Ep #95 From Fossils to Film and the Science of Motion with Stuart Sumida

Ep 95 Paleo Nerds with Stuart Sumida

 

LINKS

"Why Dinosaurs" Feature Film (On YouTube) A dino-obsessed kid and his filmmaker dad go on a globe-trotting paleo quest and actually talk to the people doing the science.

Stuart Sumida’s Website A rabbit hole of vertebrate anatomy, synapsids, research, teaching, and the behind-the-scenes brainpower that keeps movie creatures honest.

Hunt Turritella Fossils in California The most satisfying reminder that you can do fossil collecting without leaving your neighborhood.

Alfred Romer The vertebrate paleontology legend whose framework shaped how generations think about vertebrate evolution.

Pelycosaur The word people love to argue about, and the animals everyone loves to mislabel.

The Permian Period The age of strange experiments in life, when synapsids ran the terrestrial show.

Neil Shubin on Paleo Nerds Our episode with the Tiktaalik co-discoverer and master storyteller of big evolutionary transitions.

Diadectomorpha Bumpy, lumpy, hefty early tetrapods that blur the line between not quite amniote and almost there.

Synapsida Your official membership card in the club that includes Dimetrodon and all mammals.

Amniotes The evolutionary innovation that helped vertebrates fully cut the cord with water-bound reproduction.

Dimetrodon Sail-backed icon, not a dinosaur, and still the king of please stop calling me that.

Healed Fractures in Dimetrodon Spines (paper) Evidence those neural spines took real damage and healed, meaning the sail was functional tissue.

Common Basilisk A modern spiny lizard that makes a great comparative-anatomy touchstone when talking tall spines and posture.

Dimetrodon in Germany (ResearchGate) Bromacker-connected research showing the sailback story extends beyond North America.

Life of Pi Trailer (Ang Lee) A benchmark in believable digital animal performance.

What Is the Uncanny Valley (IEEE Spectrum) The eerie threshold where almost real becomes unsettling.

Rhythm & Hues on IMDb The filmography of a creature-effects powerhouse.

Animator Bob Kurtz (IMDb) A career built on motion, timing, and character clarity.

Charles Solomon Animation historian preserving the art form’s legacy.

Digitigrade Toe-walkers built for speed and spring.

Plantigrade Full-foot walkers, including humans and bears.

Mammal Leg Types Explained (YouTube) Clear visual guide to plantigrade, digitigrade, and unguligrade motion.

Chuck Jones The master animator behind Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Chuck Jones’ Striped Socks Trick A simple drawing method that clarifies animal leg structure in motion.

Dunkleosteus in Cleveland Metroparks A local legend tied to one of the fiercest armored fish ever discovered.

SVP 2026 Annual Meeting Official details for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology gathering.

Eudibamus Early Permian bipedal vertebrate from Bromacker Quarry.

Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) The first animated character to show real personality.

The Land Before Time Sharptooth A childhood predator that felt startlingly real.

Disney’s Carnotaurus A strong example of convincing prehistoric animation.

David Krentz Paleoartist blending anatomical precision with cinematic storytelling.

MUSIC
Cosmic Connection by Patrick Troll
Dayte by Whiskey Class
Mellow by Ray Troll
Ready to Grow by Whiskey Class
Audio clip: Foghorn Leghorn, voiced by Chuck Jones. Character © Warner Bros.
Taxi by the Amish Robots