The Fossil Files
Podcast Description
In “The Fossil Files”, a pair of palaeontologists delve into the latest discoveries from the world of palaeontology and seek to bring fossils to back to life. Each episode, Susie and Rob will discuss an interesting new research paper ranging from topics of what dinosaurs ate, how plesiosaurs swam, where we came from, and the science of de-extinction. Whilst doing so, we peek under the hood of how the science of palaeontology is done and how research gets to see the light of day. It is for anybody interested in palaeontology and past life whether that is students, researchers themselves, or simply the fossil-curious - we laugh as we learn, and hope you will too.
Episode guide at https://fossils.libsyn.com/
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on various aspects of palaeontology, covering topics such as dinosaur diets, plesiosaur locomotion, human evolution, and the science of de-extinction, with episodes like a deep dive into exceptional preservation examples in Jurassic fossils and discussions about soft tissue analysis to reconstruct past life.
In “The Fossil Files”, a pair of palaeontologists delve into the latest discoveries from the world of palaeontology and seek to bring fossils to back to life. Each episode, Susie and Rob will discuss an interesting new research paper ranging from topics of what dinosaurs ate, how plesiosaurs swam, where we came from, and the science of de-extinction. Whilst doing so, we peek under the hood of how the science of palaeontology is done and how research gets to see the light of day. It is for anybody interested in palaeontology and past life whether that is students, researchers themselves, or simply the fossil-curious – we laugh as we learn, and hope you will too.
Episode guide at https://fossils.libsyn.com/
Pterosaurs dominated Mesozoic skies but it has always been a mystery where these flying reptiles came from. This week Susie and Rob discuss Pterosaur controveries and a cool new study that attempts to solve the problem of where and how they originated. How can you do this? By looking at the climate and locations of where pterosaurs lived and their closest relatives – the weird looking lagerpetids -, we can make predictions about how pterosaurs lived, thrived, and died. And maybe even where we should be looking for them…
Figure 4 from paper shows the authors predictions where in the Triassic world would have the right climate for Pterosaurs to live (left column) and Lagerpetids to live (right column).
The paper is “Climate drivers and palaeobiogeography of lagerpetids and early pterosaurs” published by Davide Foffa and colleauges in Nature Ecology and Evolution, June 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02767-8
Widescreen artwork: Gabriel Ugueto
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.