Palaeo After Dark

The gang discusses two papers that technically involve symbiosis. The first paper looks at fossil evidence for tape worms, and the second paper is a review of the various evolutionary hypotheses of the convergent origin of viviparity (live birth). Meanwhile, Curt imagines a new theme park, James has a good night, and Amanda surprises us all.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends look at two papers that look at things that live inside of other animals. The first paper looks at an animal that lives inside other animals and eats their food from t...

The gang discusses two papers that use fossils to understand ecological interactions in the past. The first paper reports predation patterns on fossil blastoids, and the second paper finds brooding in the soft tissue of fossil bivalves. And then… the gang gets very much back on their bullshit… Meanwhile, James simplifies his life, Curt discusses new business ventures, and Amanda is seen.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends look at two papers that look at how animals from a long time ago lived their lives. The first paper looks at a group of anima...

The gang discusses two papers that describe fossils which provide glimpses into the evolution and ecology of animals that were "late editions" to their clade. In other words, this podcast is focusing on fossils whose ages place them were close to the extinction of their respective groups. The first paper identifies ecological preferences in late Paleozoic trilobites, and the second paper describes a terror bird from South America that provides further evidence for a younger extinction of the group than traditionally understood. Meanwhile, Curt proposes a sitcom, Amanda has great timing, and James enjoys watching robots fail.

The gang discusses two papers that look at early tetrapods. The first paper investigates the transition to terrestrial environments in early tetrapods, and the second paper looks at some very small Dimetrodon. Meanwhile, Amanda has a disproportionate cat, James talks smack about a dead synapsid, and Curt gives gardening tips.

Up-Goer Five (Amanda Edition):

This week our friends look at two papers on animals with hard bits in their back and four legs. The first paper asks when did animals with hard bits in their backs and four legs first start doing a b...

The gang discusses two papers about jawless fishes. The first paper looks at some soft tissue preservation of early vertebrates which include preserving evidence of an ancient heart, while the second paper investigates how the fossil record of hagfish can inform the order in which characteristics evolved within the group. Meanwhile, James "solves" his problems with machines, Amanda keeps making new friends whether they like it or not, Curt claims no responsibility, and everyone loves these kawaii line drawings.

Up-Goer Five (James Edition):

This week the group look at two papers that are a...

The gang discusses two papers that use fossil material to assess the origin of animal groups. The first paper describes a new Early Devonian fish and its implications for the evolution of jaws, and the second paper reassesses the fossil material of turtles (and possible not turtles) to determine where turtles fit on the evolutionary tree of sauropsids. Meanwhile, James invents new flavors, Curt breaks things down, and Amanda sets boundaries.

Up-Goer Five (Amanda Edition):

Today our friends look at two papers that talk about things showing up for the first time. The f...

The gang discusses two papers about encrusting organisms. The first paper looks at evolutionary patterns of bryozoans to infer environmental triggers for shifts in the ways bryozoans calcify. The second paper uses the distribution of encrusting organisms on spirifd brachiopods to infer the ecology of both the encrusters and the brachiopod they grew on top of. Meanwhile, James discovers new foods, Amanda constructs a worm, and Curt gets confused and makes it everyone's problem.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at animals that do not move around m...

The gang discusses two papers about fossil cephalopods. The first paper uses new methods to reassess the taxonomy of what was previously considered to be the oldest octopod, and the second paper uses preserved beaks to reconstruct large body sizes of Mesozoic octopods. Meanwhile, Amanda keeps it within Michigan, James brings up THE cephalopod talk, and Curt ascends.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

Our friends talk about two papers that look at animals with many arms and a sharp mouth. The first paper looks at some parts of a very old animal with many a...

The gang discusses two papers that investigate phenotypic plasticity. The first paper reviews the pathways by which phenotype can be plastic, and the second paper looks at plasticity of breeding times in urban vs rural bird populations. Meanwhile, James manages a basement, Amanda names the papers, and Curt makes allegations.

Up-Goer Five (James Edition):

Today the group look at two papers that are interested in how animals change because of the type of place they live. The first paper is looking at different ways that animals can be changed, either by being changed a...

The gang discusses two papers that investigate ancient bioherms. The first paper looks at the formation of early Phanerozoic reefs, and the second paper investigates patterns of reef building and collapse in the late Devonian. Meanwhile, James is being advertised to, Amanda plans unique roadtrips, and Curt solicits legal advice.

Up-Goer Five (Amanda Edition):

Today our friends talk about animals that have green friends that make hard bits. These animals that make hard parts are really important today because they make good places for other animals to live. But we don't know all a...

The gang discusses two papers about the functional morphology of ancient groups of animals. The first paper is a review of how the life position of rangeomorph ediacaran taxa have been reconstructed, and the second paper conducts an actualistic experiment of Oviraptor nesting strategies. Meanwhile, Curt gets activated, James doesn't die, and Amanda relishes in details.

Up-Goer Five (James Edition):

The group look at two papers that focus of understanding how things are long dead lived. The first paper talks about strange things that might have either lived standing up or lying down a...

The gang discusses two papers that use quantitative methods to investigate the biomechanical limitations of extinct organisms. The first paper models the range of jumping potential for a non-avian theropod dinosaur, and the other paper tests if an extinct bird could have skimmed the ocean for food. Meanwhile, James imagines a better future, Amanda is to blame, and Curt is heating up.

Up-Goer Five (Amanda Edition):

Today our friends look at two papers that talk about how things do stuff. The first paper looks at how a small one of large animals with t...

The gang discusses two papers that are united by a fin. The first paper uses a computer algorithms to infer the shape of mosasaur tail fins, and the second paper looks at a new species of Spinosaurus with a crest. Meanwhile, James tastes flavor, Amanda tastes drink, and Curt tastes indifference.

Up-Goer Five - SERVER NOT FOUND! HELP!

References:

Song, Yang, and Johan Lindgren. "Convergence in aquatic locomotion: reconstructing mosasaurian (Squamata: Mosasauria) tail fins from osteological correlates and covariation with extant sharks." Paleobiology 52.1 (2026): 121-130.

Sereno, Paul C., et...

The gang talk about two papers about extraordinary dinosaur fossils and the unique information that can be gleaned from them. The first paper looks at fossil skin data on a Cretaceous iguandodontian, and the second paper uses an exceptionally complete specimen to demonstrate the reality of Nanotyrannus. Meanwhile, James classifies, Amanda imagines T-rex, and Curt brings a unique energy.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends look at two papers about big angry animals that everyone loves to talk about. The first paper is about the skin of one of these big angry animals. T...

The gang discuss two papers of odd fossils with exceptional preservation. The first paper looks at some Cambrian vertebrates and shows that soft tissue evidence suggests the presence of two sets of camera eyes (four eyes total), and they interpret the additional set of camera eyes as being a homolog to the modern parietal eye in vertebrates. The second paper uses exceptional preservation of the Rhynie Chert to test hypotheses for the taxonomic placement of the enigmatic Prototaxites and finds evidence that suggests it is not, as previously suggested, a fungus. Meanwhile, James is marooned by weather, Amanda accidentally...

Listeners, I'm going to level with you. This podcast is cursed. Not because of the content, which is mostly a pretty straight forward discussion about two papers that look into the fossil record of Nimravids (early cats that are not true cats). No, this podcast is cursed because the file refused to be compiled, crashing Audacity 3 times and each time corrupting the save file. The fact that any mp3 file was able to be compiled at all was a minor miracle. I can only assume that this means this podcast data has gained sentience and did not want to...

The gang discusses two papers that use fragmentary fossils of animals to investigate the origins of major groups. The first paper describes an Early Ordovician eurypterid, and the second paper looks at mosaic evolutionary patterns in an early squamate. Meanwhile, James has bird opinions, Curt delights in not knowing, and Amanda will definitely be on time.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends look at two papers that are using broken bits of things to learn a lot about animals from a long time ago. Both of these papers are looking at old animals t...

The crew of the CS Perry struggle to extract themselves from their rapidly deteriorating situation.

"Lightless Dawn" , "Spacial Harvest", and "Crypto" from Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The crew of the CS Perry, now trapped in a space station run by multiple hostile AI, work to figure out how best to salvage a mission gone very wrong.

"Lightless Dawn" and "Crypto" from Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The crew of the CS Perry begin the negotiation process for the CA-chip, but the sales team wants an arm and a leg for the product.

"Lightless Dawn" and "Crypto" from Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The crew of CS Perry were offered the perfect deal, a quick stop at an abandoned spaceport to grab some mothballed tech and they'd be set for life. What could possibly go wrong?

"Lightless Dawn" from Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

For our holiday episodes this year, James, Curt, Amanda, and Ants get together to play a game of the space horror tabletop RPG Mothership. Join us for our introductory episode where we discuss the setting, rules, and the main characters of our story.

"Lightless Dawn" from Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The gang discusses two papers that are about dinosaurs, and that is all that connects them! The first paper investigates community structure during the Cretaceous, and the second paper describes a well preserved "mummy" of a duck-billed dinosaur. Meanwhile, Amanda is doing well (really she is now), Curt makes an awkward segue, and James has not seen Tremors.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers about big angry animals from a long time ago. The first paper looks at how many types of big angry animals were in a place b...

The gang discusses two papers that have very little in common with each except for the word "stem". The first paper uses birth death models to simulate the fossil record in order investigate if neutral models can produce patterns similar to the "crown"/"stem" evolutionary dynamics that have been observed in real data. The second paper investigates stem mandibulate fossils to investigate the timing of major key innovations in the evolutionary history of this arthropod group. Meanwhile, Amanda decides, James bullies, and Curt explains.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two p...

The gang discusses two papers that investigate injuries in fossil bones. The first paper tests hypotheses about the causes of facial injuries in herrarasaurids, and the second paper tests if inferred hunting strategies map onto injury patterns in predators from the La Brea Tar Pits. Meanwhile, Curt provides some hypotheses, Amanda gets spiritual, and James is photogenic.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at why animals from a long time ago got hurt. The first paper looks at some very old and angry animals with no hair t...

The gang discusses two papers that use taphonomic experiments to test hypotheses about the paleo-environmental conditions of the Crato Formation. Meanwhile, Amanda has her daily requirements, James longs for the rack, Curt launched a new podcast concept, and no one on this podcast can keep to a topic for longer than five minutes.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at rocks that come from the same place. This place is a spot where you get a lot of soft things from animals in the rocks which would u...

The gang discusses two papers that provide nuanced information to test when key innovations in vertebrate evolution occurred. The first paper looks at unique semi-terrestrial trace fossils in the early Devonian in order to determine the trace maker, and the second paper looks at fossils that could provide information about the origins of teeth. Meanwhile, Curt has theme park ambitions, James provides Amanda with new anxieties, and Amanda leaves it all to chance.

Up-Goer Five (James Edition):

The group talk about two papers that are looking at the earliest time things have been s...

The gang discusses two papers that deal with fossil brains. The first paper looks at a fossil arthropod from the Cambrian and uses neurological characters to determine its phylogenetic placement. The second paper looks at a synapsid braincase and tries to infer why this one species has lost its parietal eye when other members of the species have he eye. Meanwhile, Curt invents some new sponsors, Amanda has plans for James, and James discusses some personal growth.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition)

The friends talk about two papers that look at very old brains i...

The gang discusses two papers about skin preservation in fossil tetrapods. The first paper describes skin impressions from a Permian synapsid, and the second paper identifies feather-like structures in an early Triassic diapsid. Meanwhile, James considers the horse, Amanda shames extinct animals, and Curt quotes "philosophy".

Up-Goer Five (Amanda Edition):

Today our friends talk about things that are sort of close to things with hair but not that close to things with hair. They are closer to things with hair than to things with dry skin with no hair or long many-part skin t...

The gang ends "Wet Hot Archosaur Summer" with the final podcast recorded from our undisclosed location in the woods. For this podcast, we indulge Amanda by talking about birds and trace fossils. The first paper looks at the remains of nesting sites that date back to the Cretaceous, and the second paper investigates sources of error in estimates of avian maximum speeds from trace fossils. Meanwhile, Amanda has a message for the bears, James proposes an alliance with the crows, and Curt does an "homage".

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talks about t...

The gang is all back together in one place again as they unite in an undisclosed cabin in the woods to record the last two podcasts for Wet Hot Archosaur Summer. For this episode, the gang talks about herbivorous pterosaurs and wadding T-rex. Meanwhile, James experiences relative sobriety, Curt welcomes everyone to the Great Northern, Amanda is fueled by spite, and we all get completely off track.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends are together for the first time in a long time and so they have a lot of fun together and s...

Wet Hot Archosaur Summer continues as the gang discusses two papers that look at the evolution and biogeography of early archosaurs. Specifically, one paper describes new material from an early dinosaur group, and the other paper looks at the niche preferences of early pterosaurs and their closest sister group, the lagerpetids. Also, James tries out a new flavor, Curt likes consistency, and Amanda provides some ASMR.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends look at two papers about the early types of animals that would give us lots of different types of big angry a...

The gang discusses two papers about the ecology of sauropods. The first paper investigates the biomechanics of the Plateosaurus tail, and the second paper looks at direct evidence of sauropod diet from gut contents. Meanwhile, James "makes it interesting", Amanda may have recorded on the wrong microphone, Curt makes a bold rebrand, and everyone vaguely remembers "Denver: The Last Dinosaur".

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at animals with along necks from a long time ago that kids love and were in a movie where one of t...

The gang continues "Wet Hot Archosaur Summer" with a discussion about pterosaur trace fossils. The first paper tests a method for assigning pterosaur traces to potential trace makers, and the second paper is a case study of actually assigning traces to a species. Meanwhile, Amanda herds cats (figuratively and literally), James can only accomplish three things, Curt keeps it light, and everyone upholds their "journalistic integrity".

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at the marks that animals leave on the ground. These marks are made by animals t...

Wet Hot Archosaur Summer continues as the gang discusses two papers about crocodylomorph evolution. The first paper looks at the impact mass extinctions had on disparity within the group, and the second paper uses new phylogenetic data to revise our understanding of size trends and biogeography of crocodylomorphs during the Cenozoic. Meanwhile, Curt invents a measurement, James invents a new way of eating, and Amanda invents a new phobia for herself.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at big angry animals that you should never smile at, a...

The gang kicks off a summer of archosaurs by talking about crocodyliforms. The first paper describes an early Cenozoic large notosuchian, and the second paper investigates how cryptic species impacts divergence times within the clade. Meanwhile, Curt diagnoses a problem, James tries to "help", and Amanda does not care.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at animals that today most of the time live in water and grab food from the edge of the water and you should never smile at. The first paper a really big o...

The gang tries to discuss two papers that look at the evolutionary impacts of the K-Pg mass extinction. Specifically, they look at one paper that estimates sampling probability throughout the late Cretaceous to determine if record bias influences our understanding of the extinction, and another paper that looks at species area relationships to investigate ecological shifts in response to the event. However, the gang gets completely lost and sidetracked throughout. They starting talking about the papers around 18 minutes in… and very quickly lose track again. It's going to be one of those podcasts.

Up-Goer Five (Cur...

The gang discusses two papers that look at the evolutionary impact of shifts in habitat occupation. The first paper looks at a clade of sharks moving into the depths, and the second paper investigates habitat shifts in mammals across the Cretaceous and Paleogene. Meanwhile, Amanda has some opinions, James is doing much better, and Curt is easy to amuse.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look into how animals change when they move from one type of place to another. The first paper looks at animals with big t...

The gang discusses two papers that use morphometrics to investigate patterns of selection on bird morphology. The first paper looks at the morphology of feathers, while the second paper looks more broadly at various parts of the avian body. Meanwhile, James breathes new life into a classic, Amanda is passionate about formatting, and Curt exposes "the truth".

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at animals that move in the air. Both of these papers look at how these animals look and try to find out why these a...

The gang discusses two papers that look at preserved skin/external tissues. The first paper shows a unique record of Cambrian molting, and the second paper looks at the first preserved samples of plesiosaur skin. Meanwhile, Amanda commits an "own goal", Curt shares some old internet fun, and James has opinions about fins.

Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition):

The friends talk about two papers that look at skin that is very very very old. The first paper looks at animals from a long time ago that lose their skin when they get too big f...