Palaeo After Dark

After spending 2 hours fighting the internet (drinking the whole time), the gang finally starts recording a bit tipsy and ends the evening fairly wasted. And like an e-mail sent after a long night out at the bars, they record a podcast on properties of higher taxa that they immediately regret in the sobering light of day. References Humphreys, Aelys M., and Timothy G. Barraclough. "The evolutionary reality of higher taxa in mammals." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281.1783 (2014): 20132750. Paul G. Harnik, Paul C. Fitzgerald, Jonathan L. Payne, and Sandra J. Carlson. “Phylogenetic signal in extinction selectivity in Devonian terebratulide brachiopods.” Paleobiology, 40(4):675-692. (2014)

The gang stumbles their way through several papers about kangaroos, particularly focusing on a meat eating rat kangaroo. Also, stressed and annoyed at the current internet climate, James and Curt spend most of the podcast relentlessly mocking GamerGate while Amanda decides to ignore them and play with the cat. Also.... texting. Scientific References Wroe, Stephen. "Killer kangaroos and other murderous marsupials." Scientific American 280.5 (1999): 68-74. Wroe, Stephen, Jenni Brammall, and Bernard N. Cooke. "The skull of Ekaltadeta ima (Marsupialia, Hypsiprymnodontidae?): an analysis of some marsupial cranial features and a re-investigation of propleopine phylogeny, with notes on the inference of carnivory in mammals." Journal of Paleontology(1998): 738-751. Janis, Christine M., Karalyn Buttrill, and Borja Figueirido. "Locomotion in extinct giant kangaroos: were sthenurines hop-less monsters?." PloS one 9.10 (2014): e109888. Summary of the current internet toxicity (Trigger warning, rape and death threats) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/technology/gamergate-women-video-game-threats-anita-sarkeesian.html?_r=0 http://deadspin.com/the-future-of-the-culture-wars-is-here-and-its-gamerga-1646145844 http://jezebel.com/gamergate-trolls-arent-ethics-crusaders-theyre-a-hate-1644984010 and some catharsis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr2JPjhtGZA

James, Curt, Liam, Brendan, and Aly discuss talks from the final paleo sessions at GSA 2014, and Brendan makes an impassioned plea to conserve a vital resource.

Amanda and the cat skype in to see what’s been going on at the Vancouver GSA 2014 meeting. Also, James’s brain is so broken that it makes a pun that doesn’t exist.

James, Curt, Liam, and Aly join up with biogeochemists Brendan and Charity to discuss some of the GSA 2014 paleontology talks, as well as the difference between a creek and a crick.

James and Curt are joined by fellow paleontologists Liam and Aly to discuss paleo talks from the first day of the Geological Society of America Meeting 2014 in Vancouver, as well as unusual Swiftian food sources.

The gang discusses the new Spinosaurus material while also trying to completely alienate their audience, starting at jingoistic humor and ending with mass suicide jokes. Meanwhile, Amanda discusses her misgivings about musicals, James compares the other podcast hosts to Peanuts characters, and Curt struggles to understand a perplexing metaphor. References: Rayfield, EMILY J. "Structural performance of tetanuran theropod skulls, with emphasis on the Megalosauridae, Spinosauridae and Charcharo− dontosauridae." Special Papers in Palaeontology 86 (2011): 241-253. Ibrahim, Nizar, et al. "Semiaquatic adaptations in a giant predatory dinosaur."Science 345.6204 (2014): 1613-1616.

In this episode, the gang concludes their marathon of prerecorded episodes with two papers about the biomechanics of the Terror Birds. We also talk about chukars for pretty much no reason. Also, Curt freaks out about birds, James starts a rumor about Aristotle, and Amanda is assaulted by her cat. References: Blanco, R. Ernesto, and Washington W. Jones. "Terror birds on the run: a mechanical model to estimate its maximum running speed." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 272.1574 (2005): 1769-1773. Degrange, Federico J., et al. "Mechanical analysis of feeding behavior in the extinct “terror bird” Andalgalornis steulleti (Gruiformes: Phorusrhacidae)." PloS one 5.8 (2010): e11856.

In this episode of Palaeo After Dark, the gang discusses the complicated history of Hallucigenia, and somehow gets completely derailed into rambling conversations about Star Trek 5, proper pronunciation, Gould’s “Wonderful Life”, microwave ovens, the effects of aging on your storytelling abilities, natural kinds versus individuals, puppy petting, poor puns, minions, food, Hell and Michael Bolton, LSD, oracles, stilt walkers, emus, otaku cat people, evolutionary convergence, My Little Pony, tripe, confusing a camera with a mouth, rubber bands, contingency, the importance of bricks, improper ways to train your cat/James, choking hazard candies, milk allergies, sharing, and historically important beers. Also, Amanda shares her reconstruction of Hallucigenia in its natural habitat (why it has a shapely pair of human legs, no one can say). If you want to get the point where we actually start talking about science, skip to 19:39 (it’s one of those podcasts). References: Ramsköld, Lars. "The second leg row of Hallucigenia discovered." Lethaia 25.2 (1992): 221-224. Hou, Xianguang, and Jan Bergström. "Cambrian lobopodians–ancestors of extant onychophorans?." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114.1 (1995): 3-19. Gould, Stephen Jay. Wonderful life: the Burgess Shale and the nature of history. Random House, 2000. Smith, Martin R., and Javier Ortega-Hernández. "Hallucigenia/'s onychophoran-like claws and the case for Tactopoda." Nature (2014).

In this episode, the gang spirals into insanity while discussing a strange paper about hippo biogeography. Also, James discusses childhood cartoon trauma, Amanda graduates from beer to vodka, and Curt lowers the bar. References: Mazza, Paul. "If hippopotamuses cannot swim, how did they colonize islands?." Lethaia (2014). Geer, Alexandra AE, George Anastasakis, and George A. Lyras. "If hippopotamuses cannot swim, how did they colonize islands: a reply to Mazza." Lethaia (2014).

In this episode, the gang discusses two papers that look at the ecology of the early life forms of the Ediacaran period. Also, James discusses the American dream, Curt details the secrets of the podcast's "success", and Amanda is nearly murdered by her cat. References: Carbone, Calla, and Guy M. Narbonne. "When life got smart: the evolution of behavioral complexity through the Ediacaran and early Cambrian of NW Canada." Journal of Paleontology 88.2 (2014): 309-330. Cuthill, Jennifer F. Hoyal, and Simon Conway Morris. "Fractal branching organizations of Ediacaran rangeomorph fronds reveal a lost Proterozoic body plan." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2014): 201408542.

This week, instead of picking papers with a similar theme the gang decided to talk about the craziest papers they could find. The end result: yetis and airplanes... Maybe this was a mistake. Meanwhile, James describes his theory of automobile evolution, Amanda discusses swimming polar bears, and Curt describes the life and times of the podcast gang in Tomodachi Life. References: Sykes, Bryan C., et al. "Genetic analysis of hair samples attributed to yeti, bigfoot and other anomalous primates." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281.1789 (2014): 20140161. Miller, Webb, et al. "Sequencing the nuclear genome of the extinct woolly mammoth." Nature 456.7220 (2008): 387-390. Barnett, Ross, et al. "Evolution of the extinct Sabretooths and the American cheetah-like cat." Current Biology 15.15 (2005): R589-R590. Bejan, A., J. D. Charles, and S. Lorente. "The evolution of airplanes." Journal of Applied Physics 116.4 (2014): 044901. Gould, Stephen Jay. "Entropic homogeneity isn't why no one hits. 400 any more." Discover, August (1986): 60-66.

In this episode of Palaeo After Dark, the gang discusses two papers that use morphometric analysis to test how strongly ecology imprints on evolution, which culminates in Curt drunkenly stumbling his way through hierarchy theory. Also, James and Curt talk about the wonder that is Machete Kills, and Amanda wins an argument only using the word “meh”. References Mitchell, Jonathan S., and Peter J. Makovicky. "Low ecological disparity in Early Cretaceous birds." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281.1787 (2014): 20140608. Hopkins, Melanie J. "The environmental structure of trilobite morphological disparity." Paleobiology 40.3 (2014): 352-373. Eldredge, Niles, and Stanley N. Salthe. "Hierarchy and evolution." Oxford surveys in evolutionary biology 1 (1984): 184-208.

In this week's episode we discuss a paper about using paleobotany to reconstruct paleoclimate, and then spin this discussion into a longer talk about niche conservatism. Meanwhile, Curt violates Godwin's Law by comparing something that is merely horribly unethical with something that is an absolute evil, James gives the Internet and by extension the world an ultimatum, and Amanda confesses to serial herbicide. We also completely mess up our discussion of what stomatal density is used as a proxy for (hint: it’s actually CO2 concentration.... but we apparently forgot that). References: Utescher, T., et al. "The Coexistence Approach–theoretical background and practical considerations of using plant fossils for climate quantification."Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (2014). Crisp, Michael D., et al. "Phylogenetic biome conservatism on a global scale."Nature 458.7239 (2009): 754-756.

What started as a simple conversation about the Island Rule and small sauropods quickly became a fight for survival as the internet itself rose up to destroy the group. Separated and alone, silenced and cut off by the terrors of this monstrous world wide web, the gang fights to salvage a podcast from the terrible dreck that is, "Horror on Podcast Island 3". THRILL as Curt creates the perfect designer pet. SCREAM when James details his bizarre dreams. And NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED TO THE THEATER when Amanda destroys all evidence of her involvement with the show. References: Marpmann, Jean Sebastian, et al. "Cranial anatomy of the Late Jurassic dwarf sauropod Europasaurus holgeri (Dinosauria, Camarasauromorpha): ontogenetic changes and size dimorphism." Journal of Systematic Palaeontology ahead-of-print (2014): 1-43. Benton, Michael J., et al. "Dinosaurs and the island rule: The dwarfed dinosaurs from Haţeg Island." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 293.3 (2010): 438-454.

In this episode, the gang repeatedly violates Godwin's Law by comparing everything to the Nazis/Hitler. And they also discuss two papers which deal with understanding the complicated originations of evolutionary groups. Meanwhile, James discusses his future career options, Amanda willfully mispronounces the plural of LEGO, and Curt explains why he is never funny. Follow along at home kids and see if you can count all of the Nazi jokes (the true answer might surprise you). References: Sookias, Roland B., et al. "The monophyly of Euparkeriidae (Reptilia: Archosauriformes) and the origins of Archosauria: a revision of Dorosuchus neoetus from the Mid‐Triassic of Russia." Palaeontology (2014). Cartmill, Matt. "Primate origins, human origins, and the end of higher taxa." Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 21.6 (2012): 208-220.

In this episode, the gang gets vitriolic about people getting vitriolic as they discuss the unexpected drama that ensued after a seemingly benign paper on the phylogenetic position of fossil remoras was published. Furthermore, after angrily pleading for everyone to calm the hell down, Curt then proceeds to spread the hate around. Also, Amanda enjoys a delicious non-kosher ham and James extols the virtues of vegetarianism while eating ham. Also ham. References: Britz, Ralf, and G. David Johnson. "Ontogeny and homology of the skeletal elements that form the sucking disc of remoras (Teleostei, Echeneoidei, Echeneidae)." Journal of morphology 273.12 (2012): 1353-1366. Friedman, Matt, et al. "An early fossil remora (Echeneoidea) reveals the evolutionary assembly of the adhesion disc." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280.1766 (2013). Britz, R., L. Rüber, and G. D. Johnson. "Reinventing the disc: a reminder to give credit to past giants." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences281.1784 (2014): 20132920. Friedman, Matt, et al. "On fossils, phylogenies and sequences of evolutionary change." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281.1784 (2014): 20140115.

In this very special episode of Palaeo After Dark, the gang wrestles with the controversial topic of fossil commercialization. Furthermore, tragedy strikes when James discusses the butt-hurt level of animals, Curt needlessly segues into Wounded Knee, and Amanda’s injured back is actively ignored. Will the gang be able to survive this meandering discussion, or will their friendships be forever torn apart? References: Shimada, Kenshu, Currie, Philip J., Scott, Eric, and Sumida, Stuart S. 2014. The greatest challenge to 21st century paleontology:When commercialization of fossils threatens the science. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 17, Issue 1; 1E: 4 p; palaeo-electronica.org/content/2014/691-great-threat-in-21st-century Larson, Peter L. and Russell, Donna. 2014. The benefits of commercial fossil sales to 21st-century paleontology. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 17, Issue 1; 2E: 7p; palaeo-electronica.org/content/2014/739-commentary-benefits-of-fossil-sales

In this episode, the gang has a conversation about the various factors affecting total global diversity and how these factors might affect patterns of radiations. Also, Amanda finds a new twitter handle, James drinks a few 11% alcohol beers, Curt details Winnie the Poo's crack addiction, and the whole podcast is routinely interrupted by random people showing up during the recording. Also, congrats to Dr. James Lamsdell for successfully defending his thesis. References: Rabosky, Daniel L. "Ecological limits and diversification rate: alternative paradigms to explain the variation in species richness among clades and regions." Ecology Letters 12.8 (2009): 735-743. Moen, Daniel, and Hélène Morlon. "Why does diversification slow down?."Trends in ecology & evolution 29.4 (2014): 190-197.

In this episode, the gang is all back in the same zip code and celebrate by having a long discussion on the origin and extinction of the large mammals from the Cenozoic known as the Megafauna. Somehow this gets.... weird. Meanwhile, James defends the Star Wars Empire, Curt argues why turtles should be ninjas instead of mere heroes, and Amanda confuses Michael Bay with Roland Emmerich. Also, congrats to Dr. Amanda Falk for defending her thesis. References: Anthony D. Barnosky et al. Assessing the Causes of Late Pleistocene Extinctions on the Continents Science 306, 70 (2004); Tao Deng et al. Out of Tibet: Pliocene Woolly Rhino Suggests High-Plateau Origin of Ice Age Megaherbivores Science 333, 1285 (2011); Prescott, Graham W., et al. "Quantitative global analysis of the role of climate and people in explaining late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109.12 (2012): 4527-4531. Lorenzen, Eline D., et al. "Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans." Nature 479.7373 (2011): 359-364.

With thesis defenses on the horizon, the group looks to a comforting and familiar topic to escape their morose nerves; mass extinctions. Specifically, they discuss two papers about patterns of survivorship across mass extinction events and use this as a springboard to talking about general macroevolutionary patterns. Also, James fires Curt, Amanda fires James, and Curt decides to host his own private podcast in the middle of the real podcast with special guest Amanda. SPOILERS for House of Cards in the first 30 seconds of the podcast. References: Jablonski, David. "Survival without recovery after mass extinctions."Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99.12 (2002): 8139-8144. Thorne, Philippa M., Marcello Ruta, and Michael J. Benton. "Resetting the evolution of marine reptiles at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108.20 (2011): 8339-8344. Vrba, Elisabeth S., and Stephen Jay Gould. "The hierarchical expansion of sorting and selection: sorting and selection cannot be equated." Paleobiology(1986): 217-228. Vrba, Elisabeth S. "Levels of selection and sorting with special reference to the species level." Oxford surveys in evolutionary biology 6 (1989): 111-168.

In this episode, the gang “gives the people what they want” by talking about two papers that look at a giant theropod dinosaur from the Iberian Peninsula. Also, Curt discusses alternate Star Wars history, James requests that everything be cut, and Amanda goes “full dragon”. References: Cobos et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 399 (2014) 31–41 Hendrickx C, Mateus O (2014) Torvosaurus gurneyi n. sp., the Largest Terrestrial Predator from Europe, and a Proposed Terminology of the Maxilla Anatomy in Nonavian Theropods. PLoS ONE 9(3):

In celebration of the podcast’s one year anniversary, the gang decides to discuss two papers about live birth in the fossil record. At least.... that was the plan.... however the second paper proves to be far more problematic than the gang had bargained for. What started off as a simple, breezy pun takes a... darker turn. Isn’t that how all birthdays go, though? Meanwhile, James discusses the importance of proper breeding in selecting your animal metaphors, Curt tells the apocryphal story of the podcast’s “history”, and the whole gang talks at length about the secret xenomorph invasion during the Triassic. Also, the gang gets a whole new set of microphones and everyone is super excited about them, especially James’ heater which occasionally stops by to say hello. Sound effects used in this episode come from http://www.freesfx.co.uk/

In this episode, the evil forces of internet lag and food coma conspire to destroy the podcast gang.... and evil pretty much succeeds. However, despite being utterly defeated, the gang still has time to discuss several interesting papers about form and function in evolution, including one recent paper about forams. Also, James talks about disturbing cereal box mascots, Amanda claims to get drunk on only one glass of wine, and see if you can count how many times Curt leaves to go get a beer (the real answer might surprise you).

In response to the slightest amount of "success", the gang immediately tries (and fails) to sell out the podcast with James and Curt racing to the bottom in a soulless attempt to cater the show to potential sponsors. They also have a #detailed #discussion on the #famous #Cambrian #arthropod #Anomalocaris. #pleasedon'tsueus #hashtag

It seemed like such a good idea at the time. If only we had known that, despite our best intentions, we weren't prepared for the sheer insanity of trying to podcast about the ambiguous Burgess Shale taxon Wiwaxia. The conversation somehow drifts to the Kama Sutra, seething contempt, giant desserts, vomiting, snot, yiffing, spiny koopas and zoomers, and the evil nature of goats. Thankfully, James manages to summarize everything at the end in a way that EVERYONE can understand. Brought to you by the letter W.

In this episode, it becomes painfully obvious that James has been escaping the terrible winter rain by playing a bunch of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag since he somehow manages to take a discussion on macroecological patterns of the tropics and turns it into a discussion on pirates. Also, Amanda forgets Billy Mays's name, Curt tortures James by describing scenes from Final Destination and the podcast stops dead when a bunch of cats decide to throw down. All in all, a pretty normal start to a new year.

When the gang eagerly decides to drink a festive high alcohol content holiday beer while discussing how species are named, the three young scientists are unprepared for the baffling complications that will arise. Join them as they unravel in “The Curse of the 11% Beer” (Palaeo After Dark Gang #22).

The gang discusses a paper about scientific error and spin that into a larger discussion on error and reproducibility in science in general. Also, Amanda and Curt start the "Canada Appreciation Moment", James discusses the natural human response to snow, and everyone gets super excited as they come up with the plot to the single greatest movie of all time, "The Time Traveler's German".

In this episode of Palaeo After Dark we discuss Van Valen's Red Queen Hypothesis, as well as recent reviews of the concept. Meanwhile, James freely partakes in historical revisionism to tell us his fictional accounts of the life of Lewis Carroll, Amanda briefly considers leaving the planet, and Curt finds a joke that is so played out he can't bring himself to say it... so James does!

The gang soldiers on against the horrible vexations of internet lag and losing an hour of recording to discuss a fascinating set of papers looking at fossilized arthropod brains from the Chengjiang. Meanwhile, James invents a new game in the laundry room, Curt discusses nightmares, and Amanda outlines the perfect Nature paper.

Having fixed the audio problems from the last podcast, the gang reconvenes at the Denver Geological Society of America Meeting to discuss the cool and exciting new research that was presented at the conference. Meanwhile, James talks about Land Before Time, Amanda misses her cat, and we are briefly joined by Palaeocast's own Dave Marshall to have a thrilling discussion about hamburgers. Also, Curt gets drunk... very drunk. Day 2 starts at 24:32 Day 3 starts at 1:02:13

With everyone scattered across the country, the gang attempts to use the mystery box called the internet to still record a podcast... Things could have gone better. Audio glitches and echoes abound, but we'll do better next time.... right? Right? Anyways, in this episode James makes puns, Curt drinks weirdly topical beer, and Amanda visits the fictional city of Lost Vegas as we attempt to discuss a really cool paper about placoderm jaws with surprising consequences for our understanding of the evolution of vertebrates as a whole. Oh right, and we have a new recording of the intro. Send your complaints to [email protected]

In this episode of Palaeo After Dark, the group talks about an interesting and enigmatic fossil species from the Burgess Shale called Siphusauctum gregarium, which looks somewhat like a crinoid but is possibly completely unrelated. The group also gets sidetracked into conversations about echinoderms, the importance of the Burgess Shale, and shipping grandfather clocks on the Oregon Trail.

In this episode we discuss a paper about cats, specifically trying to use the shape of bones to estimate the preferred habitat of modern and fossil cats. Meanwhile, Amanda and James discuss Game of Thrones, and Curt is left alone as the entire podcast becomes derailed by an insect sighting.... Things get weird.

This episode of Palaeo After Dark is the RAWEST, as we discuss the controversial primate Darwinius. Also James communicates telepathically, Amanda is constantly bombarded by texts, and Curt gets the "facts".

This week we desperately try to remain on topic as we talk about fossil beds with exceptional preservation.... We fail... Instead, James discusses anger, Amanda wants Robocop because she's OG, Curt confuses gaseous with geishas, and the whole goup details the perfect plot to a hypothetical Predator 3.

In this episode, we discuss two studies that try to piece apart the effects that the ecological niche breadth (i.e. the range of habitats an animal can survive in) of an animal has on its potential to diversify and/or survive over long periods of time. Also, Hell freezes over as James manages to come up with a perfect reference to the band "The Descendents".

In this week's episode, we discuss evidence of some early single-cellular life, and James gives the group a passionate lesson in mathematics... A veeeerrrrryyyy passionate lesson. Meanwhile, Randol returns and Amanda joins us from lovely scenic Michigan via the miracles of the internet.

In this episode, while Randol is away Amanda gives the group a lesson in American History, Curt ruins illusions, and James fills the void with his best Randol impressions. Also, after about 18 minutes of random banter they finally get to talking about the bizarre case of the tyrannosaurid Raptorex, as well as the importance of ontogeny and proper dating. That is... until Amanda falls asleep from jet-lag and exhaustion.

This week we talk about a controversial worm-like Cambrian fossil called Diania cactiformis that some think may be the ancestor of all arthropods, and other people think those people are crazy. Also SNAAAAAAAAAAAKE!

On this week's episode, we discuss the science of ichnology (the study of trace fossils), and for some reason we can't stop making stupid pop culture references.

In this episode Amanda writes Freddy Mercury slash fiction, Randol condones eating babies, James feeds the 5000, Curt has a conversation which only involves "meh"'s, and the group kind-of/sort-of discusses ichthyosaurs.

In this podcast, Randol invents a cat related song, James reinvents the story of the Ed Fitz, Amanda talks about space ducks, Curt cuts the entire conversation short for chinese food, and the group actually talks science about the evolution of feathers (despite Amanda's beliefs that some of them aren't feathers).

Today we are joined by our pal Paula and talk about Pikaia, Pokemon... and poop.

In this week's podcast, Amanda spends the first four minutes talking about shipwrecks, James and Randol discuss their creepy new children's program, and nearly everyone gets distracted when a squirrel runs by the window. We also desperately try to stay on topic as we talk about Evolutionary Faunas.

In this week's podcast we discuss the importance of ontogeny and development in the evolution of new body forms. Also alimony.

This week's podcast we eventually get to talking about Molecular Clock studies dealing with early divergence times and the colonization of land... Also Christopher Lambert

In which we eventually get to talking about interpretations of ambiguous fossils, and discuss a redescription of a strange fish.

Our pilot episode which originally was conceived as a companion piece to Palaeocast. Since this was our first run, we all apologize for the lack of pop filters. Otherwise, enjoy the discussion of taphonomy which begins with burying my corpse in the backyard and only gets weirder from there. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns send them to: [email protected] Also a sincere shout out to Palaeocast (www.palaeocast.com). Cheers, Curt