Ep #78 The Business End of T-Rex with Pete Larson

Ep 78 Paleo Nerds with Pete Larson

LINKS

Pink Salmon: The last of 5 salmon runs in Ketchikan every year
Pink salmon, also known as humpback salmon, are the smallest and most abundant Pacific salmon. In Ketchikan, Alaska, they represent the final of the five salmon runs that return annually to spawn.

Juneau Alaska flooding event
A massive glacial outburst flood in Juneau in August 2024 inundated at least 100 homes, prompting state and federal disaster responses and raising concerns about the impacts of glacial retreat on communities.

Deadly Landslide in Ketchikan, AK
In August 2024, heavy rains triggered a deadly landslide in Ketchikan, Alaska. The disaster devastated homes and highlighted the risks of living in steep, rain-soaked terrain in Southeast Alaska.

Pete Larson’s Black Hills Institute of Geological Research
The Black Hills Institute, founded by paleontologist Pete Larson, is world-renowned for excavating, preparing, and displaying spectacular fossils, including “Sue” the Tyrannosaurus rex.

Want to buy a dinosaur? Here’s their catalog!
The Black Hills Institute offers a catalog of fossil specimens, casts, and replicas for collectors, researchers, and museums—giving a rare peek into the commercial side of paleontology.

The Fox Hills Cretaceous Formation
The Fox Hills Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic unit across the U.S. Great Plains. It preserves marine and coastal fossils from the final retreat of the Western Interior Seaway.

Odobenocetops: The Walrus Whales of Peru
Odobenocetops was a bizarre extinct whale from the Pliocene of Peru with forward-facing tusks like a walrus. Its unusual anatomy shows the diversity of ancient cetaceans.

Phylogenetics: the study of evolutionary relationships
Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary history and branching patterns of organisms. Scientists use genetic and morphological data to build trees that map life’s relationships.

Ontogeny
Ontogeny refers to the development of an individual organism from embryo through maturity. Paleontologists study ontogeny in fossils to understand growth and life history.

Dracorex the dragon dinosaur!
Dracorex hogwartsia is a pachycephalosaur dinosaur with a skull that looks like a dragon—complete with spikes and knobs. Its whimsical name honors the Harry Potter series.

Stygimoloch: an intermediary or what?
Stygimoloch is a dome-headed dinosaur with spiky horns, debated as either a distinct genus or a growth stage of Pachycephalosaurus.

Pachycephalosaurs, the head butting ram Dino
Pachycephalosaurus is famous for its thick dome skull, thought to have been used in head-butting contests or display during the Late Cretaceous.

The Hoatzin Bird (pronounced “Watson”)
The Hoatzin is a modern South American bird with a unique digestive system and clawed chicks. Its odd traits make it a puzzle in avian evolution.

Niobrara Chalk formation
The Niobrara Formation is a Late Cretaceous chalk deposit spanning Kansas and neighboring states, famous for preserving mosasaurs, pterosaurs, and giant fish.

Dinosaur 13 Trailer
A preview of the documentary *Dinosaur 13*, which tells the dramatic story of “Sue” the T. rex, her excavation, and the ensuing legal battles.

Pete Larson and Kristin Donnan’s book “Rex Appeal”
*Rex Appeal* details the legal and scientific saga surrounding “Sue” the T. rex, written by Pete Larson and Kristin Donnan.

Lindsay Zanno and the Dueling Dinosaurs
A feature on paleontologist Lindsay Zanno and the acquisition of the Dueling Dinosaurs fossil—an entangled T. rex and Triceratops preserved together.

Clayton Phipps: The Dinosaur Cowboy
Clayton Phipps is known as the “Dinosaur Cowboy” for his work as a commercial fossil hunter, including involvement in the discovery of the Dueling Dinosaurs.

MUSIC
Seconds in a Lifetime by Russell Wodehouse
Colugo by Ray Troll
Dayte by Whiskey Class
Zoned by Patrick Troll
Flicker of Light by Whiskey Class