A New Species of Pterosaur Unearthed in Australia with Adele Pentland

How did the first vertebrates take to the skies? In this episode, we venture into the Mesozoic to explore the world of pterosaurs—the remarkable flying reptiles that ruled the air for over 150 million years. Dr. Jeffrey Zurek is joined by Adele Pentland, a researcher and PhD candidate from Curtin University, to discuss her discovery and description of Haliskia peterseni.

We investigate research process in paleontology, including the complexities of zoological taxonomy. Adele shares the challenges of piecing together an animal from 100-million-year-old hollow bones and discusses the vital role of museum exhibits in bringing these to the public.

Highlights

• Pterosaurs: They aren't "flying dinosaurs" & how their unique wing anatomy evolved
• The Discovery of Haliskia: And what it tells us about life in prehistoric Australia
• Taxonomy & Nomenclature: A breakdown of how we name new species & why museum catalog numbers matter
• Science Communication: The intersection of research, paleo-art, community-driven tourism in regional Australia

Chapters

(0:00) The 4 Evolutions of Flight

(1:40) Defining the Archosaur Clade

(2:35) Orientation in Geologic Time: Mesozoic vs. Cenozoic

(4:50) Adele Pentland: PhD Life on a Sheep Station

(10:50) Pterosaur Anatomy: The Elongated 4th Finger

(12:10) Quetzalcoatlus: Giraffe-Sized Flyers

(15:45) The Challenge of Fossilizing Hollow Bones

(18:20) Prehistoric Diets: From Fish-Eaters to Filter Feeders

(20:50) Naming Haliskia peterseni

(24:45) Jargon Alert: Navigating Zoological Taxonomy

(30:35) Lumpers vs. Splitters in Geological Sciences

(32:40) Holotypes and Museum Catalog Numbers

(36:50) Spinosaurus Controversy & Neotypes

(40:00) Ghost Juveniles: Where are the Pterosaur Rookeries?

(44:50) Estimating Wingspan from Scant Data

(49:00) Pterosaur Eggs & Parental Care Strategies

(55:20) Designing Museum Exhibits for Accessibility

(1:04:30) Outreach: Children's Books & STEM Pals

(1:09:50) The Best Pterosaur Science Joke

Links

Haliskia peterseni :Scientific Reports

Adele Pentland Website

Book: Nature People - Cesar Puechmarin

Support: Pateron

Socials: Bluesky | Instagram | Facebook

Whimsical Wavelengths: Deep-dive conversations where a working scientist unpacks how we know what we know, one paper, one idea, or whimsical detour at a time. Hosted by Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo).