Ep #70 45 Million Years of Camel-Sheep-Pigs

Ep 70 with Meaghan Wetherell

PRE-SHOW LINKS

Model airplanes at Motion RC
A popular site for radio-controlled model aircraft and parts, for those who love aviation hobbies.

More model airplanes at Horizon Hobby
Another go-to retailer for RC airplanes, helicopters, drones, and gear.

Trailer to “Gorgo” (1960)
A vintage sci-fi film featuring a Godzilla-like sea monster, showcasing the era’s fascination with prehistoric creatures.

Gorgosaurus’s last meal
A fascinating New York Times article describing fossil evidence of a juvenile tyrannosaur’s preserved stomach contents.

SHOW LINKS

Meaghan Wetherell’s web page
The official site of paleontologist Meaghan Wetherell, highlighting her research and fieldwork.

Oreodonts
An NPS overview of the extinct, sheep-like artiodactyls common in Oligocene–Miocene North America.

Merycoidodontoidea (Oreodonts)
The scientific group name for oreodonts, whose pronunciation is tongue-twisting but important in paleontology.

Agriochoerus
A climbing oreodont with clawed feet, showing the diversity within this extinct mammal family.

John Day Fossil Beds, Oregon
One of North America’s richest fossil sites, preserving over 40 million years of evolutionary history.

Pyroclastic flow vs Lahar
A clear explainer of two volcanic hazards—fast-moving pyroclastic flows and mud-like lahars.

Amy Atwater on Paleo Nerds
A previous Paleo Nerds guest and paleontologist whose work intersects with Meaghan’s.

Entelodonts: the “Hell Pigs”
Fearsome, pig-like predators of the Eocene and Oligocene, known for their huge jaws and bone-crushing teeth.

The Zygomatic Arch
An anatomical structure forming the cheekbone, often discussed in the context of fossil skull strength.

Promerycochoerus
An oreodont genus nicknamed the “pus-faced” oreodont for its unusual skull anatomy.

Animals with trunks
An overview of trunked mammals—past and present—including elephants, tapirs, and extinct lineages.

Saiga Antelope
A bizarre antelope with an enlarged, trunk-like nose, often compared to something out of Star Wars.

The Dik Dik
Tiny African antelopes with elongated noses, sometimes compared to mini-trunks.

Teleoceras at Ashfall Fossil Beds
Dozens of barrel-bodied rhinos preserved in volcanic ash, many showing evidence of “Marie’s disease.”

Paisley Caves, Oregon
A key archaeological site preserving some of the earliest evidence of humans in North America.

Pleistocene megafauna extinctions research paper
A technical paper analyzing the spatial patterns of late Pleistocene extinctions, with Meaghan Wetherell among the authors.

Aboriginal Australians and megafauna
Evidence that humans and megafauna co-existed in Australia far longer than previously assumed.

“Weird and Dead” Podcast
A new podcast project with a quirky approach to paleontology and natural history storytelling.

Litopterna
An extinct South American order of hoofed mammals, some with short trunks, on Meaghan’s time-travel wish list.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
The longest word in the English dictionary, coined for a lung disease caused by inhaling fine volcanic silica dust.

MUSIC
Garbo by Whiskey Class
Luminescent Tie-Dye by The Amish Robots
Blueberry by The Amish Robots
Seconds in a Lifetime by Russell Wodehouse