PODCAST

Palaeocast

A free webseries exploring the fossil record and the evolution of life on Earth.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

46:45

Episode 86: Coal

Palaeocast ·

2018/02/01

The Carboniferous (Latin for ‘coal-bearing’) is a period of the Paleozoic named after the massive accumulations of coal that were formed globally during this time. These coal deposits were the fuel for the Industrial Revolution and continue to be an important economic resource to this day. For this interview, we asked Standford University’s Prof. Kevin Boyce to introduce us to coal production and to tell us how it’s formed and what it’s made of. We then concentrate on determining why the

01:09:31

Episode 85: Ichthyosaurs

Palaeocast ·

2018/01/07

Ichthyosaurs are large marine reptiles that existed for most of the Mesozoic Era. The most familiar forms superficially represent dolphins, but some earlier ichthyosaurs were more eel like. They could attain huge proportions, with some genera reaching up to 21m long. They were active predators feeding on belemnite, fishes and even other marine reptiles! In this episode, we talk to Dr Ben Moon and Fiann Smithwick, researchers at the University of Bristol, UK. Both have recently been involved in

44:59

Episode 84: Neoproterozoic Acritarchs

Palaeocast ·

2018/01/06

In this episode, we interview Dr Leigh Anne Riedman, University of California, about life during the Neoproterozoic Era, the most recent of the Precambrian Eon. This time interval is far from straight forward; not only were there changes in oceanic and atmospheric chemistry, but also dramatic shifts in climate and the formation and subsequent rifting of the supercontinent Rodinia. The Neoproterozoic also saw major biological innovations and ended with the appearance of the enigmatic Ediacaran

23:57

Episode 83: Gogo Fishes

Palaeocast ·

2017/12/01

Professor John Long is an early vertebrate researcher at Flinders University, Australia. He is most famous for his work on the three-dimentionally-preserved fish from the Gogo Formation, North West Australia. In this interview, Dr Tom Fletcher (who you'll remember from Episode 76) got the chance to speak to Prof. Long during a field trip to the world-famous Burgess Shale.

01:09:40

Episode 82: Dinosaurs of China

Palaeocast ·

2017/10/17

49:09

Episode 81: Coccolithophores

Palaeocast ·

2017/10/01

Coccolithophores are tiny unicellular eukaryotic phytoplankton (algae). Each is covered with even smaller calcium carbonate plates called coccoliths and it is these that are commonly preserved in the fossil record. In fact, coccoliths are so small, and can be so common, that they have been able to be employed in areas other than academia. Joining us is Dr Liam Gallagher, Director Network Stratigraphic Limited and a nannoplankton specialist. In this episode, he explains what coccolithophores are and

35:30

Episode 80: Paleocreations

Palaeocast ·

2017/09/01

We've covered how palaeoart is made on Palaeocast before, but never what daily life is like for a professional palaeoartist. What does it take to get started, when can you say no to a commission and which factors come in to play when deciding how much to quote? Joining us for this episode is Bob Nicholls of Paleocreations

28:02

Episode 79: Late Devonian Vertebrates

Palaeocast ·

2017/08/01

The transition of fins to limbs is one of the most significant in the history of vertebrate evolution. These were the first steps that would eventually allow tetrapods to go on to dominate so many terrestrial ecosystems. Fossils that help fill the gaps in this crucial time are invaluable, so how do we go about finding them and what happens when we do discover one? Joining us to give an overview of some of the fossils involved in this transition, and to provide insights into the fieldwork that goes

57:28

Episode 78: Japanese Palaeontology

Palaeocast ·

2017/06/30

When thinking of palaeontology in Asia, most people think of Mongolia and China, but there is actually a significant palaeontology community in Japan. Japan has many fossils, starting in the Ordovician, and ranging from everything from bivalves and trilobites to dinosaurs and mammals. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Makoto Manabe, the Director of the Centre for Collections and Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo. Makoto introduces us to

50:55

Episode 77: South American Gomphotheres

Palaeocast ·

2017/06/15

The proboscideans are a group of animals that contains the elephant and mastodont families. Many of us will be well-aware of these groups, but what of some of the lesser-known proboscideans? One such family are the gomphotheres and in this episode we’re introduced to them by Dr Dimila Mothé, of the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

32:01

Episode 76: Hydrodynamics

Palaeocast ·

2017/05/15

The shape of an animal is a reflection of the way it interacts with the physical world around it. By studying the mechanical laws which influence the evolution of modern animals, we can better understand the lives of their ancestors. Hydrodynamics examines the movement of water in contact with an organism, and can include everything from body shape to blood flow. In this episode we spoke to Dr Tom Fletcher, University of Leicester, about hydrodynamics in palaeontology, and his research looking at

38:08

Episode 75: Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence

Palaeocast ·

2017/05/02

Palaeontology is a constantly evolving field; when new methods and techniques are invented, they allow us to revisit old fossils and test our previous observations and hypotheses. Recently, an exciting new method called ‘Laser-Simulated Fluorescence’ (LSF) has been gaining popularity in palaeontology and we speak to its inventor Tom Kaye during a visit to the University of Bristol, alongside Dr Michael Pittman, Research Assistant Professor, The University of Hong Kong. In this episode, we hear all

30:16

Episode 74: Early Archosaurs and Teleocrater

Palaeocast ·

2017/04/12

We have a pretty good idea about how different dinosaur groups evolved, and how they are related (although anyone who has been following the recent dinosaur relationship shake-up knows this is not quite as clear as previously thought), but we don't have a good idea of how their ancestors, early dinosauromorphs and other early archosaurs, evolved. When did these groups first appear? What lead to their diversification? In this episode, we speak with (recently promoted!) Professor Richard Butler from

27:04

Episode 73: Sensory Structures

Palaeocast ·

2017/03/15

Ask anyone to list all the senses and they'll probably stop at five. Touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing are all important to humans, but in the animal kingdom, there exist others. In this interview, Prof. Kenneth Catania, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, joins us to talk about some of the other ways in which some vertebrates sense their environment.

31:41

Episode 72b: Las Hoyas

Palaeocast ·

2017/02/01

Las Hoyas is a Early Cretaceous lagerstätte (site of special preservation) located close to the city of Cuenca, Spain. In this episode, we welcome Ángela Delgado Buscalioni and Francisco José Poyato-Ariza, both from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, to discuss the details of this remarkable site. Angela and Francisco have recently edited a comprehensive overview of the Las Hoyas site. Like most lagerstätten, Las Hoyas is most famous for its vertebrate fossils, but what other taxa can we find

34:44

Episode 72a: Las Hoyas

Palaeocast ·

2017/01/18

39:17

SVP2016 B

Palaeocast ·

2016/12/01

This year, the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. We sent Liz and Caitlin there to report on events at the conference.

33:12

SVP2016 A

Palaeocast ·

2016/11/16

This year, the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. We sent Liz and Caitlin there to report on events at the conference.

37:21

Episode 71: Graptolites

Palaeocast ·

2016/10/15

Graptolites are small colonial organisms, each made up of many tiny, genetically identical zooids joined together by tubes. They've been around since the Cambrian and at times in Earth's history have been very morphologically and taxonomically diverse. Now there is just one living genus, but they are very common in the fossil record, often appearing as a 'sawtooth' pattern flattened on surfaces of deep sea sedimentary rocks. In this episode Laura talks to Dr David Bapst, a postdoctoral scholar at UC

46:43

Episode 70: The Golden Age of Dinosaur Discovery

Palaeocast ·

2016/10/01

The last 10 years has shown a large increase in the number of new species and new discoveries of dinosaurs, as well as the number of papers written. It seems that almost every week there is a new species or significant find in the news. Why is that? Is this likely to continue? What can we expect for the next 10 years? We sat down with Dr. David Evans, Temerity Chair in Palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto to talk about this so-called ‘Golden

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