The Land Before Podcast: Fossil Histories and Paleo Mysteries

In the final episode of Season One, we take a look at the iconic mighty Triceratops, inspiration for the Colorado Rockies team mascot Dinger. Plus the geological wonder of shale found on Dinosaur Ridge nearly 6,000 feet above sea level. How did this sedimentary outcrop end up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains? Special guest baseball announcer Drew Goodman delivers the final quiz of the season. Thank you for listening! Send ideas for Season Two to info@dinoridge.org and visit the website for more about this National Natural Landmark at https://www.dinoridge.org!

In this episode, we go back to the Ice Age to a site near Dinosaur Ridge where a Columbian mammoth grave is rapidly being surrounded by a new housing development. And we go oven further back in time to the days when crocodilians inhabited Colorado waterways, including one at Dino Ridge- long before the Rocky Mountains uplifted. The state's ever-changing plant and animal history has left a treasure trove for paleontologists to study.

In this episode, a Master Falconer describes the serious commitment involved in keeping a wild raptor; the way it might be done if dinosaurs could be captured and cared for. You cannot tame them, but you can earn their respect. And we dig into dinosaur dung to learn what clues it reveals about eating habits, especially before egg-laying. Host Erin LaCount is joined by three PhDs: Cynthia Norrgran, Nicole Peavey, and Karen Chin for this fascinating look into fossil histories and paleo mysteries.

Host Erin LaCount talks about the connection between birds and dinosaurs - and how birds have changed and stayed the same across deep time. Plus, what it's like keeping one of today's largest bird species as pets.

Host Erin LaCount takes us back in time to explore the fossil history of the Morrison Formation apex predator from the Late Jurassic Period. The paleontologists who played roles in describing this theropod from the 1870s to the 1970s in Colorado include a teenage girl named India Wood. What makes Allosaurus different from other dinosaurs? Listen and learn!

SHOW NOTES (Bonus Pre-Season Episode) Evidence indicates the Stegosaurus did not swish its spiked tail back and forth like a Medieval weapon, but rather used it for locomotion and communication, and when need be for defense. Morrison Natural History Museum Director Matthew Mossbrucker provides the non-gory details in his interview with Michelle Howell.Dinosaur Ridge volunteer Jim Watson surmises how the Stego may have sounded — his interpretation is unlike any Hollywood version you’ve heard.Finally Dr. Nicole Peavy of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) talks about the work of Mitigation Paleontology, and what happens with fossils found on road construction sites.The Stegosaurus used its tail like a third leg! It helped move the animal, and also could be used to communicate with other Stegosaurus, and defend the animal from predators. Matthew Mossbrucker discusses the anatomy of the tail, including the lump of bone called the fourth trochanter, that served as a muscle attachment knob for the caudofemoralis, a muscle found in nearly all animals with tails. In 2009, Mossbrucker and Dr. Robert Bakker studied the tail and published “The Symposium on Stegosauria” In our conversation, Mossbrucker mentions Quarry 13 in Como Bluff, Wyoming which is referenced in this thorough wikipedia post if you would like more context. Dr. Nicole Peavey mentioned paleobotany finds at Denver International Airport, more can be seen on the Denver Museum of Nature and Science website here. Peavy also referenced the Castle Rock Rainforest uncovered during a highway project. At the time the Dr. Kirk Johnson (Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Director) was with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, which now holds 10,000 specimens from this site. He wrote an article about the finds that was published in 2003. Peavy also referenced Ian Miller, now National Geographic Society’s Chief Science and Innovation Officer, who also worked at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Miller has led science research projects on major field expeditions across the western U.S. and Madagascar. If you’ve never heard how the term “Thagomizer” came about, you must first treat yourself to a popular newspaper comic strip from the 1980s called “The Far Side.” Author Gary Larson in a 1982 comic drew a group of cavemen attending a lecture in which the speaker points to the tail tip of a Stegosaurus. The caption explains the spikes are called Thagomizers "after the late Thag Simmons.” Denver Museum of Nature and Science paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter jokingly used the term at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Annual Meeting more than a decade later, and it caught on. Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming is the scene of world-renowned fossil finds including 27 types of fish. And as you will learn, in some cases the data is more important than the fossils themselves.   Our theme music was composed by Hansdale Hsu. Additional music titled “Call to Adventure” provided by Kevin MacLeod of icompetech.com via http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Thank you for listening!  Stay tuned for Season One coming this spring 2022!