Caecilians, sometimes known as ‘blind worms’, are a lesser-known group of lissamphibians (all living amphibians). Most modern caecilians are all fossorial (burrowing) and are restricted to the moist soils and leaf litter of tropical forests. Adaptation to this specific ecology has led to radical modification of their bodies, from fusion of the bones in the...

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Palaeontology (dinosaurs in particular) is incredibly well represented in nearly all forms of popular media today. From documentaries and films to computer games and even specialist podcasts. But where did the public fascination in dinosaurs come from? Has it always been there, ever since the existence of dinosaurs was first revealed, or has interest grown...

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Computer games are a colossal industry, eclipsing those of both film and music combined. With so many people playing games, and with so many titles focussing on palaeontological themes, should we be concerned about the accuracy and quality of their content? Joining us for this episode are Thomas Clements and Jake Atterby (both of the...

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Scleromochlus is an animal that has been known for over 100 years, and has been frequently suggested as being an ancestor to pterosaurs. It hails from the Late Triassic of Scotland, and there are fewer than 10 specimens known. Unfortunately the preservation of this small reptile means that it is very difficult to interpret. However,...

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The end-Cretaceous mass extinction was caused by a large asteroid that struck the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Within an instant, the course of history was altered and the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. As we piece together the timeline of the event, assisted by such amazing sites as Tanis, we can’t help but think “what if the...

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The year 2022 marks the 175th anniversary of The Palaeontographical Society. Established in 1847, PalSoc is the world’s oldest Society devoted specifically to the advancement of palaeontological knowledge. The primary role of PalSoc initially was to promote the description and illustration of British fossils, which it does through its monographs. These set the standard for...

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Bolca is a site of exceptional preservation of fossils (termed a konservat lagerstätte) located close to Verona, Italy. This 50 million year old limestone was deposited in the Eocene Epoch and contains over 500 species of plants, arthropods terrestrial vertebrates and most notably a lot of fish! The preservation at Bolca is so detailed that...

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In the last few years there has been lots of new work on the iconic Spinosaurus – was it aquatic? What about its relatives? What kind of evidence can we look at to tell us this answer? In this episode we speak with Dr. Matteo Fabbri, from the Field Museum of Chicago, who has been...

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Marrellomorphs are the group of early Paleozoic arthropods that get their name from the well-known Burgess Shale fossil Marrella splendens. They have for a long time been considered to be closely related to the trilobites, based on similarities in their gills, whilst other studies have suggested they could be closer related to mandibulate arthropods (crustaceans,...

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Sloths (or do you pronounce it “sloths”?), are a group of tree-dwelling xenarthrans from South and Central America. They are well known for their sedentary lifestyles where they just hang around and seemingly do fairly little. But has this always been the case? When we look back at the fossil record of sloths, what kinds...

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