Tag: palaeontology

Podcast

Ep 77. Craft beers, trilobites and Lagerstätten with John Paterson

John Paterson is a professor of paleontology and earth sciences at the University of New England. He studies the evolution of life during the Cambrian explosion. Some of his recent research has shown that during this time some of the largest predators around, Anomalocaris, had wonderfully complex eyes and they were likely to be incredible visual predators of their time. In this interview we also … Continue reading Ep 77. Craft beers, trilobites and Lagerstätten with John Paterson

jamesohanlonresearch2 Comments
Podcast

Ep 75. Small shelly fossils and paleo tattoos with Marissa Betts

Palaeontology isn’t just about Dinosaurs! Marissa Betts is a researcher at the University of New England that studies the evolution of miniscule animals that existed during the Cambrian explosion. During this era animals evolved hard shelled bodies that made them much more likely to fossilise. By looking at these tiny fossils Marissa can investigate how lifeforms on earth have changed over millions of years and … Continue reading Ep 75. Small shelly fossils and paleo tattoos with Marissa Betts

jamesohanlonresearchLeave a comment
Podcast

Ep 69. Horseshoe crabs and hot pink theses with Russell Bicknell

Horseshoe crabs, firstly, are not crabs, nor do they make effective horseshoes. They are a unique animal more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crustaceans. They are highly valued due to the coagulant properties of their blood, which is harvested as a pharmaceutical product to identify impurities in medicinal products. This sadly also places them under threat as their populations are routinely harvested and … Continue reading Ep 69. Horseshoe crabs and hot pink theses with Russell Bicknell

jamesohanlonresearchLeave a comment
Podcast

Ep 54. Dinosaur detectives and frozen crocodiles with Ada Klinkhamer

The enormous, long-necked Sauropods are some of the most iconic dinosaurs, and its no surprise given the almost unfathomable sizes that they grew to. Ada Klinkhamer is a palaeontologist from the University of New England that studies how these ancient beasts could have moved and how their skeletons would have supported such enormous bodies. In an interview with In Situ Science Ada chats with us … Continue reading Ep 54. Dinosaur detectives and frozen crocodiles with Ada Klinkhamer

jamesohanlonresearchLeave a comment
Podcast

Ep 36. Lumping dinosaurs and paleo name-dropping with Nic Campione

Reconstructing the Earth’s history from fragments of information is an epic task requiring a variety of approaches. Paleontologists combine technological approaches, quantitative methods and artistic visualisations to reconstruct what dinosaur bodies would have looked like using fossil remains. Nicolás Campione is a quantitative paleontologist at the University of New England in Australia that undergoes this detective work to understand how animals have changed over time. … Continue reading Ep 36. Lumping dinosaurs and paleo name-dropping with Nic Campione

jamesohanlonresearchLeave a comment
News

Prehistoric plesiosaur filter-fed like a whale

New research shows that a prehistoric marine reptile fed by filtering small animals out of the water using their long ‘needle-like’ teeth. A team of scientists from South America and the USA re-examined the fossilised skull of the plesiosaur Morturneria seymourensis and uncovered the first known case of filter feeding in a marine reptile. This research has been published in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology. … Continue reading Prehistoric plesiosaur filter-fed like a whale

jamesohanlonresearch1 Comment