Pals in Palaeo

Adele Pentland
  • 5.0 (11)
  • EARTH SCIENCES
  • BIWEEKLY SERIES

Join PhD student and Palaeontologist Adele Pentland, and explore the Form, Function and Family Groupings of Fossils from across geologic time

  1. 1. Anomalocaris

    EPISODE 1

    1. Anomalocaris

    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

    27 min
  2. 2. Koolasuchus

    EPISODE 2

    2. Koolasuchus

    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

    41 min
  3. 3. Ferrodraco

    EPISODE 3

    3. Ferrodraco

    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

    58 min
  4. 4. Glossopteris

    EPISODE 4

    4. Glossopteris

    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

    43 min
  5. 5. Cryolophosaurus

    EPISODE 5

    5. Cryolophosaurus

    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

    38 min
  6. 6. Dunkleosteus

    EPISODE 6

    6. Dunkleosteus

    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

    56 min
  7. 7. Arenaerpeton with Lachlan Hart

    EPISODE 7

    7. Arenaerpeton with Lachlan Hart

    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 TripsIt's been 66 million years. Why wait any longer? Join an upcoming trip!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

    1h 3m
  8. 8. Hallucigenia

    EPISODE 8

    8. Hallucigenia

    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

    43 min
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About

Join PhD student and Palaeontologist Adele Pentland, and explore the Form, Function and Family Groupings of Fossils from across geologic time

Information

  • Creator
    Adele Pentland
  • Episodes
    31
  • Seasons
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Pals in Palaeo
  • Show Website
    Pals in Palaeo