Paleo Bites

(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/saurophaganax_maximus_by_atrox1-d4ff5qy_b2a7.jpg ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Saurophaganax , the biggest and baddest Jurassic predator that truly makes Allosaurus the “other lizard” that it’s so named. And by that, we means it makes Allosaurus its bitch. From the Late Jurassic, this 42-foot-long theropod might act...

(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/Genyodectes-maniraptora_be4c.jpg ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Genyodectes , a dinosaur no one’s heard of and no one cares about so therefore no one should complain when we assumedly and repeatedly mispronounce its name throughout the episode. From the Early Cretaceous, this 22-foot ceratosaurid was one of the first...

(image source: https://a-z-animals.com/animals/paleoparadoxia/ ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Paleoparadoxia , a marine mammal with a pretty on-the-nose name in that it’s a paleontological paradox. At least in the enigma sense; we don’t think there was any time travel involved. From the Miocene epoch, this 12-foot desmostylian looked like it should have been able to w...

(image source: https://bit.ly/3K1kgNM ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Torosaurus , a dinosaur very distinct from Triceratops regardless of what Jack Horner tells you in a wide variety of ways that I cannot think of right now. But Horner can’t win! We won’t let him! From the Late Cretaceous, this 30-foot chasmosaurine ceratopsian had the biggest known skull of any land a...

(image source: http://bit.ly/3ZjI592 and an edited stock photo) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Tanidromites nightwishorum , a crab named after the Finnish symphonic metal band that has nothing whatsoever notable about it and is thusly the first truly bite-sized Paleo Bites episode. We might have more of these to discuss species with very little info about them but are...

(image source: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/herrerasaurus-ischigualastensis-sergey-krasovskiy.html ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Herrerasaurus , one of the earliest dinosaurs and yet still a rather big boi that I would not want to mess with. Look at dat boi! I’m hip, bro. From the Mid Triassic, this 20-foot carnivorous dinosaur was so primitive the closest we...

(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Coelophysis-pictures ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Coelophysis , the archetypal early dinosaur despite some rather advanced features compared to earlier dinosaurs, one of which we’ll talk about next week! A bit of a sausage sizzle there for the listeners. From the Late Triassic, this 10-foot theropod was initially thought...

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Pezosiren ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Pezosiren , a hippo-like ancestor of manatees when they weren’t quite sea cows but sea-ish cows. Semiaquatic cows. Except not cows. From the Eocene epoch, this 7-foot sirenian mammal lived quite the peaceful life in its lagoon habitat, floating and grazing the fronds of seagrass…...

(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Gigantoraptor-pictures ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Gigantoraptor , which, like the name suggests, is a gigantic raptor. A big Oviraptor , not Velociraptor , since they’re two totally different families. Pay attention. From the Late Cretaceous, this 26-foot oviraptorosaur browsed from trees and plucked poor creatures off...

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonemys ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Carbonemys , an enormous super predator that gives Raphael a run for his money in terms of turtle aggression and edginess. From the Early Paleocene, this 10-foot turtle chomped on crocodiles and fought giant snakes such as Titanoboa , which is freaking wild. A fitting start to the...

(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Iguanodon-pictures ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Iguanodon , a dinosaur that’s not an iguana nor known for its teeth, so its chosen name is a real mystery. From the Early Cretaceous, this 30-foot ornithopod was one of the first dinosaurs discovered and was a bulky bro for sure, able to get in some good licks and slashes wi...

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Protoavis ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Protoavis , a highly controversial fossil that might disrupt the entire evolutionary line leading to birds, but also, probably not. From the Late Triassic, this 1-foot reptile might have been an early dinosaur, another type of archosaur, or something completely unrelated, but one...

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussaurus ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Mussaurus , a teeny tiny dinosaur in a family of giant dinosaurs, except those tiny fossils were actually of babies and the adults were fairly large anyways. Your one novelty was a lie, Mussaurus . From the Early Jurassic, this 20-foot sauropodomorph had a fairly cute name that was a...

(image source: http://bit.ly/3QDvTx7 ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Tullimonstrum , an anomaly and enigma in every sense of the word and proof that evolution has a twisted sense of humor. From the Late Carboniferous, this 1-foot… thing has been suggested to be from a multitude of different lineages. Personally, I think it was an alien. Some sort of terrible extraterr...

(image source: http://bit.ly/3ZuaOcH ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Dracoraptor , the very first Jurassic dinosaur known and a survivor of the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction, the one everyone seems to forget for some reason. It was a multiple impact event, people! Probably. From the Early Jurassic, this 3-foot coelophysid didn’t really have much going for it, a...

(image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/312366924155667804/ ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Phorusrhacos , the last hurrah of giant land-based theropod dinosaurs as top predators, ruling well after non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. That’s not funny, just cool, but then again these descriptions aren’t really funny anyway. From the Early Miocene, this 9-foot-tall bir...

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oviraptor ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Oviraptor , the most unfairly judged dinosaur found fossilized with a bunch of eggs and thus was assumed to be stealing those eggs rather than nurturing their own. There’s no way this thing could actually be a good mother, now could it? From the Late Cretaceous, this 5-foot manirapt...

(image source: https://walkingwith.fandom.com/wiki/Hybodus ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Hybodus , a seemingly ordinary looking shark that might have actually had a temporal range of nearly 200 million years because, evolutionarily speaking, it was perfect . Sharks, man. From the Late Permian to the Late Cretaceous, this 6-foot hybodont fish had little spikes adorni...

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microraptor ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Microraptor , a beautiful ebony gem that went butterfly-mode and had four wings instead of two. Show-off. From the Early Cretaceous, this 2-foot dromaeosaurid might have been capable of true flight, but also might not have, which would be embarrassing. You went through all this...

(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Carnotaurus-pictures ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Carnotaurus , a carnivore that heard all other dinosaurs end in ‘saurus’ so decided to change one letter to be distinctive. I respect the commitment to bare minimum effort. From the Late Cretaceous, this 25-foot abelisaurid theropod had two devilish horns and a grumpy person...

(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Acrocanthosaurus-pictures ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Acrocanthosaurus , perhaps the biggest and meanest predator before the mighty rex ever took its first stomp. From the Early Cretaceous, this 38-foot carcharodontosaurid was roughly the size of T. rex , had the spine of Spinosaurus , and the overall body shape of a Gig...

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platyhystrix ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Platyhystrix , an amphibian with the head of a frog, the back of a newt, and the sail of a Dimetrodon just for giggles. From the Late Carboniferous, this 3-foot temnospondyl swiftly swam and slithered with its sail-lined spine sticking straight out of the surface of the swamp. I’...

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minmi_paravertebra ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Minmi , a cutesy wittle turtledillo with a cutesy wittle name, one of the shortest names of all dinosaurs if Yi and Zby weren’t a thing. From the Early Cretaceous, this 9-foot ankylosaur nearly got rendered invalid due to insufficient evidence, but thankfully the world w...

(image source: http://bit.ly/3UqwgfD ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Homo neanderthalensis , the archetypal caveman and our bulkier, hairier, and dumber cousins, not unlike my bulkier and hairier and dumber cousins down in Mississippi. From the Late Pleistocene, this 5.5 foot tall hominid never really made it that far in the evolutionary sense, lasting less than a mil...

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Erectopus ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss  Erectopus , perhaps the worst name of any dinosaur ever, or maybe the best if you're twelve years old. From the Early Cretaceous, this 16-foot long allosaurid has an interesting backstory in regards to the recovery of its fossils, including rich private collectors and shady fossil...