The Fossil Files

Robert Sansom and Susannah Maidment
  • 4.3 (6)
  • Natural Sciences

In "The Fossil Files", a pair of palaeontologists delve into the latest discoveries from the world of palaeontology and seek to bring fossils to back to life. Each episode, Susie and Rob will discuss an interesting new research paper ranging from topics of what dinosaurs ate, how plesiosaurs swam, where we came from, and the science of de-extinction. Whilst doing so, we peek under the hood of how the science of palaeontology is done and how research gets to see the light of day. It is for anybody interested in palaeontology and past life whether that is students, researchers themselves, or simply the fossil-curious - we laugh as we learn, and hope you will too. Episode guide at https://fossils.libsyn.com/ Bonus content at Patreon https://patreon.com/FossilFiles

  1. 1d ago

    Were dinosaurs eating fruit? Cretaceous Plant Power

    As well as tasting good, fruit play a really important role in ecosystems across the world. But when did they evolve? Were dinosaurs eating them and dispersing them? In a fossil files first, we take a look at the evolution of plants, in particular the centuries long mystery of how and when the flowering plants (angiosperms) got going. A newly described site in New Mexico yields large and varied fleshy fossil fruits which upend how we think about Cretaceous ecosystems. The fossil fruits and seeds are orders of magnitude bigger than other Cretaceous fruit, indicating an active role of animals in their consumption and dispersal in complex forest environments. We also take a look at the story from pollen to reconstruct how and when angiosperms diversified, potentially in two pulses in the Cretaceous and after the Cretaceous. Plant Power!  The papers we look at this week are "Diversification of angiosperm reproductive strategies predated the end-Cretaceous extinction" by Jiamen Lee from Berkley and colleagues published Science in June 2026 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw9457, "Pulsed evolution shaped extant angiosperm pollen disparity" by Yang Luo from Kunming and colleagues published in Nature Communications in January 2026 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68253-8, and "Integrated analysis of fossils and molecular divergence time estimates a latest Jurassic origin of angiosperms" by Ruolin Wu from Bristol and colleagues published in Nature Plants in June 2026 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-026-02311-x Wide screen art by Brian Engh.  You can support The Fossil Files and access bonus via our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cw/FossilFiles

  2. Aug 4

    The weird case of a whale necropolis, sat at the bottom of an ocean trench for 5 million years

    The deep sea environment holds many mysteries but yields hardly any fossils. A new mindblowing finding at the bottom of the Indian ocean challenges the way we think about life in the deep and the nature of palaeontology. In 2023, a Chinese submersible exploring a 6km deep trench found 476 fossil cetaceans. These extinct whale fossils were covered with life forms previously unknown to science, and what's more, the fossils ranged in age from recent to 5 million years old. How did they get there? Why so many? Can fossils really accumulate in the same place for 5 million years, and just…. sit there?  This week's paper is "A 5.3-million-year-old deep-sea whale necropolis in the Diamantina Zone" by Xiaotong Peng and colleagues, published in Nature in June 2026 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10546-z Wide screen includes picture from Global Trend.

  3. Jul 28

    How to become a palaeontologist: Finding and applying for PhDs

    Studying for a PhD is in an important step towards becoming a scientist, but the process of finding and applying for a PhD programme is mysterious and inaccessible. In this bonus episode Susie and Rob discuss some tips and ideas to demystify the process. Is a PhD right for you? How do you find the right supervisor and project? What are universities looking for in your application? What questions are you going to face in the interview? This a preview of our bonus episode, the full episode can be found on our Patreon. For further related content, check out our episode "How to become palaeontologist" (#26).

  4. Jul 21

    The hunt for the first-ever animals, with Emily Mitchell

    Where, when, and how did the animals first appear? The fossil record holds some tantalising insights from well-preserved sites in Canada, Australia, Russia (and Leicester). This week we are joined by Dr Emily Mitchell of the University of Cambridge to discuss how to find these fascinating Ediacaran fossils, what they mean, and how they evolved. Did they move? Were they left-handed? Did they have sex? Where are they hiding? This is a story that includes lasers, school children, lichens, and bees.   The papers discussed this week are "Earliest evidence of behavioural handedness in the Ediacaran motile bilaterian Spriggina floundersi" by Scott Evans and colleagues published in Science Reports in July 2026 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-53857-x, and "Discovery of White Sea assemblage fossils from Laurentia" by Scott Evans and colleagues published in Science Advances in May 2026 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed9916 We also continue of our discussion of last episodes's paper, "The influence of reproductive mode on resource competition and diversity patterns in Ediacaran early animal communities" by Emily Mitchell and Andrea Manica published in Nature Ecology and Evolution in June 2026 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03094-2

  5. Jul 14

    Did a lack of sex hold back the evolution of the first animals?

    The first animals turned up in the Ediacaran as simple frond-like organisms that didn't do much of anything. Why was this Pre-Cambrian 'Avalonian biota' so static and boring for 12-20 million years before animals started diversifying, moving and becoming more complex? This week we look at a new paper that reconstructs the ecology of the early Avalonian biota, in particular their sexual and and asexual reproductions strategies. To try and figure out what kind of sex these organisms were (or weren't) having, we need to do turn to some interesting maths based on their locations of the fossil surface. This unlocks all sorts of interesting evolutionary dynamics, potentially explaining how animals started to diversify after increasing sexual reproduction and competition in an increasingly dynamic and changeable environment. Life needed chaos! (and sex). This week's paper is "The influence of reproductive mode on resource competition and diversity patterns in Ediacaran early animal communities" by Emily Mitchell and Andrea Manica published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, published June 2026 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03094-2 We also mention another paper by Scott Evans (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aed9916) and the story of the discovery of the Ediacaran fossils in Charnwood fossil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Negus Wide screen art by Hugo Salais.

  6. Jun 30

    Why did T. rex have such small arms? Revealed

    Tyrannosaurus rex is perhaps the most famous dinosaur and maybe even the most famous fossil animal. It has long been a source of curiosity as to why is has such small arms though. What could the possible function be? This week we take a look at a new paper has taken a quantitative approach to this age long-thorny problem to investigate the evolutionary changes that might have led to such unusual anatomy. Indeed it happened not just one, but five times in the theropods. Let's find out why and how!   This week's paper is "Drivers and mechanisms of convergent forelimb reduction in non-avian theropod dinosaurs" by Charlie Scherer and colleagues published in Proceedings of the Royal Society in May 2026. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0528 Wide screen art by Arvalis/Saurian.

  7. Jun 23 ·  Bonus

    Digging for dinosaurs and the battle against poaching: Susie reports from the field [Preview]

    Digging up dinosaur fossils is a complicated and unpredictable business. But how does it feel to be one of the scientists on the ground doing the exploring? What can you do when you are in a race to find dinosaur fossils before they are extracted and lost to the black market? In this episode Susie is in the field in Morocco to report the trials and tribulations of the team's dino hunting seasons. She takes us on a journey from exciting new dinosaur finds, disappointing setbacks when their quarry was raided, and their work with the local and national authorities to get the site protected for future generations. This is a preview of one of our bonus episode, the full version of which is available on our patreon for subscribers https://www.patreon.com/cw/FossilFiles In this episode we hear from the team which includes Ahmed Oussou and Kawtar Ech-Charay of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University Fez, Richard Butler from the University of Birmingham, and Simon Wills and Pim Kaskes from the Natural History Museum London.  You can find out more about Susie's work in episode 9, "The Spicomellus special".

  8. Jun 16

    The Fossil Files is one year old: The best bits so far

    The Fossil Files is one year old! Thank you everbody for your support! To mark the occasion, Susie and Rob take a look back at the last year and put together some of their favourite moments to highlight the best of The Fossil Files (so far) The episodes covered are: Episode 10. Fossil Fails: A Precambrian beehive and dinosaurs on the moon (September) Episode 3. Is de-extinction a scam? (July) Episode 6. Where did Pterosaurs come from? (August) Episode 12. Cretaceous zombie ants (October) Episode 9. The Spicomellis special (September) Episode 5. Were Neanderthals the first fossil collectors? (July)  Episode 19. Dinosaurs were doing fine (before the asteroid), with Steve Brusatte (December)  Episode 17. AI & the future of palaeontology (December)  Episode 2. Dinosaur poos from Poland (June) Episode 20. Back-breaking and baby making, the disturbing bedroom habits of hadrosaurs (January)  Episode 28. How to get a Species of Human Named after you (March)  Episode 32. Were giant super intelligent octopuses the top predators of the Cretaceous? (May)

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Ratings & Reviews

4.3
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

In "The Fossil Files", a pair of palaeontologists delve into the latest discoveries from the world of palaeontology and seek to bring fossils to back to life. Each episode, Susie and Rob will discuss an interesting new research paper ranging from topics of what dinosaurs ate, how plesiosaurs swam, where we came from, and the science of de-extinction. Whilst doing so, we peek under the hood of how the science of palaeontology is done and how research gets to see the light of day. It is for anybody interested in palaeontology and past life whether that is students, researchers themselves, or simply the fossil-curious - we laugh as we learn, and hope you will too. Episode guide at https://fossils.libsyn.com/ Bonus content at Patreon https://patreon.com/FossilFiles

Information

  • Creator
    Robert Sansom and Susannah Maidment
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    The Fossil Files