Paleo Bites

(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/Irritator-Andrey-Atuchin_efcd.jpg)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Irritator, a dinosaur with a hilarious name and a not-so-hilarious backstory on how it got it. From the Early Cretaceous, this 25-foot spinosaurid shares a kindred spirit with little brothers everywhere, or at least this particular little brother. I have three older sisters, okay? They can all verify just how irritating I was.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquilops by Nobu Tamura)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Aquilops, an absolutely adorable little critter and one of the best candidates for a dinosaur that would make a great pet. From the Mid Cretaceous, this 2-foot ceratopsian was a transitionary fossil between the more basal members of its family like Psittacosaurus and the slightly more derived members like Protoceratops. But I guess that's just how evolution works, I suppose.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/Styracosaurus0001_0e99.jpg)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Styracosaurus, a dinosaur who spikes unsuspecting predators just as people at New Year's Eve parties spike unsuspecting drinks. From the Late Cretaceous, this 18-foot centrosaurine ceratopsian was the most famous horned dinosaur other than Triceratops, which is a good place to be. It's always good to have that one friend to count on when the more popular one isn't available. I would know.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/Amphicoelias_3a81.jpg)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Amphicoelias, a dinosaur once thought to have reached absolutely godly sizes but then science had to be all lame and progress. From the Late Jurassic, this 90-foot diplodocid sauropod is the biggest anticlimax in paleontological history, having been downgraded from a nigh-mythical titan to a large-ish commonfolk. Wah-waaah.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Gigantopithecus, the closest nature has come to King Kong. From the Late Pleistocene, this 12-foot-tall ape lived in the few jungles that weathered the dry Ice Age climate and tore people's arms off if they beat them at space chess. Oh wait, that's Chewbacca. My mistake.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/744642119611063504/)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Zby, a longneck dinosaur with a name so unfathomably silly there's no way in hell it should be real. From the Late Jurassic, this 59-foot turiasaurian sauropod roamed in great herds across the Portuguese coastline... sorry, I can't help but snicker. "A herd of Zby roams across the coastline." Try hearing Kenneth Branagh say that in a documentary!

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://www.deviantart.com/sanciusart/art/Nuralagus-rex-recon-808748972)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Nuralagus rex, a large relative of rabbits that's maybe overcompensating a bit by having rex as a species name. From the Pliocene epoch, this 3-foot lagomorph lived on a remote island in the Mediterranean where it promptly became an evolutionary dead-end and went extinct as soon as there were any changes to its ecosystem. Lame.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://www.deviantart.com/hamish1512201/art/Atrociraptor-Marshalli-842072048)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Atrociraptor, a genus name so edgy that Shadow the Hedgehog would think it's too much. From the Late Cretaceous period, this 7-foot dromaeosaurid lasted until 67 million years ago, just before the big Cretaceous extinction event. It was so cool, it knew exactly when to leave. We should all aspire to be like Atrociraptor.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://ideas.fandom.com/wiki/Palaeoloxodon_recki_(SciiFii))

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Palaeoloxodon, a genus of elephant that had species ranging from the biggest land mammals of all time to miniature ones the size of large dogs. From the Late Pleistocene, this 3 to 18-foot-tall pachyderm was the closest real-life version of the mumakil from Lord of the Rings. In fact, Tolkien said in the original text that they were specifically the size of prehistoric elephants. He meant these. The big species, though, not the dwarf variants.

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(image source: https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/934675/view/hallucigenia-sparsa-invertebrate-illustration)

Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Hallucigenia, the most WTF species ever featured on this podcast, and that's saying something. From the Mid Cambrian, this 1-inch invertebrate may have been a velvet worm, an early arthropod, or a more bygone creature, but one thing it certainly was is... actually, I have no idea. Seriously, what the hell is this thing?!

Want to further support the show? Sign up to our Patreon for exclusive bonus content here. Also, you can purchase Matthew Donald's dinosaur book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here, or its final installment "Megazoic: An Era's End" by clicking here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.