Pals in Palaeo Adele Pentland

Send us a Text Message.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 FactHealed injuries in Early Cambrian trilobites from South AustraliaWorld's oldest known case o...

Send us a Text Message.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 d...

Send us a Text Message.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 F...

Send us a Text Message.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. LinksTheropod courtship: large scale physical evidenc...

Send us a Text Message.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 AntarcticaOsteology of Cryolophosaurus ellioti (Dinosauria: Therop...

Send us a Text Message.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 NameWhat is a coprolite?DunkleosteusEcomorphological inferences in early vertebrates: reconstructing Dunkleosteus terrelli...