Ep #90 Fossil Fish, Antarctic Adventures and Teaching Anatomy with Kerin Claeson

Ep 90 Paleo Nerds with Kerin Claeson

LINKS

Kerin Claeson’s papers on Research Gate
Browse Kerin Claeson’s research, which covers fossil fishes, vertebrate paleontology, and evolutionary biology. Her work highlights the anatomy and adaptations of ancient marine life.

The Giant Spike Toothed Salmon
Oncorhynchus rastrosus was a massive extinct salmon from the Miocene and Pliocene that grew up to 9 feet long and sported enormous canine-like teeth.

Understanding the phrase “Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny”
This resource explains the historical idea that embryonic development retraces evolutionary history, a concept now considered oversimplified but influential in biology.

Sarcopterygians or Lobed Finned fishes
Lobe-finned fishes, such as coelacanths and lungfishes, represent the evolutionary branch that gave rise to amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Ray finned fishes or Actinopterygians
This page describes actinopterygians, the ray-finned fishes that dominate today’s oceans, lakes, and rivers with more than 30,000 living species.

Batoids or Rays and Skates
Learn about the group of flattened cartilaginous fishes that includes stingrays, manta rays, guitarfish, and skates, all close relatives of sharks.

Thelodonts are early fishes
Thelodonts were small, jawless fishes from the Paleozoic with distinctive scales that give clues about the origins of vertebrates.

Tessellated cortex materials were invented by sharks
Sharks evolved a unique skeletal structure of tessellated cartilage, inspiring research into advanced composite materials with strength and flexibility.

Guitar Fish
Guitarfish blend features of both rays and sharks, with flattened bodies and sharklike tails, inhabiting coastal waters around the world.

The AP3 - Antarctica Expedition Paleontology Project
This project explores Antarctica’s fossil record, including dinosaurs, early birds, and ancient fishes, bringing new insights into polar ecosystems.

Found a tooth from a big toothy Cretaceous fish, the Enchodus
Known as the “saber-toothed herring,” Enchodus was a predatory fish of the Cretaceous seas with prominent fangs.

Seymour Island, Antarctica, where Kerin studied fish bits
Seymour Island preserves fossils from the end of the Cretaceous and beginning of the Paleogene, including fishes, reptiles, and early mammals.

Enchodus could be related to the Lizard Fish
Modern lizardfish share features with the extinct Enchodus, offering insight into how these predatory lineages evolved over time.

Antarctic Training: Life on the Nathanial B. Palmer Ship
The Nathaniel B. Palmer is a U.S. research icebreaker supporting Antarctic science, providing a home base for paleontologists and biologists at sea.

Jaw bones used to be ear bones!
This evogram shows how bones from reptilian jaws became the tiny middle ear bones in mammals, a classic example of evolutionary change.

The Seventh Cranial nerve is how you taste
The facial nerve carries taste sensations from the tongue and also controls muscles of facial expression.

The Spike Tooth Salmon
This extinct salmon species had enlarged canine teeth used for competition and display during spawning runs.

The Salmon extreme makeover when they hit freshwater
Salmon undergo dramatic physical changes as they migrate upriver to spawn, shifting in color, shape, and behavior.

The inner ear structure, the Otolith
Otoliths are small calcium carbonate structures in fish ears that help with balance and can record growth, much like tree rings.

How do we grow bone?
Endochondral ossification is the process where cartilage is gradually replaced by bone, critical to vertebrate development.

Kerin’s time travel favorite fish the extinct Skate, the Cyclobatis
Cyclobatis was a small, round-bodied skate from the Cretaceous, often preserved in exquisite fossil detail.

Video of mixing Salmon eggs and milt for fertilization
Watch the process of artificially fertilizing salmon eggs, where eggs and sperm (milt) are combined to start the next generation of fish.

MUSIC

Good to Feel by Patrick Troll
Luminescent Tie Dye by the Amish Robots
Seconds in a Lifetime by Russell Wodehouse