Podcast 343 - GSA 2026
Palaeo After Dark
We report back with coverage of the Geological Society of America 2026 annual meeting, and only once do we completely mess up using the equipment. Progress!
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Podcast 342 - A Bitter Pill
Palaeo After Dark
The gang discusses two papers that use a lot of statistics to make their arguments. The first paper looks at the argument against the existence of megalodon nurseries, and the second paper assesses the importance of biotic vs abiotic patterns in extinction. Meanwhile, James has a new button, Amanda has school spirit, Curt tries to be civil, and we all need a drink… Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition): The friends look at two papers that use a lot of numbers to show if something may or may not have happened. The first paper looks at a big angry animal that lived in the sea and left behind a...
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Podcast 341 - The Wrong Meat
Palaeo After Dark
The gang discusses two papers that use comparative anatomy of bone to tell some really interesting stories about fossil animals. The first paper uses the hand bones of Stegasaurus and Camarasaurus to investigate how they walked and also the evolutionary processes by which they may have developed these unique shapes. The second paper pieces together the complex taphonomy of a dead ichthyosaur. Meanwhile, Amanda fails at giving directions, James fails and following directions, and Curt fails to keep any of this on track. Up-Goer Five: (Curt Edition) The friends look at two papers that...
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Podcast 340 - Fun Times At Copraland
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 the inside. This paper finds very old...
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Podcast 339 - Back on Our Bullshit
Palaeo After Dark
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 animals made of small hard parts...
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Podcast 338 - Trilobite and Terror Bird
Palaeo After Dark
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,...
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Podcast 337 - Smol Beeg Animals
Palaeo After Dark
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 big change as they grew up. Today...
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Podcast 336 - Who Needs a Jaw?
Palaeo After Dark
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...
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Podcast 335 - I Like Turtles
Palaeo After Dark
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 first thing to show...
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Podcast 334 - Stuck on You
Palaeo After Dark
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...
info_outlineThe 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 at the bottom of the water which is big and you can not drink. It is hard to tell how these things lived because there are not any around today and so instead we need to look at their form and how they are found in the rock. Most of the things seem to have lived how we thought but one actually was lying down rather than standing up.
The second paper looks at how big angry animals without hair kept their round babies and helped them grow by making a form in the ground like they used and putting round babies in it. They looked at how the round babies did by themselves and how they did with a warm bag on top like their final big form. They decide that they probably had the final big form covering the round babies when they were growing but that they did not do it the same was a things that fly and do not have hair today.
References:
McIlroy, Duncan. "Determining the mode of life of Ediacaran rangeomorphs in deep marine settings of Peri-Gondwanan Avalonia." Assemblage 550.538Ma (2022).
Su, Chun-Yu, et al. "Heat transfer in a realistic clutch reveals a lower efficiency in incubation of oviraptorid dinosaurs than of modern birds." Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 14 (2026): 1351288.