Palaeocast
A free webseries exploring the fossil record and the evolution of life on Earth.
Episode 172: Rhynchocephalians
5 Feb 2026
Today, there is only one living species of rhynchocephalian: the tuatara of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Despite today's paucity of species, this was once a diverse group of reptiles, with a wide range of
Episode 171: Freshwater Mosasaurs
12 Dec 2025
We've been given exclusive access to a brand new study examining the chemistry of a mosasaur tooth found within the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, North Dakota. The remarkable circumstances of
IPC4 Day 4
7 Oct 2014
Welcome to the final day of our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina.
IPC4 Day 3
6 Oct 2014
Welcome to the third day of our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina.
IPC4 Day 2
1 Oct 2014
Welcome to the second day of our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina.
IPC4 Day 1
30 Sep 2014
Welcome to our coverage of the 4th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC4) from Mendoza, Argentina. The International Palaeontological Congress is a global meeting devoted to Palaeontology
Episode 34b: Foraminifera and Palaeoclimatology
25 Sep 2014
Planktonic foraminifera are single celled organisms that are highly abundant in modern oceans and a hugely important part of the Earth’s carbon cycle. Each cell builds a hard calcite ‘test’
Episode 34a: Foraminifera and Palaeoclimatology
15 Sep 2014
Planktonic foraminifera are single celled organisms that are highly abundant in modern oceans and a hugely important part of the Earth's carbon cycle. Each cell builds a hard calcite 'test' around
Episode 33: Year 2 Review
1 Sep 2014
We now find ourselves embarking upon our third year, but before we do so, we're going to take a look back at last year and see what we've all been up to.
Episode 32B: Canids
15 Aug 2014
We’re all familiar with canines (dogs, wolves, jackals, foxes, etc), but these are just only one of three sub-families of the larger canid family to survive to the present day. There were also the
Episode 32A: Canids
5 Aug 2014
We're all familiar with canines (dogs, wolves, jackals, foxs, etc), but these are just only one of three sub-families of the larger canid family to survive to the present day. There were also the
Episode 31: Anomalocaridids
15 Jul 2014
Anomalocaridids are iconic Cambrian animals, originally found in the Burgess Shale deposits in Canada. From the Genus Anomalocaris, their name translates as 'strange shrimp' owing to their initial
Episode 30: Palaeoart
1 Jul 2014
The celebrate the launch of 'The Paleoart of Julius Csotonyi' from Titan Books we take a look at the field of palaeoart. In this episode, we're joined by Julius himself and ask how his images are
Episode 29B: Medusae
15 Jun 2014
One of the longest-ranging and outwardly primitive-looking groups of animals on the planet are the Medusozoa. In consisting of around 95% water, it may be surprising to know that there is a fossil
Episode 29A: Medusae
1 Jun 2014
One of the longest-ranging and outwardly primitive-looking groups of animals on the planet are the Medusozoa. In consisting of around 95% water, it may be surprising to know that there is a fossil
Episode 28: From worms to stars
1 May 2014
Echinoderms are characterised by a mineralised skeleton, specialised water vascular system and five-fold symmetry. It is this unusual body plane symmetry that gives the starfish its star-shape. None
Episode 27: Mare aux Songes
15 Mar 2014
One of the most iconic animals to ever have gone extinct is the dodo, Raphus cucullatus. Endemic to Mauritius, this flightless bird was last seen around 1662 and is thought to have been driven to
Episode 26: The Tree of Mammals
1 Feb 2014
Mammals are an incredibly diverse and highly successful group of animals. They include some of the tallest, heaviest and fastest animals around today, as well as our own species. For over 100 years,
Episode 25: Marsupials of Riversleigh
16 Jan 2014
Continuing our look at Australia's marsupials, we speak to Dr. Karen Black, also of the University of New South Wales. Here, we discuss Riversleigh fossil site, what fossils it contains, how they
Episode 24: Marsupial evolution
1 Jan 2014
Marsupials are a group of mammals best known from Australia, but are also present in South America and up to the southern and eastern parts of the USA. Despite their current geographical
Episode 23: Mass extinctions
1 Dec 2013
What are Mass extinctions, how are they quantified, what are the driving forces behind them, how bad were the ones in the past and will we have more in the future? To answer these questions we are
SVP Day 4
5 Nov 2013
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology are this year holding their annual conference in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles. The SVP were formed in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the
SVP Day 3
2 Nov 2013
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology are this year holding their annual conference in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles. The SVP were formed in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the
SVP Day 2
1 Nov 2013
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology are this year holding their annual conference in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles. The SVP were formed in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology: Day 1
31 Oct 2013
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology are this year holding their annual conference in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles. The SVP were formed in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the
GSA day 3
30 Oct 2013
This year sees the GSA celebrate its 125th anniversary, having formed in 1888. It's a massive event with thousands of attendees. There are literally hundreds of talks to hear and posters to see,
GSA Day 2
29 Oct 2013
This year sees the GSA celebrate its 125th anniversary, having formed in 1888. It's a massive event with thousands of attendees. There are literally hundreds of talks to hear and posters to see,
Geological Society of America: Day 1
27 Oct 2013
This year sees the GSA celebrate its 125th anniversary, having formed in 1888. It's a massive event with thousands of attendees. There are literally hundreds of talks to hear and posters to see,
Episode 22: Fire and Charcoal
15 Oct 2013
Most people would consider fire to be an entirely destructive process, however given the right circumstances organic materials can be exquisitely preserved by charcoalification. We no doubt all know
Episode 21: Marine reptiles of Svalbard
1 Oct 2013
In this episode we talk to Jørn Hurum, Associate Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Natural History Museum Oslo, Norway. Jørn has varied research interests including dinosaurs and
Episode 20: Year Review
15 Sep 2013
As Palaeocast celebrates it's 1st Birthday, we take the chance to look back over the past year and review our highlights. We also look towards the future and discuss our plans to attend some upcoming
Episode 19: The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event
1 Sep 2013
The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, or 'GOBE', describes one of the most important increases in biodiversity in the history of life on earth. During a relatively short time span of some 25
Episode 18: Trilobites
1 Jul 2013
Trilobites are one of the most instantly recognisable groups of fossils. They were present from the very start of the Paleozoic (http://www.palaeocast.com/category/paleozoic/#.UccGPfkTXOM) and went
Episode 17: Ammonoid evolution and ecology
15 May 2013
Ammonoids are a diverse group of cephalopods, a group of molluscs that include squid, octopuses, cuttlefish and nautiloids. They lived for over 300 million years (from the Early Devonian – the end
Episode 16: Multicellularity in cyanobacteria
1 May 2013
One of the most significant events in Earth’s history has been the oxygenation of its atmosphere 2.45–2.32 billion years ago. This accumulation of molecular oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere was
Episode 15: Micropalaeontology
15 Apr 2013
Perhaps one of the most overlooked areas of palaeontology, within the public eye, is micropalaeontology. Micropalaeontology is an umbrella discipline, covering a diverse range of organisms, with
Episode 14b: Trace fossils
1 Apr 2013
Ichnology is the study of trace fossils (also termed ichnofossils). Opposed to body fossils, the physical remains of an organism, trace fossils are the fossilised interactions between an
Episode 14a: Trace fossils
15 Mar 2013
Ichnology is the study of trace fossils (also termed ichnofossils). Opposed to body fossils, the physical remains of an organism, trace fossils are the fossilised interactions between an
Episode 13: Best Western Denver Southwest
1 Mar 2013
Every palaeontologist needs to put their feet up once in a while, and what better place to do so that the Best Western Denver Southwest? This hotel is located just a stone's-throw away from Dinosaur
Episode 12: Paleozoic problematica
15 Feb 2013
Fossils, at the best of times, are difficult to interpret. Palaeontologists attempt to reconstruct organisms from what little remains are left. This can be relatively simple for groups that we are
Episode 11: Sexual selection in the fossil record
1 Feb 2013
Sexual selection is responsible for much of the astounding diversity in morphology and behaviour that we can see in animals and plants today, but how can we reliably recognise it in the fossil
Episode 10: Carboniferous Arthropods
15 Jan 2013
The first animals came onto land sometime before 425 Ma. These early colonizers were members of a group called the arthropods - probably early relatives of the millipedes first. However, early land
Episode 9: The Palaeontological Association AGM
1 Jan 2013
The 16th to the 18th December 2012 saw University College Dublin (http://www.ucd.ie/) host The Palaeontological Association (http://www.palass.org/) (PalAss) 56th annual general meeting
Episode 8: Mesozoic Vertebrate Ecology
15 Dec 2012
The Mesozoic Era saw the spectacular rise and fall of many groups, particularly in terrestrial vertebrates. These include birds, squamates, crocodiles, and pterosaurs, who wove a complex tapestry of
Episode 7: Colouration in fossils
15 Nov 2012
We can observe colour to be highly important for animals today. It can be used for many different purposes, including camouflage and signalling, and produced by many different methods. What is true
Episode 6: Early vertebrate evolution and extinction
1 Nov 2012
Vertebrates are one of the most diverse and successful groups of animals on the planet. Modern vertebrates come in an astounding array of sizes and shapes and can be found anywhere from the deepest
Episode 5: Mistaken Point
15 Oct 2012
The biota of the Ediacaran period (635 - 541 ma) is of critical importance to our understanding of the origin of animals because it immediately precedes the Cambrian fauna, from which all
Episode 4: The fossil forests of Gilboa
1 Oct 2012
We interview Professor William Stein of Binghamton University about the world's first forets at Gilboa, NY, USA. We talk through the history of the research at this famous locality covering the
Episode 3: Amber and Parasitism
15 Sep 2012
We got a chance to talk to Dr. George Poinar of Oregon State University about his work in amber. We discuss what it is and how it forms, but also talk about the organisms that are preserved within
Episode 1: Earliest fossils and the hunt for extraterrestrial life
29 Aug 2012
You may be forgiven for having missed the news of NASA's Curiosity rover, or Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), having landed on Mars, given all the coverage the 2012 Olympics had been getting. To try
