Fossils and Fiction

Compsognathus in a handbag. Microraptor as a pet crow. Sauropod methane energy. You're welcome.We sit down with Professor Amy Brock-Hon from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga — Alyssa's old alma mater — to talk caves, karst, and why a good geology degree might be the most versatile qualification you've never considered. Then we dig into a 2025 paper claiming scientists have found original collagen inside a 66-million-year-old Edmontosaurus hip bone — and ask what that means for the long-running soft tissue debate. Which leads us, naturally, to de-extinction — what we'd bring back, why, and whether Colossal Biosciences hatching chickens from synthetic eggs means we're closer to an answer than we'd like to admit.Tuinstra et al. (2025), "Evidence for Endogenous Collagen in Edmontosaurus Fossil Bone," Analytical Chemistry. DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c03115Fossils and Fiction is kept ad-free by our members. Join The Fossil Record via our website, or grab some merch from our Fourthwall store. Fossils and Fiction is a production of Extinction Media.

We're road tripping across Queensland for Queensland Dinosaur Week. Featuring interviews with experts from the Queensland Museum, Eromanga Natural History Museum, Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum (Winton), and Kronosaurus Korner (Richmond), we find out what's happening across the state from May 4-10, 2026. For more info, check out https://dinosaurexperiences.com/queensland-dinosaur-week-2026/

Travis went to Europe and Alyssa went to Chattanooga. All to find out more about your favourite fossils. We bring you some news on extraordinary palaeo discoveries, a fascinating interview with Dr Indrani Mukherjee about the state of geoscience in Australia and her research into Earth's earliest life, and Alyssa ranks 2025's big hits (come at her).__ Tess Gallagher, Dan Folkes, Michael Pittman, Tom G. Kaye, Glenn W. Storrs, Jason Schein; Fossilized melanosomes reveal colour patterning of a sauropod dinosaur. R Soc Open Sci. 1 December 2025; 12 (12): 251232. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251232Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E., Jaramillo, C. et al. Cretaceous amber of Ecuador unveils new insights into South America’s Gondwanan forests. Commun Earth Environ 6, 745 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02625-2

Seals. What do they know? Do they know things? Let's find out. Dr James Rule gives lets us in on the secrets of the seals, covering their evolution, fossil history, and some challenges with modern marine mammal research. James tells us the best and worst seal and lays down the terms to the whales. Also, it's Halloween, so we take a look at some creepy museum exhibitions. __Flynn, A. G., Brusatte, S. L., Chiarenza, A. A., García, J., Davis, A. J., Secord, R., Shelley, S., Weil, A., Heizler, M. T., Williamson, T. E., & Peppe, D. J. (2025). Late-surviving New Mexican dinosaurs illuminate high end-Cretaceous diversity and provinciality.Sereno, P. C., Saitta, E. T., Vidal, D., Myhrvold, N., Real, M. C., Baumgart, S. L., Bop, L. L., Keillor, T. M., Eriksen, M., & Derstler, K. (2025). Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template “mummification.” Science, science.adw3536. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw3536

Virtual Paleo Art Gallery curator Karim talks the intersection of art, technology, and community building. Meanwhile, Alyssa and Travis discuss some historical paleo and museum heists. Check out the palaeo art gallery here https://extinctfineart.com/virtual-paleoart-gallery/

Alyssa and Travis delve into a fascinating new paper on dinosaur tracks, dubbed the 'Dinosaur Dance Floor.' They discuss the implications of the findings, including the behavior of ceratopsians and tyrannosaurs. The conversation shifts to exciting announcements in paleontology, including a new season of Prehistoric Planet. They also interview shark palaeontologist Ben Francischelli, exploring the megalodon and other ancient sharks. The episode concludes with a fun 'Would You Rather' segment. More info: Bell, P. R., Pickles, B. J., Ashby, S. C., Walker, I. E., Hurst, S., Rampe, M., Durkin, P., & Brown, C. M. (2025). A ceratopsid-dominated tracksite from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. PLOS ONE, 20(7), e0324913. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324913 Ben's website: https://www.benfrancischelli.com/

From Part 2 of our interview with palaeontologist and palaeoartist Mark Witton featuring chat on AI, to news about the origins of teeth, and a very difficult game of 'guess that fossil', this episode has a little bit of everything. More info: King Tyrant on AmazonHaridy, Y., Norris, S.C.P., Fabbri, M. et al. The origin of vertebrate teeth and evolution of sensory exoskeletons. Nature 642, 119–124 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08944-w

Palaeo artist James Pascoe shares his lifelong fascination with dinosaurs and how it has shaped his journey. He discusses the importance of community in the paleo art world and the role of engagement in science communication. We discuss new research showing the origin of tyrannosaurs may have been in Asia and also how megaraptors arose and spread throughout Gondwana. And another new paper pushes back the origin of tetrapods and (maybe) places it in the southern continents. __Long, J. A., Niedźwiedzki, G., Garvey, J., Clement, A. M., Camens, A. B., Eury, C. A., Eason, J., & Ahlberg, P. E. (2025). Earliest amniote tracks recalibrate the timeline of tetrapod evolution. Nature, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08884-5Morrison, C., Scherer, C. R., O’Callaghan, E. V., Layton, C., Boisvert, C., Rolando, M. A., Durrant, L., Salas, P., Allain, S. J. R., & Gascoigne, S. J. L. (2025). Rise of the king: Gondwanan origins and evolution of megaraptoran dinosaurs. Royal Society Open Science, 12(5). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242238

This conversation explores the fascinating and often humorous world of paleontology hoaxes, from the infamous Piltdown Man to the Cardiff Giant. Alyssa and Travis discuss various historical and modern examples of scientific fraud, the implications of these hoaxes on the scientific community, and the lessons learned about integrity in research. They also touch on the cultural significance of these hoaxes and how they reflect societal beliefs and values.__Palaeo Pulse: McCurry, M. R., Gill, A. C., Baranov, V., Hart, L. J., Slatyer, C., & Frese, M. (2025). The paleobiology of a new osmeriform fish species from Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2445684

Alyssa interviews Dr. Phoebe McInerney about her research on Genyornis, a giant flightless bird from Australia. The conversation explores Phoebe's journey into palaeontology, her research, and the significance of outreach and education in the field. We also touch on the brilliant new research on Australian theropods published by Jake Kotevski and friends and play a little game of 'Who Am I? Extinct Edition'. More: McInerney, P., Blokland, J., & Worthy, T. (2024, June 3). New fossils show what Australia’s giant prehistoric ‘thunder birds’ looked like – and offer clues about how they died out. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/new-fossils-show-what-australias-giant-prehistoric-thunder-birds-looked-like-and-offer-clues-about-how-they-died-out-221599Kotevski, J., Duncan, R. J., Ziegler, T., Bevitt, J. J., Vickers-Rich, P., Rich, T. H., Evans, A. R., & Poropat, S. F. (n.d.). Evolutionary and paleobiogeographic implications of new carcharodontosaurian, megaraptorid, and unenlagiine theropod remains from the upper Lower Cretaceous of Victoria, southeast Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 0(0), e2441903. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2441903

Join hosts Alyssa and Travis as they welcome palaeontologist Colin Boisvert for a chat about Allosaur diversity, sauropod niche partitioning and more. Colin offers an insider's look at the challenges and excitement of studying dinosaurs, from complex taxonomies to ecological mysteries. The episode takes a fun turn with a special segment where listeners help name the show's mascots, and the hosts figure out how to (hypothetically) fight prehistoric animals. ___ Colin Boisvert X/Twitter: https://x.com/colin_boisvert Colin Boisvert Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colinboisvert1/ Barker, C. T., Handford, L., Naish, D., Wills, S., Hendrickx, C., Hadland, P., Brockhurst, D., & Gostling, N. J. (2024). Theropod dinosaur diversity of the lower English Wealden: Analysis of a tooth-based fauna from the Wadhurst Clay Formation (Lower Cretaceous: Valanginian) via phylogenetic, discriminant and machine learning methods. Papers in Palaeontology, 10(6), e1604. https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.1604 Zev Landes https://www.zevlandes.com/

Pterosaur expert and PhD student Adele Pentland discusses the discovery and description of the newest and most complete Australian pterosaur, Haliskia peterseni. The fossil was found in Australia and is 100 million years old. Adele explains the unique features of Haliskia, including its large wingspan, interlocking teeth, and long throat bones. The conversation places Haliskia in context with other Aussie pterosaurs and pterosaur families from around the world. She also discusses the importance of museums like Kronosaurus Korner and the Australian Age of Dinosaurs in promoting paleotourism and supporting local communities. Adele shares her optimism for future discoveries of pterosaurs in Australia and highlights the significance of these findings for scientific research and public interest. _ More info: Adele's podcast Pals in Palaeo https://palsinpalaeo.com/ Kronosaurus Korner https://www.kronosauruskorner.com.au/ The Conversation article on Haliskia https://theconversation.com/100-million-year-old-fossil-find-reveals-huge-flying-reptile-that-patrolled-australias-inland-sea-231393 Scientific Reports paper describing Haliskia https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-60889-8 Scientific Reports paper describing Ferrodraco lentoni https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49789-4

Amanda Perry, science communicator and palaeoartist, discusses her love for bugs and extinct animals. Amanda believes it is important to show vibrancy in representing animals, including extinct ones, through her artwork. She shares her journey into becoming a palaeoartist and science communicator, which involved working at science center cafeteria. Amanda's career now involves science communication through social media and creating art commissions. Amanda also expresses her passion for dinosaurs and how her grandfather's encouragement fueled her love for them. She discusses the influence of Jurassic Park and the artwork associated with the film. Check out Amanda's Instagram @perryology101