Fossils and Fiction

01/03/2024

A little more palaeo inclusive...

28/02/2024

new episode (finally)

Dr Matt Melia from Kingston University on his new book about Jurassic Park called... The Jurassic Park Book. It's published by Bloomsbury Publishing UK

Peter Kramer also joins to chat about his contribution to the book as well as a wide-ranging diversion into global film generally.

It's a huge 1hr30min episode, so grab a cuppa (or two) and enjoy.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MxhJ0tfv3UaxMS2X41O0k?si=rysYLSbMQsmf8-sREMnzVA

25/01/2024

: The 2024 Australian Local Hero is David Elliott OAM, co-founder of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History in Winton. 👏🦕

David revived Australia's palaeontology field when he found a dinosaur fossil during routine sheep mustering in 1999.

23/01/2024

How 'Eric' the opalised pliosaur made his way into the Australian Museum hall of fame.

23/01/2024

This is a sign: jump in my DMs or comments and get on the Fossils and Fiction schedule for 2024.

Keen to chat with artists and other creators, as well as authors, researchers, and museum folk. Anyone with a palaeo story to tell.

08/01/2024

: "How do we know that dinosaurs had lips?"

The question of dinosaur lips has been a source of long-running and spirited debate, especially in the Paleoart community. "Paleoart" is a portmanteau of the words "paleontology" and "art." Paleoartists study the science of paleontology to inform their decisions when using their artistic skills to recreate the past. There are many different kinds of paleoartists. Some draw or paint, some sculpt, some recreate sounds... some even get stuck in the jaws of the giant T. rex puppet they're gluing skin to for a certain 1993 blockbuster! 🦖

Now, we aren't going to say that the members of are so dedicated to exposed dinosaur teeth precisely BECAUSE of that certain blockbuster movie. But there's no denying that those films have played a significant role in how we all imagine dinosaurs, especially meat-eaters (therapods). also brings a lot of good evidence-based points to the table. After all, the closest surviving relatives of dinosaurs (birds and crocodilians) are all happily lipless today. Still, that wasn't enough to stop from arguing that the skull anatomy of some dinos seems to suggest that they DID have lips.

So where are we now in the Great Lip Debate? Earlier this year, a study concluded that T. rex teeth show signs of wear consistent with lipped animals. They argue the surface of the teeth would be more worn if the teeth were exposed, like those of crocodiles. The study's authors determined that their findings support the argument that T. rex teeth may have been somewhat protected, presumably by lips. Probably not flexible lips that could do kissy-face selfies, but more like the lips of the bearded dragon from the "hehehehehe" meme.

So, where do you stand? Are you or ?

Image: Two cartoon T. rexes facing each other. One has exposed teeth. The other has lips hiding its teeth. NPS/Molly Swindle

19/12/2023

Rounding out the year, here's a chat with Alyssa Fjeld! We talked about Alyssa's work on ancient arthropods and her approach to science outreach. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/episodes/Ancient-bugs-with-Alyssa-Fjeld-e2d6bkh

17/12/2023

Alyssa Fjeld is a doctoral candidate focused on the development and evolution of ancient arthropods. Our in-depth chat about her work and science outreach is landing on the feeds now
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/episodes/Ancient-bugs-with-Alyssa-Fjeld-e2d6bkh

09/12/2023

What do you do if you find a fossil? My advice is to ask Sally Hurst. Sally's Found a Fossil project helps you figure out what to do. We talk that and more on the newest episode of Fossils and Fiction

Do you know what to do if you find a fossil or First Nations artifact? Sally Hurst made it her business to find out as part of her Masters study at Macquarie University. We talk about the Found a Fossil project, Sally's journey to palaeontology, and her outreach work with school children. More info:...

07/11/2023

Take a trip to Dinosaur Valley at Scenic World Blue Mountains in our latest episode https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/episodes/A-trip-to-Dinosaur-Valley-e2bj4oq/a-aaiumga

17/10/2023

Jurassic World: The Exhibition in Sydney

30/09/2023

Muttaburrasaurus is one of Australia's most well-known dinosaurs. This one occupies a prominent position in Queensland Museum's Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit.

28/09/2023

Life on our planet trailer

Who will rise? Who will fall? Who will rule the world? From executive producer Steven Spielberg and the Emmy® Award-winning team behind Our Planet, this is t...

28/09/2023

Dinosaurs of Patagonia at Queensland Museum

21/09/2023

You don't need to be a palaeontologist to dig up dinosaur bones. These volunteers are unearthing a 95-million-year-old sauropod skeleton near Winton, proving all you need is curiosity and a keen eye.

15/09/2023

How Sauropod Dinosaurs Became the Biggest Land Animals Again and Again

New research hints at how sauropod dinosaurs got to be so gargantuan

14/09/2023

13/09/2023

Dinosaurs will always be awesome. You know it. I know it. And Jimmy Waldron knows it. Jimmy created a non-profit based on that eternal truth. The next episode of Fossils and Fiction is sliding into your feeds soon.

Audio everywhere you get podcasts, video on Spotify and YouTube.

07/09/2023

‘Weird’ dinosaur prompts rethink of bird evolution

The fossil is as old as the ‘first bird’, Archaeopteryx, and might have specialized in running or wading instead of flying.

30/08/2023

Paleontology Is Far More Than New Fossil Discoveries: Understanding the ancient past is critical to responding to challenges we face in the future https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/paleontology-is-far-more-than-new-fossil-discoveries1/?fbclid=IwAR15cQS3M-XhcgcyPYDXTtMDU7T6eY2Y8Q_WVpFrauIHvKHfniiqUSdyxYo

Understanding the ancient past is critical to responding to challenges we face in the future

27/08/2023

Sliding into your podcast feeds (or your YouTube playlist): our interview with the author of 'The Age of Mammals':

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7dGBPWGanQGtuwkvz6xQUD?si=sSSaJqtPSsKH3v_V0F8DmQ

YouTube: https://youtu.be/AihXDbYpCNU

THE AGE OF MAMMALS by Chris Manias is our final release of the spring/summer 2023 season!

“Dinosaurs get all the attention, from museum visitors as well as historians. But with this brilliant new book, Chris Manias sets the record straight and shows that mammalian paleontology is where it’s at.” —Lukas Rieppel, author of ASSEMBLING THE DINOSAUR

Buy a copy of THE AGE OF MAMMALS: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822947806/

10/08/2023

Aussie pterosaur expert Adele Pentland joins Travis to talk about her podcast Pals in Palaeo, science communication, and The Simpsons.

This episode of Fossils and Fiction is now available on all good podcast feeds.

31/07/2023

If Jurassic Park is not your thing, look away now...

Now that the Jurassic Park fans are here, check out our new episode? https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/AMZOAVzESBb

17/07/2023

John Goodman as a singing T. rex? That's Monday's entertainment sorted

"Roll Back the Rock (To the Dawn of Time)!" by James Horner and Thomas Dolby; performing: John GoodmanRoll back the rock (To the dawn of time)when the Eart...

13/07/2023

04/07/2023

If there's one thing that will spark an interest in palaeontology, it might just be finding a 450 million-year-old fossil as a child. That's exactly what happened to Dr Nic Campione, now a Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Palaeontology) at the University of New England, AU. In this episode, Nic tells the story of his childhood fossil find and talks about his approach to teaching troublesome palaeontology students like your host, Dr Travis Holland.

If there's one thing that will spark an interest in palaeontology, it might just be finding 450 million-year-old fossil as a child. That's exactly what happened to Dr Nic Campione. Nic is originally from Canada but is now a Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Palaeontology) at the University of New E...

22/06/2023

Littlefoot's Family Ties: Clemson University English lecturer Dr Peter Cullen Bryan talks through the links between Don Bluth's 80s classic The Land Before Time and other palaeomedia https://anchor.fm/fossilsfiction/episodes/Littlefoots-Family-Ties-e25dm23