Palaeocast
231 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 154 ratingsA free webseries exploring the fossil record and the evolution of life on Earth.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Episode 55: Pterosaurs
November 15, 2015 13:32 - 1 hour - 94 MBPterosaurs were the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight, and lived in the skies above the dinosaurs during the Mesozoic. They're often mistakenly identified as dinosaurs, but are in fact a separate, closely related group. This group has recently undergone a revival, with more research on pterosaurs happening now than ever before. Where are they found? How diverse was this group? How did they evolve? Research associate and palaeoartist Dr. Mark Witton from the University of Portsmout...
SVP 2015 Dallas Texas Part 3
November 10, 2015 17:13 - 33 minutes - 46.3 MBThe last part of our coverage from the 75th annual meeting of the society of vertebrate paleonology. In this part Caitlin speaks to Professor Christopher Smith about the history of the society, how it was recorded and archived, and how this information is being collected and maintained into the future.
SVP 2015 Dallas Texas Part 2
November 10, 2015 00:33 - 48 minutes - 66.9 MBIn the second part of our SVP coverage we have interviews with some of the researchers on the scientific content of their posters and conference presentations.
SVP 2015 Dallas Texas Part 1
November 10, 2015 00:20 - 19 minutes - 26.4 MBThe Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting is the largest conference each year for the world's vertebrate palaeontologists to present their work, network with each other, and find out what everyone else is up to. The first part of our coverage from the 2015 meeting in Dallas Texas includes interviews with palaeontology educators and museum specialists.
Episode 54: Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
November 01, 2015 12:36 - 46 minutes - 64.5 MBThe ‘Crystal Palace Dinosaurs’ are a series of sculptures of extinct animals including dinosaurs, other extinct reptiles and mammals, which can be found in the grounds of the Crystal Palace in London. Commissioned in 1852, these are the earliest examples of dinosaur sculptures in the world. In fact, the first dinosaurs had only recently been discovered some 30 years earlier. Why were these models built? And what do they tell us about early scientific hypotheses of dinosaurs and other extinct...
Episode 53: Ankylosaurs
October 15, 2015 09:09 - 45 minutes - 62.3 MBAnkylosaurs are a group of non-avian dinosaurs best known for their armour, tank-like bodies, and sometimes large tail clubs. First appearing in the Jurassic, they were common in Late Cretaceous ecosystems, with several species known from around the world. But how different were these species really? And just where did they evolve from? What was that tail for? Dr. Victoria Arbour of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is one of the leading experts on ankylosaurs, and has published...
Episode 52: Melanin
September 28, 2015 19:26 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MBMelanin is a pigment that is found across the animal kingdom. Melanosomes, the organelles that contain melanin, have been found preserved in fossil feathers and melanosome shape has been used to infer the original colors of birds and dinosaurs. Today we’re talking to Caitlin Colleary whose paper - on her Masters research at the University of Bristol - delves into detail regarding the structural and chemical preservation of melanin and describes the color of a fossil mammal for the first time.
63rd Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy
September 27, 2015 17:31 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MBThe Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy (SVPCA) annual conference was held at the University of Southampton National Oceanography Centre at the beginning of September. This is the first year we've covered this event, and covered a wide range of topics in vertebrate palaeontology. We spoke to several people, which you can listen to here, including information on Romanian and Hungarian fossils, ceratopsian dinosaurs, ankylosaur histology, sesamoid bones, and more.
Episode 51: Eurypterids
September 01, 2015 01:00 - 1 hour - 109 MBEurypterids, or ‘sea-scorpions’ are an extinct group of chelicerates: the group containing the terrestrial arachnids (such as spiders and scorpions) and the aquatic ‘merostomes’ (represented today solely by the horseshoe crabs). They bear a gross-morphological resemblance to scorpions (hence the informal name) but, in being aquatic, may have shared more in common with horseshoe crabs. They inhabited the waters of the Paleozoic Era and were typically scavengers or predators. Most eurypterids ...
Episode 50: Rangeomorph Reproduction
August 14, 2015 10:22 - 39 minutes - 54.7 MBOn today's episode we're revisiting Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, Canada. At this lagerstätte it is possible to find large bedding planes full of Precambrian organisms called rangeomorphs. These are an enigmatic group, which still can't be placed on the 'tree of life'. We are joined by Dr Emily Mitchell of the University of Cambridge, who's recent paper in Nature was able to show that you don't need to be able to fully understand the anatomy of an organism to discern some of its most intric...
Episode 49: Synapsids
July 31, 2015 17:03 - 41 minutes - 56.8 MBSynapsids are one of the major groups of terrestrial vertebrates. They first appear in the Carboniferous period and since that time have gone through many radiation and extinction events. But what did these first stem-mammals look like, how did they live and how do they differ from modern mammals? These may sound like simple questions, but there is an underrepresentation of terrestial deposits from the Permian. How then can we understand larger-scale evolutionary patterns when so much data i...
Episode 48: The Burgess Shale
July 17, 2015 14:23 - 44 minutes - 60.8 MBThe Burgess Shale is probably the world's most famous lagerstätte (site of special preservation). Discovered in 1909 on Mt. Stephen, in the Canadian Rockies of British Colombia, Canada, this locality provided an early representation of the true biodiversity of the Cambrian Period. For decades, discoveries from this site have helped palaeontologists better understand the 'Cambrian Explosion' and the origins of modern lineages. Since that time, many more early lagerstätten have been discovered...
Episode 47: Lobopodians
June 29, 2015 20:00 - 46 minutes - 63.3 MBIt's been quite a week for lobopodians! First off, we've had the redescription of Hallucigenia by Dr Martin Smith. This enigmatic fossil from the Burgess Shale typifies the difficulty palaeontologists have had in interpreting some of the earliest animals in the fossil record. It has famously been reconstructed upside-down and is now shown to also have been back-to-front too! Dr Smith joins us to tell us about the observations, including some new anatomical characters, that put an end to the...
Episode 46: Understanding Biodiversity
June 15, 2015 00:00 - 1 hour - 89 MBThe world is currently undergoing a massive biodiversity crisis, and many people have said that we are in the next major mass extinction event, with species going extinct each day. Unfortunately, we don't currently understand what aspects control biodiversity, and how the past can help us understand the present and the future. Associate Professor Lindsey Leighton of the University of Alberta discusses his work combining research of modern invertebrate marine fauna related to biodiversity an...
Episode 45: Post K-Pg radiations
June 01, 2015 13:44 - 46 minutes - 64.3 MBThe Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction was the latest of the 'big five' events. Approximately 75% of species went extinct, with the most notable victims being non-avian dinosaurs. But what happened afterwards? By which methods were some of the survivors able to spread to fill vacant niches? The University of Bath's Dr Nick Longrich joins us to hypothesise about the dispersal mechanism of a very unusual group of ground-dwelling predatory reptiles called amphisbaenians (worm lizards).
Episode 44: Trackway modelling
May 01, 2015 00:00 - 42 minutes - 57.7 MBWe've covered ichnology before, in Episode 14, but it's time to revisit trackways with a high-tech approach. We talk to ichnologist and computer expert Dr Peter Falkingham, from Liverpool John Moores University, who's been looking at footprints using state-of-the-art techniques.
Palaeocast Art Competition 2015
April 29, 2015 15:30 - 4 minutes - 6.57 MBAfter the success of last year’s palaeoart competition we’re stepping up a gear and launching an even bigger and better contest. This time we've got three times as many prizes to give away courtesy of Cider Mill Press, Palaeoplushies and Paleocreations. We're running the competition on Facebook and Twitter between the 1st May and 1st June using #palaeocastart.
Episode 43: Ancient DNA
April 15, 2015 08:30 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MBDNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule that encodes the genetic information within every species of life on earth. The information contained within the sequence of base pairs determines how any given organism develops and biologically functions. DNA is not just limited to the biological world, but is also now being utilised in palaeontology. But why is DNA not normally preserved? What's the oldest DNA we can recover? And what can we learn about fossil animals from their DNA? We spoke to ...
Episode 42: Pterosaur aerodynamics
April 01, 2015 00:00 - 45 minutes - 63.1 MBPalaeontology is more than just going out into the field, digging up bones, and putting them back together. A good understanding of biology, geology, and even engineering can help to figure out how extinct animals lived and especially how they moved around. To further comprehend how we can use knowledge of engineering in palaeontology, especially with respect to understanding extinct animal flight, we spoke to Colin Palmer from the University of Bristol, and the University of Southampton. H...
Episode 41b: Insects
March 15, 2015 16:21 - 27 minutes - 38 MBInsects are the most abundant and diverse group on animals on the planet today. Would they therefore also be expected to have the richest fossil record? When did they first evolve and how rapid was their diversification? Do we give enough attention to the evolution of insects? To get answers we spoke to Dr. David Penney, honorary lecturer at the University of Manchester and founder of Siri Scientific Press. Dr. Penney has just recently published an overview of palaeoentomology entitled 'Fo...
Episode 41a: Insects
March 01, 2015 15:18 - 31 minutes - 42.9 MBInsects are the most abundant and diverse group on animals on the planet today. Would they therefore also be expected to have the richest fossil record? When did they first evolve and how rapid was their diversification? Do we give enough attention to the evolution of insects? To get answers we spoke to Dr. David Penney, honorary lecturer at the University of Manchester and founder of Siri Scientific Press. Dr. Penney has just recently published an overview of palaeoentomology entitled 'Fos...
Episode 40b: Brachiopods
February 15, 2015 00:00 - 34 minutes - 46.7 MBBrachiopods are some of the most common fossils to be found in rocks worldwide. Their thick, hard and (often) calcareous shells make them preferentially preserved in the fossil record. We probably all have found one, but how many of us overlooked them at the time? What can a brachiopod tell us? How big a role have they played throughout geological time? In this second part of a two-part episode we continue our interview with Prof. Lars Holmer, University Uppsala, Sweden, all about the humbl...
Episode 40a: Brachiopods
February 01, 2015 00:00 - 25 minutes - 35 MBBrachiopods are some of the most common fossils to be found in rocks worldwide. Their thick, hard and (often) calcareous shells make them preferentially preserved in the fossil record. We probably all have found one, but how many of us overlooked them at the time? What can a brachiopod tell us? How big a role have they played throughout geological time? In this two-part episode we speak to Prof. Lars Holmer, University Uppsala, Sweden, all about the humble brachiopod.
Episode 39: Dinosaurs of Alberta
January 01, 2015 00:00 - 1 hour - 86 MBAlberta, Canada is one of the world’s richest areas for dinosaur fossils, and especially fossils from the Late Cretaceous. Iconic dinosaurs like T. rex, Triceratops, and Parasaurolophus, as well as numerous other dinosaurs and fossils can all be found in this region. We had a chance to chat with Professor Phil Currie of the University of Alberta at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting where we talked about Alberta and why it is such a fantastic place for dinosaur fossils.
Episode 38: Ceratopsians
December 10, 2014 19:00 - 28 minutes - 38.5 MBCeratopsians are some of the most iconic dinosaurs that we recognise today including animals like Triceratops and Styracosaurus, with their big horns and frills. But is that what all 'horned dinosaurs' looked like? In fact, early ceratopsians were small and horn-less, sharing other characteristics with their larger, more derived relatives. At the The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2014 we met up with Dr. Andy Farke from the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology in California and discuss...
Episode 37: Theropods and birds
December 01, 2014 17:43 - 44 minutes - 61.4 MBTheropods are what we would classically recognise as the meat-eating dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era. They are best known from genera such as Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor but the group is much more diverse and includies herbivores, beaked and ostrich-like forms. It is however the link between theropods and birds that has long-caught the public's attention and perhaps represents one of the most scrutinised evolutionary transitions. As more dinosaurs are discovered with feathers, should we sti...
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2014 Day 4
November 10, 2014 22:29 - 39 minutes - 53.9 MBWelcome to our coverage of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual conference held this year at the Estrel Hotel, Berlin, between the 5th and 9th November. We're delighted to be back at this event, which is doubtless the biggest dedicated vertebrate palaeontology conference in the world. As per our usual conference coverage, we’re aiming to produce daily multimedia reports to give you an indication of what it's like to attend such an event and also to bring you the latest new...
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2014 Day 3
November 07, 2014 23:32 - 41 minutes - 56.9 MBWelcome to our coverage of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual conference held this year at the Estrel Hotel, Berlin, between the 5th and 9th November. We're delighted to be back at this event, which is doubtless the biggest dedicated vertebrate palaeontology conference in the world. As per our usual conference coverage, we’re aiming to produce daily multimedia reports to give you an indication of what it's like to attend such an event and also to bring you the latest news i...
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2014 Day 2
November 06, 2014 23:03 - 33 minutes - 46 MBWelcome to our coverage of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual conference held this year at the Estrel Hotel, Berlin, between the 5th and 9th November. We're delighted to be back at this event, which is doubtless the biggest dedicated vertebrate palaeontology conference in the world. As per our usual conference coverage, we’re aiming to produce daily multimedia reports to give you an indication of what it's like to attend such an event and also to bring you the latest news in t...
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2014 Day 1
November 06, 2014 00:28 - 29 minutes - 40.7 MBWelcome to our coverage of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual conference held this year at the Estrel Hotel, Berlin, between the 5th and 9th November. We're delighted to be back at this event, which is doubtless the biggest dedicated vertebrate palaeontology conference in the world. As per our usual conference coverage, we’re aiming to produce daily multimedia reports to give you an indication of what it's like to attend such an event and also to bring you the latest news in the ...
Episode 36: Emu Bay Shale
November 01, 2014 17:02 - 36 minutes - 50.6 MBThe Emu Bay shale is a Burgess Shale-type lagerstätte from the Early Cambrian of South Australia. We speak to Dr John Paterson, of the University of New England, all about the locality and the fossils it contains.
Episode 35: Ostracods
October 16, 2014 11:06 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MBOstracods are tiny crustaceans (relatives of shrimps, crabs and water-fleas), distinguished by having a shell that is easily fossilised. As microfossils, by virtue of a long and rich fossil record, ostracods are extremely useful for determining the age of the sedimentary strata in which they are found, as well as providing clues to the nature of the environments and climates in which those deposits were formed. The first ostracods lived in shallow continental shelf seas during the early Ordo...
IPC4 Day 4
October 07, 2014 08:58 - 19 minutes - 26.8 MBWelcome to the final day of our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina.
IPC4 Day 3
October 06, 2014 12:33 - 43 minutes - 60.3 MBWelcome to the third day of our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina.
IPC4 Day 2
October 01, 2014 03:26 - 26 minutes - 36.5 MBWelcome to the second day of our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina.
IPC4 Day 1
September 30, 2014 03:06 - 39 minutes - 54.5 MBWelcome to our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina. The International Palaeontological Congress is a global meeting devoted to Palaeontology throughout the world. It convenes every four years under the aegis of the International Palaeontological Association. Following tree previous editions in Sydney (2002), Beijing (2006) and London (2010), it now comes to the American continent for the first time. This conference is one of the most im...
Episode 34b: Foraminifera and Palaeoclimatology
September 25, 2014 20:45 - 31 minutes - 43.7 MBPlanktonic foraminifera are single celled organisms that are highly abundant in modern oceans and a hugely important part of the Earth’s carbon cycle. Each cell builds a hard calcite ‘test’ around itself in a huge variety of shapes. These tests continuously rain down on to the ocean floor leaving continuous records of how these organisms have changed over millions of years. They form the most complete fossil record we have, and are a very useful tool in everything from the oil industry to un...
Episode 34a: Foraminifera and Palaeoclimatology
September 15, 2014 14:21 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBPlanktonic foraminifera are single celled organisms that are highly abundant in modern oceans and a hugely important part of the Earth's carbon cycle. Each cell builds a hard calcite 'test' around itself in a huge variety of shapes. These tests continuously rain down on to the ocean floor leaving continuous records of how these organisms have changed over millions of years. They form the most complete fossil record we have, and are a very useful tool in everything from the oil industry to un...
Episode 33: Year 2 Review
September 01, 2014 13:29 - 58 minutes - 80.5 MBWe now find ourselves embarking upon our third year, but before we do so, we're going to take a look back at last year and see what we've all been up to.
Episode 32B: Canids
August 15, 2014 00:00 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MBWe’re all familiar with canines (dogs, wolves, jackals, foxes, etc), but these are just only one of three sub-families of the larger canid family to survive to the present day. There were also the Hesperocyoninae and Borophaginae, but what did these other canids look like and why did they go extinct? The canid family also falls within the larger suborder Caniformia which includes skunks, bears and seals, but how are all these related?
Episode 32A: Canids
August 05, 2014 14:15 - 38 minutes - 52.6 MBWe're all familiar with canines (dogs, wolves, jackals, foxs, etc), but these are just only one of three sub-families of the larger canid family to survive to the present day. There were also the Hesperocyoninae and Borophaginae, but what did these other canids look like and why did they go extinct? The canid family also falls within the larger suborder Caniformia which includes skunks, bears and seals, but how are all these related? We've therefore quite a lot of history of the group to co...
Episode 31: Anomalocaridids
July 15, 2014 10:29 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBAnomalocaridids are iconic Cambrian animals, originally found in the Burgess Shale deposits in Canada. From the Genus Anomalocaris, their name translates as 'strange shrimp' owing to their initial misidentification from incomplete remains. In fact, it took until 1985 to realise that three different animals were all actually disarticulated parts of the same animal! Our knowledge of these enigmatic creatures has increased exponentially in recent years owing to many exciting new fossil discover...
Episode 30: Palaeoart
July 01, 2014 00:00 - 50 minutes - 69.4 MBThe celebrate the launch of 'The Paleoart of Julius Csotonyi' from Titan Books we take a look at the field of palaeoart. In this episode, we're joined by Julius himself and ask how his images are produced, why they're produced and to discuss the value of palaeoart. We also run our first competition, please follow using #palaeocastart
Episode 29B: Medusae
June 15, 2014 00:00 - 41 minutes - 56.5 MBOne of the longest-ranging and outwardly primitive-looking groups of animals on the planet are the Medusozoa. In consisting of around 95% water, it may be surprising to know that there is a fossil record of jellyfish, however how does one differentiate their fossils from other abiotic sedimentary structures when both look like sub-spherical blobs? In this episode we speak to Graham Young, Curator of Geology and Paleontology at The Manitoba Museum, Canada, who addressed the identification...
Episode 29A: Medusae
June 01, 2014 07:33 - 26 minutes - 37 MBOne of the longest-ranging and outwardly primitive-looking groups of animals on the planet are the Medusozoa. In consisting of around 95% water, it may be surprising to know that there is a fossil record of jellyfish, however how does one differentiate their fossils from other abiotic sedimentary structures when both look like sub-spherical blobs? In this episode we speak to Graham Young, Curator of Geology and Paleontology at The Manitoba Museum, Canada, who addressed the identification of...
Episode 28: From worms to stars
May 01, 2014 01:00 - 35 minutes - 48.6 MBEchinoderms are characterised by a mineralised skeleton, specialised water vascular system and five-fold symmetry. It is this unusual body plane symmetry that gives the starfish its star-shape. None of these features, however, are possessed by the closest living relatives of echinoderms – the hemichordates. Palaeontology offers a unique perspective into the early evolution of echinoderms, revealing that echinoderm characteristics were acquired in a step-wise fashion from a bilaterally symmet...
Episode 27: Mare aux Songes
March 15, 2014 11:22 - 33 minutes - 26.9 MBOne of the most iconic animals to ever have gone extinct is the dodo, Raphus cucullatus. Endemic to Mauritius, this flightless bird was last seen around 1662 and is thought to have been driven to extinction by invasive species brought along by humans. Despite their relatively recent extinction, few dodo specimens remain. Discovering new material is therefore vital for our better understanding of this bird. One dodo-bearing locality is the 'Mare aux Songes', a marsh on the South-East of the ...
Episode 26: The Tree of Mammals
February 01, 2014 15:11 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBMammals are an incredibly diverse and highly successful group of animals. They include some of the tallest, heaviest and fastest animals around today, as well as our own species. For over 100 years, biologists have attempted to build mammal evolutionary trees using anatomical data. This work has provided the basis for our understanding of mammal relationships. Within the last 30 years, new technologies have enabled scientists to cheaply sequence molecular data (e.g. DNA and amino acid sequen...
Episode 25: Marsupials of Riversleigh
January 16, 2014 06:14 - 31 minutes - 25.4 MBContinuing our look at Australia's marsupials, we speak to Dr. Karen Black, also of the University of New South Wales. Here, we discuss Riversleigh fossil site, what fossils it contains, how they preserved and what's it takes to excavate them.
Episode 24: Marsupial evolution
January 01, 2014 18:13 - 1 hour - 50.9 MBMarsupials are a group of mammals best known from Australia, but are also present in South America and up to the southern and eastern parts of the USA. Despite their current geographical distribution, metatherians (the group containing marsupials and other marsupial-like mammals) were once much more cosmopolitan; the earliest fossil evidence being from the Cretaceous of China, in the Northern Hemisphere. The story of marsupial evolution is therefore much more complex than is first apparent:...