Terrible Lizards
Iszi Lawrence and David Hone
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Top 10 Terrible Lizards Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Terrible Lizards episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Terrible Lizards for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Terrible Lizards episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
TLS06E06 Alvarezsaurs
Terrible Lizards
03/16/22 • 65 min
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/
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TLS06E05 Evolution
Terrible Lizards
03/09/22 • 59 min
Evolution
In one way it’s more than a bit late to only talk about evolution when we are 6 and a bit series into Terrible Lizards and this should arguably have been episode 1 in series 1 but here we are. Evolution is the foundation for modern biology and the understanding that species and lineages change over time and also how that happens allows us to interpret those changes patterns. While we barely mention dinosaurs this episode and while we also soon go off the rails and end up talking about some odd bits of evolution and even (shudder) genetics, the core concept of how evolution works is really worth going over as it’s the framework for everything else we talk about. Hopefully this one will be illuminating.
Links:
An old post of Dave’s trying to get the most comprehensive description of natural selection into the fewest words. It might well be worth reading as a primer for this episode: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/natural-selection-stripped-down/
And a short post about variation: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/variation-and-selection/
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TLS08E07 Chewing Triceratops with Ali Nabavizadeh
Terrible Lizards
11/23/22 • 56 min
Dinosaur jaws and feeding with Ali Nabavizadeh
We started with theropod feeding but what about the herbivores? This week we’re joined by Ali Nabavizadeh who specialises in the jaws and teeth of the ornithischian dinosaurs and how these work and how this plays into their feeding ecology. This gives Dave ample opportunity to ask vexing questions about their jaws and elicit the same response he gives whenever asked about T. rex being a scavenger, but it does mean that Ali talks about how the hadrosaur dental battery works, how similar they are to ceratopsians and whether or not these animals have cheeks.
Links:
Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vert_Anatomist
Ali’s webpages: https://www.vet.upenn.edu/people/faculty-clinician-search/aliNabavizadeh
TLS07E05 Pteranodon
Terrible Lizards
06/29/22 • 58 min
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/
TLS07E06 Working with dinosaurs
Terrible Lizards
07/06/22 • 58 min
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/
TLS07E02 Pterosaurs in Motion
Terrible Lizards
06/08/22 • 61 min
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
TLs05E06 Torosaurus
Terrible Lizards
11/03/21 • 64 min
Way back in the mists of time (last year) we did a whole podcast on Triceratops, one of the most famous dinosaurs of all. But is Triceratops not all it seems and is it in fact just part of a growth series which results in the largest and oldest animals becoming another dinosaur entirely in Torosaurus? The answer is no, but the reasons why this was proposed and why it’s not the case are interesting in themselves and so we give over this episode to the ideas of changing dinosaurs and what we know about this. Then we get joined by Jay Foreman who asks... well lots but I don’t know what questions Iszi edited in when I wrote this.
Links:
An old blogpost that covers some of the issues Dave and Iszi discuss well: https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/age-changes-you-torosaurus-actually-just-old-triceratops/
An article on ‘Tiny’ the Torosaurus: https://www.anythinklibraries.org/spark/tiny-torosaurus
A link to Andy Farke’s paper on Nedoceratops with some great photos of this weird specimen: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cf50/7b4ce1751fdf11399bd7971f60da5857fda3.pdf
TL BONUS Dinosaur Education
Terrible Lizards
04/27/22 • 58 min
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
S03E06 Dinosaur Species and Taxonomy
Terrible Lizards
03/03/21 • 65 min
In this episode we take a look at the actual identification of dinosaurs. What makes a species a species and how does this apply to fossils that are a hundred million years old? From there we look to how dinosaurs get their names where things can go wrong when it comes to correctly identifying them. Our special guest this time out is Professor Chris Jackson, geologist and science communicator par excellence, who wants to ask Dave a very pertinent question about how dinosaurs are actually defined and so what is, and isn’t, a dinosaur.
Links:
An old blog post of Dave’s about why scientific names are important and using them correctly: https://www.theguardian.com/science/lost-worlds/2013/jun/19/dinosaurs-fossils
Another old blog post of Dave’s about the problem of variation in species and how different is different? https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/intraspecific-variation-and-taxonomy/
TLS09E01 Displaying Dinosaurs
Terrible Lizards
01/25/23 • 56 min
We are into series 9 now and still going, though starting with this episode, in a bid to be more consistent and less panicked about completing series and the gaps between, we’re moving to being a monthly podcast. So no end in sight yet for all you dinosaur (and sometimes pterosaur) lovers.
Anyway, we’re kicking off by talking about arguably the most common way that people encounter dinosaurs and that’s museum displays and exhibits. Dave and Iszi talk through how these things get set up, the constraints and compromises necessary and how to try and cater for all. Unsurprisingly, it’s rather complex to balance space, time, money, science, accessibility and protect the fossils on display. Hopefully, it gives some insight into how these things come to be and how they are supposed to work at least.
We also cover whether T Rex and other theropods had primate like numbers of telencephalic neurons and what this means. Were they really like baboons?
Links:
A blog post about the little exhibition on pterosaurs Dave put together way, way back in 2007: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/the-great-pterosaur-exhibition-of-2007/
A website covering the Titus exhibition that Dave helped to create: https://fourfamilyadventures.co.uk/titus-t-rex-is-king-wollaton-hall-nottingham/
The paper we discuss: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cne.25453
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FAQ
How many episodes does Terrible Lizards have?
Terrible Lizards currently has 99 episodes available.
What topics does Terrible Lizards cover?
The podcast is about Geology, Dinosaur, Natural Sciences, Nature, Podcasts, Science, Ancient and Paleontology.
What is the most popular episode on Terrible Lizards?
The episode title 'TLS06E05 Evolution' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Terrible Lizards?
The average episode length on Terrible Lizards is 56 minutes.
How often are episodes of Terrible Lizards released?
Episodes of Terrible Lizards are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Terrible Lizards?
The first episode of Terrible Lizards was released on Jun 1, 2020.
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