Ep #76 The Perfect Piscatorial Fossils of Paris with Dr. Alan Pradel

Ep #76 Paleo Nerds in Paris with Dr. Alan Pradel
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle · Origines et Evolution

LINKS

The Museum of Comparative Anatomy in Paris
Part of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, this gallery houses skeletons and fossils arranged to illustrate vertebrate anatomy and evolution.

The father of paleontology, Georges Cuvier
Cuvier, working in Paris in the early 19th century, established extinction as fact and founded comparative anatomy, earning him recognition as the father of paleontology.

Agnathans, the first jawless fishes
Jawless fishes such as lampreys and hagfishes represent ancient vertebrate lineages and include many extinct armored forms that dominated Paleozoic seas.

Alan’s postdoc advisor, Philippe Janvier
A French paleontologist renowned for his work on early vertebrate evolution, especially jawless fishes, and a key mentor for Dr. Alan Pradel.

Sacabambaspis
An Ordovician jawless fish with a tadpole-like body and bony head shield, representing some of the earliest known vertebrate fossils.

Iniopterygia, an early ratfish from the Carboniferous
Extinct relatives of modern ratfishes with wing-like pectoral fins, part of the diverse chondrichthyan radiation during the Carboniferous.

Helicoprion, the Buzz Saw Shark
A Permian fish famous for its spiral tooth whorl, once a major paleontological puzzle, now recognized as a bizarre ratfish relative.

Remembering Rainer Zangerl, PhD
A tribute to Rainer Zangerl, a pioneering paleontologist of fossil fishes who made major contributions at the Field Museum in Chicago.

John Maisey, fossil fish curator
Curator Emeritus of the American Museum of Natural History, John Maisey is recognized for his influential research on fossil sharks and early vertebrates.

3-D Scanning Tomography
Industrial CT scanning allows paleontologists to visualize fossils in three dimensions without damaging the specimen, crucial for studying delicate skulls and brains.

LA Times article on Alan Pradel’s fossilized fish brain
Coverage of Pradel’s landmark discovery of the world’s oldest fossilized vertebrate brain, preserved in a 300-million-year-old fish.

Our next guest: paleoartist Joschua Knüppe
A German paleoartist known for vivid reconstructions of prehistoric life, blending scientific accuracy with striking visual storytelling.

MUSIC
Trilobite Slow Groove by Ray Troll
Controls by Patrick Troll
Clove by Patrick Troll
Excerpt from Hell Pig by Ratfish Wranglers
Happy day in Paris Provided to YouTube by Catapult Reservatory, LLC
Solar Sway by Don Kenoyer
Teach me to Dance by Patrick Troll