Terrible Lizards

This is perhaps the question that gets asked the most and so it's time to address it properly (well, we are 7 seasons in, we were going to get to it sooner or later). So this week we are talking about routes into palaeontology and all that involves, from 'classic' academic roles as a researcher at a university or museum, though to science writers, fossil preparators, illustrators and photographers and all manner of other palaeontologically related jobs and careers. As well as all that, we'll talk about those people who are actively engaged in research and publications without holding jobs or having qualifications in the field as they exist too. So hopefully this will answer some burning questions for many and enlighten others as to how everyone comes together (to argue with each other) in this field.

Links:

Dave's original essay on this subject: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/how-do-i-become-a-palaeontologist/

And a follow up with suggested books to read to become a palaeontologist: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2020/04/14/books-to-read-to-become-a-palaeontologist/

Perhaps the best known, and most often misrepresented, pterosaur is Pteranodon. It has become the archetypal pterosaur and is always in the background of every Mesozoic scene (especially with T. rex) to let you know that the pterosaurs are out there. But aside from being quite big and having a funky headcrest (like all the best pterosaurs do) it's an animal that is constantly overlooked even though we have more than a thousand specimens of it to work from. That's an odd combination so it's time that Pteranodon got some love and we took a look at one of the best known and most studied pterosaurs.

Links:

Mark Witton's blog post about the taxonomic confusion and identities of Pteranodon specimens https://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-pteranodon-complex-and-dismantling.html

Dave's blog post about the untimely end to one with a shark's tooth in its neck. https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2018/12/14/pteranodon-vs-cretoxyrhina/

From the very biggest to the smallest, anurognathids were the little fuzz balls of pterosaurs that barely reached 1m wingspan as adults. They were bat-like hawkers, catching insects on the wing with their giant gapes and tiny teeth. Although rare, like the azhdarchids we have recently had a flurry of finds and accompanying research on them which means that they have gone from one of the least to one of the best understood pterosaurs in short order. Better yet, they include several specimens with incredible preservation of the wings and pycnofibers (?feathers?) so they tell us a lot about pterosaurs generally, even while being weird even by pterosaur standards.

Do please support us on patreon

Links:

A blog post of Dave's about his recent review that summarised everything we (he) knew about anuroganthids. https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/revising-the-frog-mouthed-pterosaurs-the-anurognathids/

Another Dave post about the recently named Cascocauda and anurognathid growth https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2022/03/03/cascocauda-a-new-anurognathid-pterosaur/

If most people know one thing about pterosaurs (well one correct thing rather than them being flying dinosaurs or bird ancestors) it's that they got really big. At the top end they hit over 10 m in wingspan and probably over 250 kg, massively bigger than the largest flying birds (living or extinct). And all the real giants belonged to one group – the azhdarchids. These long-necked monsters were a real mystery for decades but a flurry of discoveries and research in recent years means we now have an excellent understanding of their ecology and weird proportions.

Links:

Dave's blog post about the Canadian azhdarchid he (fairly) recently named https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2019/09/10/welcome-cryodrakon-a-gaint-canadian-azhdarchid-pterosaur/

Darren Naish's blog about the recent big work finally describing Quetzalcoatlus https://tetzoo.com/blog/2021/12/8/the-quetz-monograph-lives

It's hopefully not a surprise at this point that pterosaurs were fully powered and capable fliers and that they were not passive gliders or could only get airbourne through jumping off of cliffs. While we do talk about flight here, it's not like that is all pterosaurs could do so we cover their abilities on the ground (and in trees) and take-off, and then whether or not they could dive, swim and how they floated in the water. It's a whole cornucopia of pterosaur locomotion through three states of matter (no known plasma locomotion yet) so listen in and enjoy.

Please support the podcast on patreon

Links:

A section on Pterosaur.net about the abilities of pterosaurs on the ground. http://pterosaur.net/terrestrial_locomotion.php

Another section of Pterosaur.net, but this time on flight http://pterosaur.net/flight.php

An old article by Dave about his work on pterosaurs floating in water https://www.theguardian.com/science/lost-worlds/2013/dec/11/life-on-the-ocean-wave-wasnt-easy-for-pterosaurs

We've run out of dinosaurs (stega what now?) and so thanks to popular demand (well, Dave's demand) we're doing (almost) an entire series on pterosaurs!

Everyone's favourite Mesozoic flying reptiles (well, Dave's favourite) are getting a series to spread their wings. We start with the namesake of the clade, Pterodactylus itself and something of the early history of pterosaur discoveries and research and the unusual interpretations that were floated for these incredibly strange (then and now) animals.

Please do support us on patreon! patreon.com/terriblelizards

Links:

The original episode we did on pterosaurs. If you've not listened to it before (or recently) you might want to revisit that before the rest of this series.

https://terriblelizards.libsyn.com/s03e02-ptserosaurs

Pterosaur.net is a site Dave set up with a bunch of other pterosaur researchers (many of whom often get a mention on TL). It's a bit dated but there's a lot of good stuff on here. http://pterosaur.net/index.php

An old blog post of Dave's including the 'flying possums' picture https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/early-pterosaur-reconstructions/

This is a bonus episode previously released to our patrons on Patreon. If you want to support us, and get more content please visit patreon.com/terriblelizards.

Terrible Lizards is, at least in theory, there for dinosaur lovers of all ages and backgrounds, but podcasting is just one way to communicate with the public about dinosaurs and it's probably not the first one you would think of. Joining us this time out is Ashley Hall, a science communicator and outreach officer at the famous Museum of the Rockies and someone who specialises in talking to the public about their amazing dinosaur collection. So in the episode Dave and Iszi chat to Ashley about the challenges of talking about dinosaurs and palaeontology to different audiences and the influences of pop culture (i.e. we moan about Camp Cretaceous).

Links:

Ashley's Linktree to all her things: https://linktr.ee/Lady_Naturalist

Facebook group on Paleontology Education: https://www.facebook.com/groups/877919522277386

twitter @LadyNaturalist

Instagram: @Lady_Naturalist

The Questions episode!

Untapped fossils, bad evolution, therapod bites, spaniel ears, courtship dances and MORE!

Big thanks to everyone who sent in their questions.

Martin, Glen, Mathew, Sam, Kim (https://kimralls.co.uk/), Gutza, Robbie, John, Marlon aaaand John.

We will be back in the summer - please do support us on Patreon, where we will be adding some extra content. Also BUY DAVE'S BOOK - The Future of Dinosaurs or in the USA: How fast does a T-rex run? Aaaand it is available as an AUDIOBOOK on audible, so no excuse ;).

And of course you should also check out Iszi's books which have extant dinosaurs in them... well, a chicken called Susan. iszi.com/books

Do please keep in touch - we love to hear from everyone - @iszi_lawrence and @dave_hone on twitter.

The Future of Dinosaurs

No guest this week as Dave manages to ramble on for an entire hour on his own again (well, Ok, Iszi helps him ramble). To be fair, he's got a new book out and since its 80 000 words of dinosaur ideas we thought we should cover it and it was never easily going to fit into 40 minutes. What's this amazing [citation needed] new book on? Well it's all about what we don't know about dinosaurs and the gaps in our knowledge – what we might work out soon (or at least one day in the future) and what things it might be impossible to work out and ever have any good ideas beyond some educated guesswork. This isn't just a plug for the book (honest) but really a discussion of some of the ideas and implications (but of course you can buy it too. Go on. Please?). Hopefully it's some nice ideas to think about and it is certainly unusual to talk about the info we don't have rather than what we do.

Links:

Well the obvious one here let's be honest is the link to buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Dinosaurs-What-Dont-Never/dp/1473692245/

Alvarezsaurs

From a micro dinosaur to the very smallest, this time out we're looking at the little alvarezsaurs which include the smallest of the non-avian dinosaurs and with several species that were the tiniest yet found in the Mesozoic. Dr Steve Cross joins us to analyse a popular work of dinosaur fiction.

Dr Steve Cross is a an incredible consultant and STEM communicator. Find him, follow him, employ him. http://www.scienceshowoff.org/

Links:

A blogpost about Linhenykus: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/linhenykus-the-very-model-of-modern-mongol-errr-alverasaur/

And one on the (possible) early alvarezsaur Haplocheirus by its describer, Jonah Choiniere: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/guest-post-haplocheirus-–-the-skilful-one/