Pals in Palaeo

Latest Episodes:

9. Savannasaurus with Stephen Poropat Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

Adele is joined by sauropod expert Dr Stephen Poropat to about talk Savannasaurus elliottorum, the species he names in 2016! Recorded after a big day of dinosaur digging, we explore the Cretaceous of Queensland and get the facts on one of Australia's chonkiest titanosaurs.
Hear how a dinosaur obsessed kid who brought his Apatosaurus to the nativity became an expert in palaeontology. Plus how to spot the difference between Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus, and honouring the memory of palaeontologist Mary Wade.

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

8. Hallucigenia Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Join palaeontologists Adele Pentland and Dr Martin Smith on a fossil fever dream through the Cambrian!
This episode we discuss the spicy noodle Hallucigenia (an inch long worm with spikes, claws and Cthulhu tentacles), family ties to the velvet worms and frolic through the famous Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies.
Plus de-extinction of 32,000 year old Pleistocene plants from Siberia, revived by raiding a prehistoric squirrel pantry for frozen fruits.

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

7. Arenaerpeton with Lachlan Hart Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

Adele chats with Australian Museum palaeontologist Lachlan Hart about the new Triassic temnospondyl species he named, Arenaerpeton supinatus! A fossil discovered in a sandstone block by a retired chicken farmer, that went on display as part of the Dinosaur World Tour in 1997.
We discuss the shocking secret world of these extinct animals, including cannibalism in amphbians, horns, tusks, and toxins. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

Dinosaur Trips
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

6. Dunkleosteus Jul 26, 2023

Show notes

Adele dives into the Devonian oceans to talk about the colossal armoured fish Dunkleosteus. An ancient apex predator about as big as a shark, with bone-crushing jaws. You're gonna need a bigger boat!
Plus tangents on coprolites and the accidental discovery of an ancient species of beetle from Triassic poop from Poland.
Links:
How Dinosaur Poop Got Its Name
What is a coprolite?
Dunkleosteus
Ecomorphological inferences in early vertebrates: reconstructing Dunkleosteus terrelli (Arthrodira, Placodermi) caudal fin from palaeoecological data
Feeding mechanics and bite force modelling of the skull of Dunkleosteus terrelli, an ancient apex predator
Giant, swimming mouths: oral dimensions of extant sharks do not accurately predict body size in Dunkleosteus terrelli (Placodermi: Arthrodira)
A Devonian Fish Tale: A New Method of Body Length Estimation Suggests Much Smaller Sizes for Dunkleosteus terrelli (Placodermi: Arthrodira)

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

5. Cryolophosaurus Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

Join Adele and guest Dr Nathan Smith on an adventure through the Jurassic forests of Antarctica (180 million years ago) as we talk about one of the coolest dinosaurs, Cryolophosaurus (the overlooked cousin of Dilophosaurus).
We also touch on pterosaurs from Madagascar, fieldwork in frozen lands, the advantages of a pompadour and why this theropod is nicknamed Elvis!
Links:
A Crested Theropod Dinosaur from Antarctica

Osteology of Cryolophosaurus ellioti (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of Antarctica and implications for early theropod evolution

The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)

A comprehensive anatomical and phylogenetic evaluation of Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda) with descriptions of new specimens from the Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona

Field Museum

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

4. Glossopteris Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Introducing Glossopteris! A prolific fossil plant from the swamps of the southern supercontinent, Gondwana during the Permian period.
We hear from Dr Anne-Marie Tosolini, a palaeontologist and palaeobotanist about this incredible fossil, and how Glossopteris helped piece together the theory of plate tectonics.
Plus info on some interesting scrape marks made by dancing theropod dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Colorado.
Links
Theropod courtship: large scale physical evidence of display arenas and avian-like scrape ceremony behaviour by Cretaceous dinosaurs

Mysterious footprint fossils point to dancing dinosaur mating ritual

Anatomically preserved Glossopteris stems with attached leaves from the central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica

Unique trackway on Permian Karoo shoreline provides evidence of temnospondyl locomotory behaviour

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

3. Ferrodraco Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Adele talks about the species of pterosaur she named: Ferrodraco lentoni affectionately known as Butch, or the Iron Dragon a winged reptile with a wingspan of 4m (just over 13 feet!)
Plus insight from fossil preparator Ali Calvey and discoverer of the Ferrodraco holotype specimen, Bob Elliott.
And a quick detour to talk about weird marine microfossils trapped in amber from the Cretaceous of southwestern France, ~100 million years old.
Links:
Random Fossil Fact
Evidence for marine microfossils from amber

Ferrodraco

4-metre flying reptile unearthed in Queensland is our best pterosaur fossil yet

Ferrodraco lentoni gen. et sp. nov., a new ornithocheirid pterosaur from the Winton Formation (Cenomanian–lower Turonian) of Queensland, Australia

The osteology of Ferrodraco lentoni, an anhanguerid pterosaur from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia

Anhanguera taxonomy revisited: is our understanding of Santana Group pterosaur diversity biased by poor biological and stratigraphic control?

The largest flying reptile from Gondwana: a new specimen of Tropeognathus cf. T. mesembrinus Wellnhofer, 1987 (Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae)

Capacity for the cretaceous pterosaur Anhanguera to launch from water

Pterosaur tracks and the terrestrial ability of pterosaurs

The Secrets of Sand: A Journey Into the Amazing Microscopic World of Sand

Gordo the Guardian

Prep-a-Dino at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs
Dig-a-Dino at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

VAMP: Virtual Australian Museum of Palaeontology May 30, 2023

Show notes

Introducing VAMP! The Virtual Australian Museum of Palaeontology is a digital collection spanning 600 million years of evolution. On this episode, Adele has a yarn with the three palaeontologists behind VAMP: Dr Aaron Camens, Dr Alice Clement and PhD candidate Jacob van Zoelen.
VAMP includes Earth's earliest multicellular organisms, giant marsupials, fossil footprints and everything in between.
It's a place where anyone, including palaeontologists and members of the public can check out high-resolution 3D scans of Australian fossils.
VAMP is led by Flinders University, in collaboration with the South Australian Museum (SAM), Western Australian Museum (WAM), and Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT).
Find our guests on Twitter:
Dr Aaron Camens @DiprotoRon
Dr Alice Clement @DrAliceClement
Jacob van Zoelen @Zoelenotherium
and VAMP @VAMP_Palaeo
Visit the VAMP website and Explore Australian fossils in 3D

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

2. Koolasuchus May 24, 2023

Show notes

Meet Koolasuchus cleelandi, a giant amphibian from the Cretaceous of Victoria, Australia (~125 million years ago) with the body of a salamander and a head as big as a wheelie bin lid. An animal that by all rights, SHOULD have gone extinct millions of years ago and chosen by the people as the state fossil emblem for Victoria.
We hear from two of the brilliant paleontologists who worked on the holotype, fossil preparator Lesley Kool and prospector Mike cleeland.
We deviate and also talk red and white blood-cell like structures in the Jurassic ichthyosaur Stenopterygius.
Links:
Random Fossil Fact
Palaeobiology of red and white blood cell-like structures, collagen and cholesterol in an ichthyosaur bone

Koolasuchus
The last last labyrinthodonts?
Palaeobiogeography of Australian fossil amphibians
Victoria's new state fossil emblem: Koolasuchus cleelandi
Koolasuchus cleelandi: Cool Cretaceous monster amphibian
Meet Koolasuchus cleelandi, the people's choice as Victoria's official fossil emblem

Dinosaurs of Darkness: In Search of the Lost Polar World – by Thomas H. Rich & Patricia Vickers-Rich

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

1. Anomalocaris May 09, 2023

Show notes

Join Adele on a wild ride through the Cambrian (510-500 million years ago) as we discuss the ancient apex predator Anomalocaris (a weird shrimpy boy with face fangs).
We also touch on trilobite cannibalism, the advantages of compound eyes, building your own armour with biomineralisation and the first evolutionary arms race. Hold onto your butts!
Links:
Random Fossil Fact
Healed injuries in Early Cambrian trilobites from South Australia

World's oldest known case of cannibalism revealed in trilobite fossils
Trilobite Fossils Suggest Cannibalism Is More Ancient Than Once Thought
Anomalocaris
The sharp eyes of Anomalocaris, a top predator that lived half a billion years ago
New anatomical information on Anomalocaris from the Cambrian Emu Bay Shale of South Australia and a reassessment of its inferred predatory habits

Acute vision in the giant Cambrian predator Anomalocaris and the origin of compound eyes
The oral cone of Anomalocaris is not a classic ‘‘peytoia’’

Pals in Palaeo @palsinpalaeo
Host: Adele Pentland @palaeodel
Online Store
Transcripts
The Pals in Palaeo Cover Art
Jenny Zhao Design @jennyzdesign
Crumpet Club House@crumpetclubhouse

The Pals in Palaeo Theme Music
Hello Kelly @hellokellymusic

Podcast Producer + Editor
Jean-César Puechmarin @cesar_on_safari
Podcast Editor
François "Francy" Goudreault @hellofrancy

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