt1b Palaeo cast 2021-12-15 | Burmese amber is well known for preserving fossils in exquisite details. This amber is dated to around 100 million years old, representing the Albian - Cenomanian ages of the Cretaceous period, so would have been deposited whilst non-avian dinosaurs still walked the land. Fossils preserved in this amber include representatives from numerous different groups including arachnids, insects, vertebrates, and plants. Whilst the amber itself (as fossilised tree sap/resin) is produced in a terrestrial environment, some marine species have been caught up in amber. This includes such animals as ostracods, snails and surprisingly even an ammonite! In the first part of this series, we speak to Dr Javier Luque, Harvard University, about the discovery of a crab in amber. We put this discovery in context by first examining what crabs are, before turning our attention to their fossil record. In the next episode, we'll take a look at the details of the discovery. Following on from this, we will discuss the political situation in Myanmar and question whether or not working with Burmese amber is currently ethical.Links:palaeocast.com/burmese-amber-crabscience.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj5689
Episode 131: Burmese Amber Pt1 Palaeo cast 2021-12-02 | Burmese amber is well known for preserving fossils in exquisite details. This amber is dated to around 100 million years old, representing the Albian - Cenomanian ages of the Cretaceous period, so would have been deposited whilst non-avian dinosaurs still walked the land. Fossils preserved in this amber include representatives from numerous different groups including arachnids, insects, vertebrates, and plants. Whilst the amber itself (as fossilised tree sap/resin) is produced in a terrestrial environment, some marine species have been caught up in amber. This includes such animals as ostracods, snails and surprisingly even an ammonite! In the first part of this series, we speak to Dr Javier Luque, Harvard University, about the discovery of a crab in amber. We put this discovery in context by first examining what crabs are, before turning our attention to their fossil record. In the next episode, we'll take a look at the details of the discovery. Following on from this, we will discuss the political situation in Myanmar and question whether or not working with Burmese amber is currently ethical.Link: palaeocast.com/burmese-amber-crabImage: Reconstruction of Cretapsara athanata by Franz Anthony
Episode 130: Bats Palaeo cast 2021-10-30 | After rodents, bats are the second largest group of mammals, representing a staggering 20% of all mammal species. They can be found all over the world, with the exception of cold climates, where they often play incredibly important ecological roles. Their ecologies (ways in which they live) go well beyond the cave-hanging, moth-eating stereotypes and diets can also be based on fruits, nectar or even blood. In fact, some tropical plants rely solely upon bats for pollination! But when did bats evolve and who are their closest relatives? Do they have a good fossil record? Is vampirism an effective feeding strategy? In this episode, we're joined by Dr Nancy Simmons, Curator-In-Charge of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History, who introduces us to the wonderful world of bats and their fossil record.Link: palaeocast.com/bats
Episode 129: Penguins Palaeo cast 2021-10-01 | Whether it be because of their unique shape, comical walking or extreme ecology, there can be no denying that penguins are incredibly popular and charismatic animals. But what actually makes a penguin a penguin and how are they different from other birds? Have penguins always been, well, 'penguiny'? Joining us for this interview are Simone Giovanardi and Daniel Thomas who have just described a new species of giant penguin from New Zealand. Together, we explore penguin evolution and how their new species Kairuku waewaeroa fits into this story.palaeocast.com/penguins
Episode 128: Coprolite Inclusions Pt2 Palaeo cast 2021-07-31 | One of the factors that makes palaeontology such a popular science is its constant ability to surprise us. It seems almost every week that a new study is released that significantly adds to our understanding of ancient life. This could be in relation to a new species, a new analysis or new fossil locality. In this episode, we discuss a new discovery that not only yields a new species, but also provides direct dietary evidence and has us re-evaluating the potential for food to be preserved in coprolites (fossilised droppings). Joining us for this interview are Drs Martin Qvarnström and Martin Fikáček of Uppsala University and National Sun Yat-sen University, respectively. Both were part of a team that identified and described a new species of beetle preserved within a dinosaur coprolite! In this second part of this interview, we take a look at both the coprolite and the beetle in closer detail and ask what is the significance of this association for the study of both? We also consider the potential for coprolites to be micro-lagerstätten.Link: palaeocast.com/coprolite-inclusionsImage: Małgorzata Czaja
Episode 127: Coprolite Inclusions Palaeo cast 2021-07-19 | One of the factors that makes palaeontology such a popular science is its constant ability to surprise us. It seems almost every week that a new study is released that significantly adds to our understanding of ancient life. This could be in relation to a new species, a new analysis or new fossil locality. In this episode, we discuss a new discovery that not only yields a new species, but also provides direct dietary evidence and has us re-evaluating the potential for food to be preserved in coprolites (fossilised droppings). Joining us for this interview are Drs Martin Qvarnström and Martin Fikáček of Uppsala University and National Sun Yat-sen University, respectively. Both were part of a team that identified and described a new species of beetle preserved within a dinosaur coprolite! In this first part of the interview, we provide the context for the discovery, discussing the study of coprolites and of beetles. Part 2 of the interview will be released soon.Link: palaeocast.com/coprolite-inclusions
Episode 126: Beasts Before Us Palaeo cast 2021-06-16 | COMPETITION: For details see description below!Podcast link: palaeocast.com/beasts-before-usIn this episode, we talk to our very own Dr Elsa Panciroli about her new book Beasts Before Us. In it, she tells the untold story of mammalian evolution, tracing the origin of synapsids back to the Carboniferous. You’ll be taken to fossil sites around the world to meet some of these pioneering animals and some of the palaeontologists that discovered them. For this interview, we’ll give you an overview of the early evolution of synapsids and dispel many of the misconceptions about what our ancestors were really like. Beasts Before Us is available to buy online and in all good book shops.COMPETITION: To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the book, simply comment below which your favourite synapsid is and why.Synapsida is a huge group that contains all mammals and more. It stretches back to the Carboniferous, so there are so many different species to choose. Anything from the very first synapsid, through to Dimetrodon, Lystrosaurus, Morganucodon or even your pet cat today!At the end of June, Elsa will pick two winners from all entries across our social media accounts. Good luck!
Episode 125: Crocodylomorph disparity Pt2 Palaeo cast 2021-04-30 | palaeocast.com/crocodylomorph-disparityCrocodiles are often referred to as “living fossils”, but if we compare modern and ancient species, does that label hold up? What different kind of morphologies (shapes) did past crocs have and how did they live? How quickly did this past diversity arise and why are we left with so few species today? What’s to stop them from diversifying again? In this episode, we speak to Dr Tom Stubbs, University of Bristol, about his recent work analysing changes in crocodylomorph disparity through time. We look at some of the weird and wonderful crocs of the past and work through his methods for calculating their rates of evolutionary innovation. Part 2 of 2
Episode 124: Crocodylomorph disparity Palaeo cast 2021-04-15 | palaeocast.com/crocodylomorph-disparityCrocodiles are often referred to as “living fossils”, but if we compare modern and ancient species, does that label hold up? What different kind of morphologies (shapes) did past crocs have and how did they live? How quickly did this past diversity arise and why are we left with so few species today? What’s to stop them from diversifying again? In this episode, we speak to Dr Tom Stubbs, University of Bristol, about his recent work analysing changes in crocodylomorph disparity through time. We look at some of the weird and wonderful crocs of the past and work through his methods for calculating their rates of evolutionary innovation. Part 1 of 2
Episode 123: Soil Palaeo cast 2021-03-16 | Terrestrial life as we know it couldn’t exist without soil. Soil, as we know it today, is a layer of minerals, organic matter, liquids, gasses and organisms that not only provides a medium for plant growth, but also modifies the atmosphere, provides a habitat for animals and retains and purifies water. This kind of soil hasn’t always existed, so in order to understand early conditions on land, we first need to understand what can be constituted as a soil and when these first exited. Is there soil on the Moon? Can soil fossilise? Since most terrestrial ecosystems are rooted in soil, if we want to understand how life established itself on land, we first need to know how soils form, how they have changed over geological time and which kinds of plants and fungi can live without it. Joining us in this episode is Dr Ria Mitchell, Experimental Officer in X-ray Computed Tomography at the University of Sheffield, UK.
Episode 122: Dietary Ecology of Smilodon fatalis pt2 Palaeo cast 2021-03-01 | palaeocast.com/dietary-ecology-of-smilodon-fatalisPart two of our interview with Dr Larisa DeSantis of Vanderbilt University on the 'dietary ecology' of Smilodon. Smilodon is probably one of the most iconic mammalian apex predators with its extended upper canines and robustly-built forearms. In fact, when we compare Smilodon to modern cats (felids), we don't see these same characteristics. So what were they used for? Was Smilodon specialised for any particular behaviour? Owing to the unique preservation of the tar seeps at Rancho La Brea, Los Angeles, USA, we can find an overabundance of predators, including Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Panthera atrox and Puma concolor. This allows researchers to reconstruct the predatory landscape of the area in the Pleistocene. Who was eating what? Was there any competition between predators?
Episode 121: Dietary Ecology of Smilodon fatalis Pt1 Palaeo cast 2021-02-15 | palaeocast.com/dietary-ecology-of-smilodon-fatalisSmilodon is probably one of the most iconic mammalian apex predators with its extended upper canines and robustly-built forearms. In fact, when we compare Smilodon to modern cats (felids), we don’t see these same characteristics. So what were they used for? Was Smilodon specialised for any particular behaviour? Owing to the unique preservation of the tar seeps at Rancho La Brea, Los Angeles, USA, we can find an overabundance of predators, including Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Panthera atrox and Puma concolor. This allows researchers to reconstruct the predatory landscape of the area in the Pleistocene. Who was eating what? Was there any competition between predators? All of these questions feed in to the ‘dietary ecology’ of Smilodon and here to discuss that, and more, is Dr Larisa DeSantis of Vanderbilt University.
Episode 120: Naked Ammonite Palaeo cast 2021-02-01 | It wouldn’t be outlandish to state that many a fossil collection has started with the acquisition of an ammonite. Their planispiral shells (termed a conch) are instantly recognisable and since that conch was originally composed of the relatively hard mineral aragonite, they better lend themselves to the fossilisation process. But how much do we actually know about the animal that produces the conch? We might be able to make superficial inferences based on comparisons with the modern Nautilus, but ammonites are actually closer related to squid and octopuses. So could you recognise an ammonite without its shell? Prof. Christian Klug of the University of Zurich has recently described just that: a naked ammonite. In this episode, we learn about ammonite soft body anatomy and sink our teeth into the mystery of how this ammonite lost its shell.palaeocast.com/naked-ammonite
Episode 119: The Soom Shale Palaeo cast 2020-12-18 | palaeocast.com/soom-shaleThe Soom Shale is an Ordovician lagerstätte in the Western Cape of South Africa. Whilst it lacks the diversity of organisms seen in other lagerstätten, such as the Burgess Shale or Chengjiang, it more than makes up for it in the fidelity of preservation. The taphonomic pathway to the fantastic preservation in the Soom Shale is long and complex, reliant not only on local conditions, but also ties into global climatic events. It’s vitally important when interpreting fossils to understand the taphonomy as it provides so much context as to what you can see in fossils and, as equally important, what you can’t. Joining us for this episode is Prof. Sarah Gabbott, a taphonomist from the University of Leicester, UK.
Episode 118: South African Sauropodomorphs Palaeo cast 2020-12-01 | palaeocast.com/south-african-sauropodomorphsPiecing together the early lives of dinosaurs is difficult due to a lack of fossils from juvenile and embryonic stages. In this episode, Elsa Panciroli talks to Dr Kimi Chappelle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Evolutionary Studies Institute, part of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Chappelle specialises in sauropodomorphs – the precursors of the giant sauropod dinosaurs like Diplodocus. Her recent work is helping build a picture of their growth and development. Chappelle is a champion of South African palaeontology and nominated as one of the Mail and Guardian’s top 200 young South Africans in Science and Technology. With her colleagues she has published a stunning new study of sauropodomorph embryos from a fossil nest site in South Africa. This new paper visualises and describes their tiny skulls using synchrotron scan data. These fossils provide new information on dinosaur developmental processes, and places South African fossils at the heart of our understanding of their early evolution. Chappelle also talks about the latest work she’s involved with in Zimbabwe, and future research into the growth patterns of the largest dinosaurs to have ever lived.
Episode 117: Decolonising Palaeontology Palaeo cast 2020-11-16 | Lack of diversity is one of the major issues in the sciences in recent times. We’ve discussed diversity in palaeontology in previous podcasts, but in this episode Elsa takes a look at the legacy of racism and colonialism in palaeontology and museum collections, and what efforts are being made to address these issues. Colonial attitudes towards people of non-European descent have meant that their natural heritage was often plundered and sent back to Europe and the United States to fill museum shelves. Researchers continue to benefit from these resources. How should we change our scientific practice to recognise this legacy and avoid making the same mistakes now and in the future? In the first part of the episode, Elsa speaks to Christa Kuljian, a historian of science and author of Darwin’s Hunch, based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. She’ll examine the legacy of racism in science, focusing on palaeoanthropology in South Africa, including figures like Robert Broom and Raymond Dart. We’ll hear how attitudes toward different races shaped the research and conclusions of past generations of scientists. In the second part, Rob Theodore, Exhibitions and Displays Coodinator at the Sedgewick Museum in England, talks about the legacy of colonialism in museum collections. We’ll find out about the ways in which specimens were collected in the past, and how this was related to contemporary events and attitudes. We’ll also find out what moves being taken to decolonise museums and refocus public outreach to recognise the past and move positively into the future.
The Virtual Natural History Museum - Project introduction for professionals Palaeo cast 2020-11-02 | Presented at GSA 2020Details of the upcoming Virtual Natural History Museum project, aimed at academics and museum professionals.
Episode 116: Ice Age Palaeoecology Palaeo cast 2020-11-01 | When we think about the Ice Age or the Pleistocene, we generally think of large animals: wooly mammoths trudging through snow, sabre-tooth tigers taking down their next meal, and big bison out on the steppes. These are really interesting things to think about, but what else can we learn from the Pleistocene other big animals and their extinction? We can also use the Pleistocene (which is relatively similar to the modern world in terms of continental layout, landscapes, and ecological niche availability) to explore questions of palaeoecology, biotic interactions and how changes in the environment can affect the local fauna. The relatively young age of the Pleistocene means that the available data is very different to palaeoecological studies of the Cretaceous or Eocene. This means that it is more appropriate for drawing comparisons to what's happening today or what might happen in the future with climate change. Joining us in this interview is Dr Jacquelyn Gill, an Associate Professor at the University of Maine, who works in palaeoecology. We talk about the different data available, the importance of understanding palaeoecology, including a recent paper from her group on seabird ecology in the Falklands, and what this might mean for the future.
Episode 115a: Diatoms of Lake Baikal Palaeo cast 2020-10-16 | Diatoms are a major group of algae found in waters all around the world. As photosynthetic phytoplankton, they are hugely important ‘primary producers’, integral to nearly every aquatic food chain. They are responsible for a large proportion of the world’s oxygen production, with estimates ranging between 20 and 50%. Diatoms are unicellular plants that produce their cell walls, termed frustules, out of silica. These intricate frustules are what we find preserved in the fossil record and they can contain an absolute wealth of information. In this interview, Prof. Anson Mackay, University College London, joins to discuss his work on the diatoms from Lake Baikal, Siberia. We learn why lakes are such special ecosystems and what diatoms can tell us about the world through studies of their palaeoproductivity over thousands of years.
Episode 115b: Diatoms of Lake Baikal Palaeo cast 2020-10-15 | Part 2. Diatoms are a major group of algae found in waters all around the world. As photosynthetic phytoplankton, they are hugely important ‘primary producers’, integral to nearly every aquatic food chain. They are responsible for a large proportion of the world’s oxygen production, with estimates ranging between 20 and 50%. Diatoms are unicellular plants that produce their cell walls, termed frustules, out of silica. These intricate frustules are what we find preserved in the fossil record and they can contain an absolute wealth of information. In this interview, Prof. Anson Mackay, University College London, joins to discuss his work on the diatoms from Lake Baikal, Siberia. We learn why lakes are such special ecosystems and what diatoms can tell us about the world through studies of their palaeoproductivity over thousands of years.
Ep114b: Horseshoe Crabs Palaeo cast 2020-08-14 | Part 2 of 2. The horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura) are a group of large aquatic arthropods known from the East coast of the USA, and the Southern and Eastern coasts of Asia. Despite their name, they are not actually crabs at all, but are chelicerates (the group containing spiders and scorpions). As a group, the horseshoe crabs possess an extremely long fossil record, reaching as far back as the Ordovician Period, some 480 million years ago. Since that time, they would appear to have undergone very little change, leading the horseshoe crabs to become the archetypal ‘living fossils’. Joining us for this two-part episode is Dr Russell Bicknell, University of New England, Australia. We discuss what makes a horseshoe crab, before taking questions from our listeners as to all aspects of horseshoe crab ecology and what we can infer from them about other extinct arthropods.
Ep114a: Horseshoe Crabs Palaeo cast 2020-07-31 | The horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura) are a group of large aquatic arthropods known from the East coast of the USA, and the Southern and Eastern coasts of Asia. Despite their name, they are not actually crabs at all, but are chelicerates (the group containing spiders and scorpions). As a group, the horseshoe crabs possess an extremely long fossil record, reaching as far back as the Ordovician Period, some 480 million years ago. Since that time, they would appear to have undergone very little change, leading the horseshoe crabs to become the archetypal 'living fossils'. Joining us for this two-part episode is Dr Russell Bicknell, University of New England, Australia. We discuss what makes a horseshoe crab, before taking questions from our listeners as to all aspects of horseshoe crab ecology and what we can infer from them about other extinct arthropods.
Episode 113: PBS Eons Palaeo cast 2020-07-15 | With palaeontology as popular as it is you will never be short of content online, whether that be articles, blogs, podcasts (of which there are now many others you should also be listening to) or videos. This allows you, the public, to enjoy learning about past life on demand and in a format that best suits you. The only issue with having so many sources of information/entertainment is that the quality can be highly variable and it can be difficult to determine whether any given outlet/channel values more the accurate communication of palaeontological science or the number of viewers/ad revenue they get. Amongst some notable exceptions to this issue is the YouTube channel PBS Eons, who have produced a hugely successful series that also stands up to scientific scrutiny. In this interview, we're joined by Eons host Kallie Moore who discusses everything to do with the show, from how it is researched and shot, to the benefits of using YouTube for outreach.
Episode 112: Extinction of the dinosaurs Palaeo cast 2020-06-29 | The end-Cretaceous (or K-Pg) extinction is one of the best known mass extinctions in Earth's history, primarily because that is when non-avian dinosaurs disappeared. Although the popular idea is that an asteroid impact was what caused the extinction, the science hasn't actually been that clear. More recently, a second hypothesis has challenged the idea asteroid as the main culprit, suggesting that huge volcanic eruptions in what is now India called the Deccan Traps was responsible. It has also been suggested that dinosaurs were already in decline when these things happened, speeding up the inevitable. In this interview, we speak with Dr Alessandro Chiarenza, a research associate at University College London about his new paper published today in PNAS showing that it really was the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs. This new study, based on research he did during his PhD at Imperial College London, uses a large amount of data put into climatic models to analyse different scenarios caused by an asteroid impact, the Deccan Traps volcanism, and a combination of the two. This study showed that the asteroid caused a prolonged impact winter, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Episode 111: Diversity in Palaeontology Palaeo cast 2020-06-17 | In this episode, in conjunction with the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP), we investigate issues of diversity in palaeontology, through interviews with Jann Nassif (PhD student at Ohio University, USA) on being transgender in palaeontology; Professor Taissa Rodrigues (Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Brazil) and Dr Femke Holwerda (Dr Betsy Nicholls Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Canada) about women in palaeontology; and Gabriel-Philip Santos (Collections Manager and Outreach Coordinator at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools) about racial diversity. We also spoke with Professor Jessica Theodor (University of Calgary), the Vice President of SVP about what they are doing to increase diversity and address these issues. This episode was recorded in 2019 at the SVP meeting in Brisbane, Australia, but for several reasons has taken us a little while to complete. Given the current discussions and anti-racism activism going on around the world, we thought this was a good time to reflect on some of the issues within our science and the ways in which they are being addressed.
Episode 110: The Fin-Limb Transition and Early Tetrapod Biodiversity Palaeo cast 2020-05-31 | One of the great themes in palaeobiology is the water-land transition, or how and when the ancestors of today’s four-legged terrestrial animals moved to land. Lines of questioning have included understanding the anatomy and biomechanics of the axial skeleton- head and vertebrae (focusing on biting and swallowing) and the appendicular skeleton (focusing on how the earliest tetrapods walked or swam). Our picture of this story has drastically changed in the last three decades, as new fossils have filled in crucial gaps in the tetrapod evolutionary tree. This changing picture really came to the fore with the work of the late Professor Jenny clack, who’s work at Cambridge in early tetrapods from Greenland and elsewhere brought the water land question back in fashion. Joining us to discuss Jenny Clack's Legacy in this episode are Prof. Mike Coates and Ben Otoo both of the University of Chicago.
Episode 109: Early Tetrapod Feeding Mechanics Palaeo cast 2020-05-01 | Early tetrapods include the earliest animals to grow legs, and their closest ancestors. Moving from the water to land required a number of changes within the skeleton and muscular system, related to moving from swimming to crawling, greater pressure on the body after experiencing further effects of gravity without buoyancy, and the difference in feeding with and without water. This transition is commonly referred to as the 'water-to-land' transition. While a significant amount of work has been done on the anatomical changes through this period, there has been less study on the biomechanics. What has been looked at tends to relate to the mechanical changes related to walking on land and the limbs. However, less has been done looking at the skull mechanics and feeding. Early tetrapod work was pioneered by Professor Jenny Clack. She did a lot of early field work and description, understanding this transition better than anyone. Sadly, Professor Clack passed away in March, but has left behind a legacy of other professors, post docs and students around the globe which she inspired. In this episode, we talk to Dr Laura Porro from University College London about her work on early tetrapod feeding and skull mechanics, and how the skull changed over the water-to-land transition, work which was done with and inspired by Jenny.
Episode 108: Plesiosaurs Palaeo cast 2020-03-01 | Plesiosaurs are some of the most easily recognisable animals in the fossil record. Simply uttering the words ‘Loch Ness Monster’ can conjure a reasonably accurate image of what they look like. Thanks to palaeoart, it’s also fairly easy to envision how they lived: swimming through the open Jurassic seas, picking fish, ammonites and belemnites out of the water. What we don’t imagine are plesiosaurs at the South Pole, nor would we ever picture them swimming amongst icebergs or poking their heads out of holes in the ice to breathe. We’d never think to find them in freshwater either. Even more surprising is that the evidence for this radical vision of polar plesiosaurs is found preserved in the precious mineral opal. In this interview, we’re joined by Dr Benjamin Kear, Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University in Sweden. He paints for us a picture of life at the South Pole and the importance of polar habitats in driving the evolution of the plesiosaurs.
