Pals in Palaeo

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...

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 s...

Introducing VAMP! The Virtual Australian Museum of Palaeontology is a digital collection spanning 600 million years of evolution. On this episode, Adele has a yarn with the three palaeontologists behind VAMP: Dr Aaron Camens, Dr Alice Clement and PhD candidate Jacob van Zoelen.    VAMP includes Earth's earliest multicellular organisms, giant marsupials, fossil footprints and everything in bet...

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 hol...

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 Ear...

Dreamed of becoming a palaeontologist? Obsessed with dinosaurs and other extinct animals? Pals in Palaeo dives into the Form, Function and Family Groupings of your favourite fossils.    Hosted by Aussie palaeontologist and PhD student Adele Pentland, each episode is a trip through the time machine and explores the ancient ecosystems of the past.   Season 1 drops Wednesday May 10th  Subscribe now t...