So, you want to become a fossil?

08/15/24 • 30 min

2 Listeners

So, you want to become a fossil? Good luck with that! There’s a whole sequence of things that need to take place in order for that to happen, and in this episode of Palaeo Jam, we explore those steps, and how unlikely it is that you will be able to complete all of them.

Recorded underground in Blanch Cave, in the Naracoorte Caves, South Australia, this episode sees host Michael Mills in conversation with PhD candidate Nerita Turner. Nerita’s work focuses on the modes of accumulation of large animal remains in caves, and we explore the unlikelihood becoming a fossil through the lens of her work. In order to become a fossil in a cave, you need to get into a cave in the first place. How does this impact on the size and kinds of animals that might then become fossils within a cave?

During the conversation Nerita describes the fossil record as “Infamously incomplete”. So, how incomplete is it? Consider the following... There are 1400 dinosaur species of dinosaurs that have been discovered and named across the entire Mesozoic, while right now there are around 11 000 species of living dinosaurs, in birds. How many dinosaur species lived across the entire 186 million year period of the Mesozoic? We will never know.

Of course, what we do know, is truly remarkable, and a testament to the work of so many. Palaeontology is able to provide us with some remarkable insights into past lives. to uncover past lives. It is important, however, to understand, that we get to see will only ever be a tiny glimpse of the extraordinary natural history, of this most astonishing planet.

Nerita Turner is a PhD Candidate at the University of Adelaide. Her research focuses on the modes of accumulation of large animal remains in caves, with a particular focus on fossil sites within the Naracoorte Caves region.

You can find Nerita on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nerita_turner

Check out the following article, by Nerita and Dr Elizabeth Reed...

“Using historical research to constrain the provenance and age of the first recorded collection of extinct Pleistocene large mammal fossils from the Naracoorte Caves, South Australia.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/M7JARRBWBXBWDCFDGIIY/full?target=10.1080/03721426.2023.2188442

Michael occasionally pops in to the strange place that is Twitter at @heapsgood https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity

At Palaeo Jam, we now have an Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/palaeo_jam

You can find Nerita on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nerita_turner

Check out the following article, by Nerita and Dr Elizabeth Reed...

“Using historical research to constrain the provenance and age of the first recorded collection of extinct Pleistocene large mammal fossils from the Naracoorte Caves, South Australia.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/M7JARRBWBXBWDCFDGIIY/full?target=10.1080/03721426.2023.2188442

Michael occasionally pops in to the strange place that is Twitter at @heapsgood https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity

At Palaeo Jam, we now have an Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/palaeo_jam

Previous Episode

From where pterosaurs dwell

In this episode of Palaeo Jam, host Michael Mills begins the conversation with Dr Natalia Jagielska, Engagement & Collections Curator at the Lyme Regis Museum by chatting about palaeontology pioneer Mary Anning, and what it means to be working in the very space Mary’s home in Lyme Regis once occupied. As the conversation continues, we learn about the first pterosaur ever found in Scotland, Dearc sgiathanach, and what it tells us about pterosaur evolution. In so doing, we reflect on the unique connection between Natalia and Mary, given Mary’s discovery of the first known pterosaur in England, Dimorphodon macronyx. The two also discuss a subject central to both Natalia and Michael’s professional working life, the connection between art and science.

This is the first episode of Palaeo Jam to feature a guest from beyond the shores of Australia. May there be many more!

Head to Natalia’s website to see links to her research, public outreach, and awesome palaeo art...

https://natalia-jagielska.weebly.com/

You can find Natalia on Twitter at... @wrycritic

https://x.com/WryCritic

To access the original paper, authored by Natalia et al on the Scottish pterosaur Dearc sgiathanach, head to...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098222200135X

For links to the Lyme Regis Museum, check out...

https://linktr.ee/lymemuseum

There’s a song about pterosaurs on the Professor Flint/Gemma Dandie album, “These Curious Things”, and you can watch a video of the song here... https://youtu.be/_ZJzRVO8ZK4?si=w2r39cTFVmiRijTo

You can find links to the album, and more information about Mary Anning, here... https://linktr.ee/thesecuriousthings

Michael occasionally pops in to the strange place that is Twitter at @heapsgood https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity

At Palaeo Jam, we now have an Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/palaeo_jam

This is the second episode in Season 3 in which pterosaurs feature. Check out Episode 3 in which Michael chats with vertebrate Palaeontologist and expert in Australian pterosaurs Adele Pentland of the “Pals in Palaeo” podcast about Australian pterosaurs, about each of their podcasts, and about science heroes...

https://palaeojam.podbean.com/e/me-and-my-palaeo-pal/

Next Episode

A remarkable journey continues

1 Recommendations

Just over 12 months ago, as part of National Science Week, we spoke with Eleanor Beidatsch, in an episode titled, “A Journey into accessibility: Digging for fossils from a wheelchair.” Since that episode, Eleanor has graduated from the University of New England with First Class Honours, been awarded the $130,000 #ElevateSTEM scholarship for postgraduate research from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and has started her Masters!

As we noted in the notes to last year’s episode, “as a nine year old, Eleanor dreamed of being a palaeontologist, but always presumed her advanced physical disability, and use of a wheelchair would make “digging about in the dirt for fossils” impossible.”

In this episode of Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills chats with Eleanor about another remarkable 12 months, and about what lies ahead as she continues her brilliant journey in the world of palaeontology, and follows her fascination with prehistoric velvet worms!

Check out this story from the ABC about Eleanor’s graduation...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-26/eleanor-beidatsch-graduates-first-class-honours-geoscience/103839886

Here’s a link to last year’s episode with Eleanor...

https://palaeojam.podbean.com/e/a-journey-into-accessibility-digging-for-fossils-from-a-wheelchair/

Check out this video from Eleanor’s YouTube channel of her remarkable adventure in 2016, to a paleontological dig in the opal rich desert town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTGxIR_yaNo

Here’s a story about Eleanor’s journey on the University of New England’s website...

https://www.une.edu.au/connect/news/2022/09/unearthing-discrimination-in-science

Along with studying palaeontology, Eleanor is a disability rights journalist, and writes for the ABC...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/eleanor-beidatsch/101651018

Here’s a link to the Elevate STEM website...

https://www.atse.org.au/what-we-do/pathways-into-through-stem/elevate/

You can find Eleanor on Instagram at...

https://www.instagram.com/eleanor.beidatsch/

And on Twitter at...

https://twitter.com/EBeidatsch

Here’s a link to Eleanor’s blog Accessible 4 Me...