Fossil Fridays

Travel back in time 125 million years with me as we visit the Cretaceous Yixian formation.

Species appearing in this episode: Cladophlebis, Cretaceonobius fossilis, Thujoxylon beipiaoense, Jeholia longchengi, Repenomamus robustus, Sciadopityoxylon liaoningense, Xenoxylon hopeiense, Xenoxylon latiporosum, Protocedroxylon shengjinbeigouense, Piceoxylon zaocishanense, and Sinosauropteryx prima.

Ever wondered how much of the intros are based on real experiences? Listen in for a behind the scenes look at some of the real experiences that inspired these episodes.

Grube Messel Fossil Site, Germany.

Welcome back to the Wannagan Creek fossil site and the Paleocene. Jump back in, to finish exploring the Paleocene and to find your way home.

Fossils appearing in this episode include: Metasequoia occidentalis, Borealosuchipus hanksi, Cypericites, Presbyornis isoni, Amentotaxus campelli, Neoplagiaulax hazeni, Ginkgo cranei, Leptictis dakotensis, Hydrangea antica, Phenacodus, Cycadaceae, Protictis, Cyclocarya hispida, Plesiadapis chrurchilli, and Leidyosuchus.

Welcome to the Wannagan Creek fossil site that preserves a snapshot of the Paleocene 60 Million Years Ago.

Fossils appearing in this episode include: Taxodium olriki, Equisetum, Esox, Lepisoteus, Amia fragosa, Nelumbium tenufolium, Gomphaeschna schrankii, Isoetites horridus, Viviparus, Plastomenus, Champsosaurus gigas, Borealosuchus, Azolla stanleyii, Protochelydra zangerli.

Welcome back for the final installment of our saga into the Messel Pit. This incredible Eocene locality has been a doozy, and I can’t wait to see it for myself next month. So travel back with me as we finish our trip to the Messel Pit.

Organisms present during this episode include: Symplocos minutula, Symphrasites eocenicus, Geiseltaliellus maarius, Darmstadtia biseriate, Masillatrogon pumilio, Ailuravus macrurus, Mimosites spiegeli, Propalaeotherium hassiacum, Eurheloderma, Cruciptera schaarschmidtii, Eomanis waldi, Euromanis krebsi, Gastornis geiselensis, Anacardium germanicum, Eocoracias brachyptera, Steinhauera subglobosa, Darwinius masillae, Pholodocerus hassiacus, and Boverisuchus magnifrons.

In this episode return back 47 million years to the Messel Pit in Germany for part 2 of 3.

Organisms encountered in this episode include: Orb Weaver Spider, Heterohyus nanus, Magnolia, Araciphyllites, Caladiosoma, Pygomelissa luteria, Arecocaryon messelensis, Gekko, Cyclanthus messelensis, Protognathinus spielbergi, Parargornis messelensis, Phragmites oeningensis, Archaeoarmatus messelensis, Rhynchaeites messelensis, Juncitarsus merkeli, Buxolestes piscator, Toricellia bonesii, Stephania hootae, Mezira petrificata, Eoconstrictor fischeri, Paraortygoides messelensis, Plecia acourti, Cornus orbifera, and Vespula hassiaca.

In this episode head back 47 million years to visit the Messel Pit in Germany.

Organisms encountered in this episode include: Asplenium, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, Nuphaea engelhardtii, Tetraedron minimum, Lutetiospongilla heili, Viviparis, Cyclurus kehreri, Anguilla ignota, Atractosteus strausi, Amphiperca multiformis, Chelotriton robustus, Allaeochelys crassesculptata, Euroemys kehreri, Neochelys franzeni, Paleoamyda messeliana, Podozamites eocaenica, Eopelobates wagneri, Hassiacosuchus haupti, Diplocynodon deponaie, Asiatosuchus germanicus, Asiatosuchus germanicus, Archimyrmex wedmannae, Laurophyllum lanigeroides, Smilax, Messelobatrachus tobieni, Magnolia, Hassianycteris, Masillapodargus longipes, Paraprefica kelleri, Paraprefica major, Eogliravus wildi, Palaeoglaux artophoron, and Hassaivis laticauda.

Ever thought about the scary creatures other than dinosaurs that roamed the earth in the past? Check out my top ten list.

Creatures mentioned in this episode include: Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis, Parapuzosia seppenradensis, Elasmotherium sibiricum, Arthropleura, Livyatan melvillei, Daeodon shoshonensis, Titanoboa cerrejonensis, Deinosuchus riograndensis, Hatzegopteryx thambema, Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, Boverisuchus, and Langstonia.

In this episode head back 30 million years to visit the John Day Formation in Oregon, USA.

Organisms encountered in this episode include:

Metasequoia, Polypodium, Pinus johndilyensis, Rubus, Platanus, hypertragulidae, Hydrangia, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Fagus pacifica, Toxicodendron wolfei, Quercus consimilis, Protosciurus rachelae, Vitis, Nuphar, Equisetum, Nimravid, Betula angustifolia, Alnus, Menispermum, Cornus, Paleocastor, Miohippus, Temnocyon, Terminalia, Acer, Tilia, Ceridiphyllum crenatum, Carya, Florissantia speirii, Eporeodon occidentalis, Crataegus merrinmii, Decodon brownii, Fothergilla speirii, Phytocrene, Hovenia, Daeodon humerosum.

The world in the Oligocene 30 million years ago. (Paleoatlas project, Chris Scotese).

Step back in time nearly 3 million years to the end Pliocene outside of Casablanca Morocco to visit the Ahl al Oughlam locality.

Species featured in this episode include; Sivatherium, Agapornis atlanticus, Plioperdix, Kolpochoerus, Theropithicus, Struthio asiaticus, Geronticus, Lupulella, and early hominins.

Ever wondered how accurate Jurassic Park really is? Well, it depends on when you ask that question. Tune in for a look back at what we believed was right and wrong then, and what we know now.

Welcome to the bottom of the world as we visit the Hanson formation located on the mainland of Antarctica and travel back 190 million years to the early Jurassic.

Species that appeared in this episode include members of Polypodiales, Bennettitales, Pines, Pterosaurs, Dipteridaceae, Corystospermaceae, Marchantites, Equisetites, Tritylodontidae, Cupressaceae, Sauropodomorph, Matoniaceae, Voltziales, Theropods, and Auraucariaceae.

Lets head back to the beginning of life on land in the Silurian over 400 million years ago, before visiting the amazing sea creatures of the Cambrian 510 Million years ago.

Species that appeared in this episode include: Cooksonia, Prototaxites, Vauxia gracilenta, Pirania muricata, Eiffelia globose, Thaumaptilon walcotti, Anomalocaris, Opabinia, Hallucigenia, Olenoides serratus, and Wiwaxia corrugata.

One of the more whimsical names for a fossil site, come visit the Gogo formation of Western Australia as we go back 380 million years to visit a Devonian reef.

Organisms that make an appearance include: stromataporoids, stromatolites, ammonites, Montecaris gogoensis, Conulariida,  canthodians, tabulate coral, zooxanthellae, eurypterids, rugose coral, placoderms, and McNamaranspis kaprios.

Want to know more about the Tully Monster from Mazon Creek? Listen in to hear the story of this strange creature.

The movie Ice Age came out in 2002 and was a large part of the childhood of kids who were born in the 1990s. Set 20,000 years ago it gets some stuff right and some stuff wrong, so tune in for a bite sized breakdown of just what we see in the Ice Age movie.

This episode we head to the Permian which lasted from 299 Million years ago to 252 Million years ago, and has been excellently preserved in the red beds of Texas, USA. Listen in as we discover the unique plants and animals of the Permian.

There are a surprising amount of laws regarding fossils, so tune in as we go over a few of them.

Continuing our trek back in time, we head to northern Argentina to visit the Ischigualasto Formation as it was in the Triassic 230 million years ago.

The Balabansai formation located in western Asia preserves fossils from the middle Jurassic 168-161 million years ago. So take a trip back in time to visit our world when it looked much different.

Politics can play a surprising large role in paleontology, and one of the easiest to track of these is in China. So tune in for a look at how politics has affected Chinese paleontology.

Hell Creek in Montana has fossils from the end Cretaceous around 66 million years old including some of the most iconic dinosaurs in the US as well as plants, mammals, reptiles, and aquatic invertebrates.

Let’s talk about a giant fossil guinea pig.

Seymour Island, Antarctica has fossils from the late Cretaceous through the Eocene which gives a unique perspective of what the southernmost continent may have been like.

The age of the earliest flowering plant is still a huge topic of debate. Let’s talk about some of the possible oldest fossil flowering plants.

Time to head back to the Miocene while visiting the Calvert Cliffs located in Maryland, USA.

On this Fossil Friday Bite, chew on a fossil of a pregnant giant marine reptile from millions of years ago.

Travel across the equator with me as we visit the Eocene fossil site Laguna del Hunco. This fossil site is very important to me as I work on fossils from here, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Also, fair warning that my pronunciation is terrible, I’m working on it.

Ever wondered how fossils are named? Check out this bite-sized episode to learn more.

This episode we are headed back 11 million years to the Hammerschmiede clay pit in Bavaria, Germany.

For our first episode of Fossil Friday Bites, short episodes that deep dive into a specific topic, we are taking a look at what are fossils, how are they made, and why the fossil record is important.