Have you ever wanted to know more about animals without backbones (invertebrates)? In this episode, Dr. Jen Bauer, Collections Manager at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, talks to us all about invertebrates and the 2 million fossils in the museum that she manages! She tells us all about sea urchins, sea stars, and what its like to work with 2 million fossils! She describes ancient invertebrates and how she studies family trees going back hundreds of millions of years! 

Here are links to things we've mentioned throughout the episode:

University of Michigan’s online fossil repository https://umorf.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/wp/

Dr. Bauer’s website Time Scavengers https://timescavengers.blog/

Venomous sea urchins -  https://www.liveabout.com/are-sea-urchin-spines-venomous-2962963

Sea star stomach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DFXGafpGkQ

Fossil Focus: Blastoids  https://www.palaeontologyonline.com/articles/2018/fossil-focus-blastoids/

For listeners to explore other fossil types:  https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/vc/

Heart urchin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteraster#/media/File:Heteraster_oblongus.jpg

Devonian sea star: http://michiganbasinfossils.org/viewrecord/8

Cryptoschisma: https://www.steinkern.de/steinkern-de-galerie/spanien/blastoidea-cryptoschisma-schultzii-de-verneuil-d-archiac-1845-12855.html