Ep #75 The Fighting Finbacks of Seymour Texas with Chris Flis

Ep 75 Paleo Nerds with Chris Flis

LINKS

Whiteside Museum of Natural History in Seymour, Texas
A community-driven museum in Seymour, Texas, showcasing the famous Permian Red Beds and offering hands-on paleontology with active fossil digs and preparation.

Our sailback cousins, the Dimetrodon
A carnivorous synapsid from the Early Permian, Dimetrodon is often mistaken for a dinosaur but is more closely related to mammals.

The Famous Permian Red Beds of Texas
An iconic fossil site preserving Early Permian ecosystems where Dimetrodon, Edaphosaurus, and Diplocaulus once roamed.

The herbivorous sail back Edaphosaurus
A plant-eating relative of Dimetrodon, Edaphosaurus had a distinctive sail supported by neural spines and strange crossbars.

Sexual dimorphism
The biological phenomenon where males and females of a species show different physical characteristics beyond reproductive organs.

Boomerang-headed amphibian, the Diplocaulus
A lepospondyl amphibian recognizable by its distinctive boomerang-shaped skull, thought to help with hydrodynamics or defense.

Difference between Synapsids and Diapsids
Synapsids (like Dimetrodon) and diapsids (like reptiles and dinosaurs) differ in skull openings behind the eyes, a key evolutionary divide.

The Gorgonopsids
Saber-toothed synapsid predators of the Late Permian that represent the apex carnivores before the rise of dinosaurs.

The stapes hearing bone
One of the three middle ear bones in mammals; evolved from jaw elements in early synapsids, highlighting the link between hearing and chewing adaptations.

Chris Flis preparing the Dimetrodon (video)
A behind-the-scenes look at fossil preparation work, showing how delicate Dimetrodon bones are freed from the Permian matrix.

Whiteside Museum Research
Profiles of ongoing fossil research at the museum, featuring scientists and preparators like Bonnie, Abby, and Michael.

Secodontosaurus, the fox-faced finback
A slender-snouted relative of Dimetrodon, adapted for catching fish and smaller prey, part of the synapsid diversity of the Red Beds.

Tylosaurus, the swimming reptile
A giant mosasaur of the Late Cretaceous seas, unrelated to Permian animals but a highlight of marine reptile evolution.

Holly Simon
Assistant Director of the Whiteside Museum, involved in research, outreach, and public engagement around Permian paleontology.

Seymouria, a Permian missing link
A reptile-like amphibian from Texas, bridging the evolutionary transition between early amphibians and true reptiles.

Dimetrodon–Diplocaulus interaction
An artistic and interpretive look at predator-prey dynamics, suggesting Dimetrodon may have preyed on Diplocaulus.

Artist and sculptor Keith Strasser
A talented paleoartist known for dynamic sculptures and reconstructions of prehistoric life, including Permian synapsids.

Eryops
A large, semi-aquatic amphibian of the Early Permian with a powerful skull and sprawling limbs, common in Red Beds deposits.

MUSIC
Sound Waves by the Ratfish Wranglers
Melloooo by Ray Troll
Classical Harumph by Ray Troll
Seconds in a Lifetime by Russell Wodehouse
Dark Side by Whiskey Class