Terrible Lizards

Did dinosaurs raise each other's young like modern cuckoos do? Dr Dave Hone and Iszi Lawrence discuss how we would know if brood parasitism existed millions of years ago. To get more bonus material and keep the podcast ad free go to: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards

Please support the show, grab extra content and keep the podcast ad free: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards You can watch this as a video on youtube here: https://youtu.be/z0y9N1bPmGY Having recently caught up with the much-overlooked prosauropods (or at least, overlooked by us), and after many requests from our patrons on patreon, this month we turn our attention to the crocodiles! Much like birds, major parts of the biology of these animals (living and extinct) are critical for understanding dinosaur biology, evolution and behaviour, so we shouldn't avoid them as much as we have on here. Happily, this month we are joined by croc-supremo Chris Brochu to talk about his career in crocodilian biology and his work on these animals. On the way, we get into a deep discussion on identifying species and what this means for taxonomy and evolutionary studies. But we start with some work Chris did as a postdoc on a certain fossil that everyone listening will have heard of: Sue the T. rex! Chris' University webpage: https://sees.uiowa.edu/people/christopher-brochu

Iszi and Dave briefly discuss the new Netflix series "Dinosaurs". Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/ejpMkrDDsWw They analyse the accuracy of the trailer including the opening with Spinosaurus's hunting technique, neck musculature, and nostril placement, comparing it to real-world evidence and previous research. You can watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4ZBSzYUTL0 Keep the podcast ad-free and join in the discussion here: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards

Dinosaurs in the Arctic and Antarctic likely survived cold conditions by using similar strategies to extant species. The discovery of a new T. rex femur, nicknamed Goliath, potentially validates predictions about the maximum size of these dinosaurs. Or Does it? You can watch this as a video on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/0iVP_E0BfM0 Please keep the podcast advert free and get more bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards

This is available to watch on youtube here: https://youtu.be/R-GgkboCjA8 Support the podcast (keep it advert free) and get exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards We have talked plenty about dinosaurs in pop culture, including in movies, but this is hardly a modern phenomenon. Dinosaurs were getting into the mainstream almost as soon as they appeared on the scientific scene and have a rich history in novels, and short stories. This week we are joined by Richard Fallon, a historian specialising in science in literature and with a particular interest in prehistoric animals in this context. Richard and Dave recently wrote a book chapter on the odds parallels between Jurassic Park and Michael Crichton and the Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. Having won a prize for this ("Doylean Honors" from the ACD Society!) we though it a great time to sit down with Richard and talk about dinosaurs and other ancient reptiles in fiction and how this has changed over time. Here's some of Richard's collective works: Creatures of Another Age: https://www.valancourtbooks.com/creatures-of-another-age.html Contesting Earth's History in Transatlantic Literary Culture, 1860–1935: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contesting-History-Transatlantic-Literary-1860-1935/dp/0198926162/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 Reimagining Dinosaurs in Late Victorian and Edwardian Literature: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reimagining-Dinosaurs-Victorian-Edwardian-Literature/dp/1108984398/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4n1IVVZf74mbQ0RyFryuMDimH9ZiV04X3glC8p-KfT8.D618IUFHF0G27P0maCF82yXIjgZs_wzvKoA6n0yiz4Y&qid=1770283675&sr=8-1 And you can follow him on Bluesky: @richardfallon.bsky.social

Little Dinosaur bite for you! Support us for extra bonus episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards Covering two new papers: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2026/february/new-sabre-crested-spinosaurus-species-named-from-desert-dinosaur-fossils.html https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2026/january/europes-missing-ceratopsian-dinosaurs-have-finally-been-found.html Watch on youtube here: https://youtu.be/GoAT-oVtqOc A new Spinosaurus paper was released, revealing a Spinosaurus with a larger head crest. While the new material is exciting, the larger crest is not surprising given the species' known display features. The new locality in Niger, further inland than previous finds, suggests Spinosaurus may have followed rivers inland, similar to other water-affiliated animals. A new paper confirms long-held beliefs about spinosaur evolution, including sexual selection, wading behaviour, and multiple evolutionary phases. The discovery of a new rhabdodontid skull, with clear ceratopsian characteristics, suggests that some previously identified rhabdodontids were actually early ceratopsians. This finding supports the idea that ceratopsians were present in Europe during the Cretaceous, filling a gap in the fossil record. Apologies for audio quality - was a bit rushed!

You can watch this episode on youtube here: https://youtu.be/QI_nmQPADcE Support the podcast and get extra content by going to: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards In this episode from 2022, we delve into an incident that occurred in a Lower Cretaceous tracksite in Utah. A digger driven by the Bureau of Land Management accidentally drove over dinosaur tracks, causing damage to the site. This incident sparked outrage as the BLM was accused of violating procedures that required the presence of a palaeontologist. We then discuss pterosaur evolution, exploring the common ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. We also discuss the remarkable size of Quetzalcoatlus and Azhdarchids, shedding light on the evolutionary journey of these magnificent creatures and why they are so much bigger than birds.

Dinosaur Bites is taken from a live we did back in 2024. We ask where are the Australian Dinosaurs? What was the first ever Dinosaur? Why are only small dinosaurs feathered? (or are they...) You can watch this as a video here: https://youtu.be/UqUzAgcWMRg Terrible Lizards is a dinosaur podcast with Dr Dave Hone from Queen Mary University and Iszi Lawrence. To support the podcast and unlock extra content go to www.patreon.com/terriblelizards

You can watch this episode as a video on youtube: https://youtu.be/C2atVWsvkS0 To support the show/get bonus content: www.patreon.com/terriblelizards We've barely mentioned African dinosaurs (apart from you-know-what) over the years and have repeatedly failed to give much love to the early sauropodomorphs either (the 'prosauropods'). Happily, this month we're getting a great two-for-one deal by speaking to Kimi Chapelle who tells us all about her work on the incredibly well-represented, but not actually that well-studied Massospondylus. This species is known from dozens of complete skeletons but has attracted surprisingly little attention in the scientific literature and Kimi has been working to correct that with a whole series of projects on this animal and its relatives. There's plenty to discuss and more to come on these overlooked dinosaurs, so headphones on and enjoy. Please support the podcast and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards Kimi's website: Kimberley (Kimi) Chapelle | Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University https://renaissance.stonybrookmedicine.edu/anatomy/people/facultypage/chapelle A profile of her and her work from the Superscientists website: Dinova - Kimberley Chapelle — SuperScientists https://www.superscientists.org/superscientists/chapelle

Dinosaur Bites 002 Terrible Lizards Podcast returns with a discussion on dinosaur colours, and Compsognathus, from a 2021 live session. We talk about the preservation of dinosaur colours is limited to certain pigments and while some colours may not preserve well, the organisation of melanosomes is a more significant factor. And candidate for the cutest dinosaurs: Compsognathids, a group of small theropod dinosaurs, are often found as juveniles, leading to uncertainty about their phylogenetic placement. We discuss Andrea Cau's hypothesises that they may not be what they seem! Direct video link: https://youtu.be/5wGuzaJ16M8 For more bonus content and to get your questions answered: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards Also apologies for the audio glitches - when we talked over each other it became incomprehensible - so it was shoddily repaired by iszi.

A short extract from a live we did back in 2021 about these two new #spinosaur species: Riparovenator and Ceratosuchops. If you want to find out more about these animals please listen to the free full episode on youtube: https://youtu.be/jO6gyw-onBY?si=qHQ6oJ0wnqxJAaX- or find 'TLS05E01 Riparovenator and Ceratosuchops' on your podcast feed. https://terriblelizards.libsyn.com/tls05e01-riparovenator-and-ceratosuchops Terrible Lizards a podcast about #dinosaurs with Dr Dave Hone and Iszi Lawrence. It is released on the last wednesday of the month and there is a large back catalogue. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Ud7Vyrmvx9zUBLcXjiSSl?si=4d37e2a2fe3e4319 We will be releasing Terrible Lizards Dinobites intermittently too: to help promote the show - so if you enjoyed this do like and share and leave a review. For more info and bonus material and videos go to: www.patreon.com/terriblelizards

Thanks to our wonderful Patrons we are planning video as well as audio versions of the podcast from now on! Just as we have for the Bonus Episodes. (N.B. Sometimes video may not be possible but we are hoping it will be! We are still a two-man-with-occasional-help-from-Simon band. ) If you want to watch this podcast rather than just listen head to iszitube: https://youtu.be/5w83FHoFU7Q We will also be releasing the Bonus Episode on the second Wednesday of the month so that the content is a little more spaced out. Thank you EVERYONE for your amazing questions. Phil, James, Jay, Paul, Keren, Bethany, M'Challo, Victoria R, Christopher, TriSarahtops, Livefree13, Raptor Josh, Adam, Daniel, Alexander, Marcus, Roy and Summer! As well as everyone who donated on patreon.com/terriblelizards. You can get in touch with us via www.patreon.com/terriblelizards Thank you for supporting science communication and being so friendly and passionate about the podcast. It means a LOT to us.

The biggest news in palaeontology this year dropped just in time for us to miss it with last month's episode but we're giving it the full hour this time. The idea that there's a miniature tyrannosaur running around in the Late Cretaceous alongside Tyrannosaurus has long been a contentious one, with most palaeontologists favouring the interpretation that the specimens represented juvenile rexes. But a huge new paper presents a brand-new specimen that shows various unique features and importantly, is an adult animal while still small. Join Dave and Iszi into a deep dive on the history of these ideas ad why people are switching sides to support the idea that Nanotyrannus is real. One of the better articles from the media storm: Nanotyrannus isn't a 'mini T. Rex' after all — it's a new species, 'dueling dinosaurs' fossil reveals | Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/animals/dinosaurs/i-was-wrong-dinosaur-scientists-agree-that-small-tyrannosaur-nanotyrannus-was-real-pivotal-new-study-finds Please support the podcast and submit questions for our end of year megasode: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards

Dave has *another* book coming out and so of course he wants to talk about it a bit on the pod. Happily for the listeners, this time out he has a coauthor and so we get to have palaeontologist and palaeoartist Mark Witton on as well so that Iszi has some support for once. The new book is on that most controversial of dinosaurs, Spinosaurus and its allies, and what we know, and what we don't, and where the research is taking us. Given its insane media profile and the attention it attracts, as well as the back-and-forth in the scientific literature over its bizarre features, this is an animal well overdue a proper popular science book. So here it is, written by Dave and Mark, and with Mark's extensive illustrations throughout. But for now you can enjoy the chat about this animal and how the work came to be. Links: For Bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/terriblelizards Mark's website with links to his blog and other pages Home | MarkWitton.co.uk An old blogpost of Dave's which looks at the main controversies of Spinosaurus swimming The evidence for Spinosaurus being a specialist aquatic predator and good swimmer is weak | Dave Hone's Archosaur Musings

Long time listener and second time guest Darren Naish joins us to talk about marine reptiles. While Darren is best known for his work on dinosaurs and pterosaurs, he has fingers in a huge number of vertebrate pies, and he has a new edition out of his book on all of the Mesozoic monsters that lived in the sea. So, strap in for an incredibly being tour of mosasaurs, mesosaurs, placodonts, ichthyosaurs, plesionsaurs, thalattosaurs, thalattosuchians and we even manage to sneak in a reference to certain allegedly semi-aquatic large theropods. Support us on www.patreon.com/terriblelizards Check out iszi's NEW podcast about Egyptology www.talklikeanegyptian.com A link to Darren's Home page which combines links to the blog, podcast, con and other resources. https://tetzoo.com/ A link to Darren's post on the launch of the first edition: https://tetzoo.com/blog/2023/2/27/ancient-sea-reptiles-is-out-now A link to the Natural History Museum shop for the book: https://www.nhmshop.co.uk/ancient-sea-reptiles-plesiosaurs-ichthyosaurs-mosasaurs-more.html?srsltid=AfmBOorc2zt792sWSVYdef8-O5zKci9w2Fiu6FhLlpX_lEATiWy1Gsn0

Disaster with the recording this episode! Sorry if it is hard to hear in places we were forced to use the emergency back up! Disaster with the recording this episode! Sorry if it is hard to hear in places we were forced to use the emergency back up! Listeners may remember that Dave went to Utah a couple of years back to try and help with a sauropod excavation. That trip was with sauropod supremo Matt Wedel who was recently in London, and so we scooped him up to get him onto Terrible Lizards. Unfortunately there were real technical issues, so the sound quality is not the best, but hopefully you can enjoy it. So sit back for an hour for deep sauropod nerdery, covering the air sac system, giant sauropods, their evolution, ecology, and follow Matt's career from a chance start on a new giant to bird physiology. A link to Matt's blog SV-POW! which he writes with Mike Taylor (and in theory, Darren Naish) https://svpow.com/ A link to an old post from Matt on Dave's blog about his favourite work: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/buried-treasure-matt-wedel/ Iszi's book The Time Machine Next Door: inventors and dinosaurs is out on 28th August in the UK: https://amzn.eu/d/dqPr6bo

Pterosaur soft tissues It's a double new paper episode this time as thanks to the magic of almost random review and publication times, Dave has two papers out on the same subject in the same month! So strap in for some absolute minutiae on pterosaur hands, feet, scales, and the oddly overlooked wing membrane that sits between their legs. Pterosaurs in general are not very common fossils and so it should be no surprise that we don't have a great many examples of their soft tissues, from skin, to beaks and claws and other bits. So, having new examples, and synthesising the limited information we have, is really important for building an understanding of these incredible animals. It's deep dive time. A link to Dave's blogpost on the new hand and foot scale papers: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2025/06/10/new-data-on-pterosaurian-soft-tissues/ A link to a very old blogpost about pterosaur soft tissues generally: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/pterosaur-soft-tissues/ Iszi'a new book - featuring a pterosaur and perfect for 6-9 year olds is out on 28th August in the UK: https://amzn.eu/d/9kFiniD (message her on iszi.com if you want international posting).