Fossil Huntress — Palaeo Sommelier
Episodes
Hawai'i: Islands Born of Fire
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Long, long ago—millions of years before you or me, before the canoes of the Polynesian voyagers, before the first birds ever touched these shores—...
Dinosaurs, Ammonites, Trilobites: What is Paleontology
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join in the exploration of the fascinating science of paleontology — that lens that examines ancient animals, plants & ecosystems from wee singl...
Stone, Bone & Water: Cretaceous Capilano Fossil Field Trip
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cretaceous Capilano Fossil Field Trip — From downtown Vancouver, drive north through Stanley Park and over the Lion’s Gate Bridge. Take the North ...
Woolly Mammoths: Trumpeting Through the Tundra
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Woolly Mammoths – Picture a towering, shaggy titan lumbering across a frozen expanse, as winds howl through its dense, draping fur. This is the Wool...
Theropods of a Feather: Living Dinosaurs, the Birds
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Fossil Huntress Podcast. Today on the show we’re talking about living dinosaurs—our avian friends, the birds. From the tiniest hum...
Devonian Fossils from Miguasha on the Gaspé Peninsula
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the show, we'll explore the first fossil finds from Miguasha Provincial Park, a protected area near Carleton-sur-Mer on the Gaspé Penins...
The Burgess Shale – A Window into Deep Time
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Fossil Huntress Podcast. Today, we're taking a journey half a billion years back in time to one of the most extraordinary fossil sites ...
King of the Trilobites: The Discovery of Isotelus rex
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re setting sail—back in time—to meet the king of the trilobites: Isotelus rex, the largest complete trilobite ever discovered.Now, I kn...
Time Travelers in Stone: What Are Trilobites?
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to The Fossil Huntress Podcast—your window into the deep time of ancient oceans, lost worlds, and beautiful traces left behind. I'm your ho...
The Bone Wars: Cope & Marsh
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to the Fossil Huntress Podcast, the show where we dig into the dirt—literally—to uncover the most fascinating stories from Earth’s ...
What is Paleontology & What is a Fossil?
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Fossil Huntress Podcast, the podcast where we dig into the past—literally! Join in the exploration of the fascinating science of pala...
Sclater, Wallace & Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today's show, you'll hear about a paper delivered on a chilly December evening in 1857 by Philip Sclater that hugely inspired Alfred Wallac...
15th BCPA Symposium with Kirk Johnson
05 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode you’ll learn the dates, location and exciting line up of speakers at the 15th BCPA Symposium
2024 Fossil Lecture Series & British Columbia’s New Provincial Fossil
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, you'll hear about some wonderful free Zoom Fossil Talks in March and May 2024. There is no need to register. You can head on over to ...
Dr. Victoria Arbour — Royal BC Museum Fieldwork at the Carbon Creek Basin Dinosaur Tracksite
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Victoria is a vertebrate palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist and is the leading expert on the palaeobiology of the armoured dinosaurs known as ...
Vancouver Island Mosasaur
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vancouver Island holds many wonderful fossils and incredible folk excited to explore them. The Dove Creek Mosasaur, which includes the teeth and lower...
A Taste for Studies: Tortoise Urine, Armadillos, Fried Tarantula & Goat Eyeballs
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A Taste for Studies: Tortoise Urine, Armadillos, Fried Tarantula & Goat Eyeballs While eating study specimens is not in vogue today, it was once comm...
Predators and Prey in Devonian Seas
25 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Predators and Prey in our Devonian Seas. It is here we see the first tetrapods — land-living vertebrates — appeared during the Devonian, as did th...
Earth’s First Four-Legged, Air-Breathing Vertebrates
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1930s, our understanding of the transition of fish to tetrapods — and the eventual jump to modern vertebrates — took an unexpected l...
North America’s Rocky Mountain Trench
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
North America's Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of Nor...
Oh, Shiny! Pyritized Fossils
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We sometimes find fossils preserved by pyrite. They are prized as much for their pleasing gold colouring as for their scientific value as windows into...
Bitten and Smitten by the Mineral Bug
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is a blast from the past and the tale of how I was bitten and smitten by the mineral bug. I hope you enjoy this story from my youth growing up on...
Extinct Giants: Woolly Mammoths
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Extinct Giants: The Woolly Mammoths. These massive beasts roamed the icy cold tundra of Europe, Asia, and North America from about 300,000 years ago u...
Fossil Gear: What to Bring Fossil Collecting
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Learn all about the gear you might need out in the field fossil collecting. What you'll need depends on where you collect and what time of year you go...
Hunting Ichthyosaurs in the Norwegian Archipelago of Svalbard
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join in for a chilly visit to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard between mainland Norway and the North Pole. This one of the world’s northernmost...
The Weird and the Wonderful: Lessons from the Cambrian
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Moysiuk is a palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist, with research interests in macroevolution, evolutionary developmental biology, and the or...
Welcome to Season Seven
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Season Seven of the Fossil Huntress Podcast. In this episode you’ll hear about the many yummy fossil projects and field trips over the pa...
Kirk Johnson — A Lucky Paleontologist & the Tale of Three Splendid Canadian Fossils
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kirk Johnson is a geologist, paleobotanist, and the Sant Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. His research focuses on f...
Palaeontology Lecture Series — Spring 2022
12 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2022 Palaeontology / Paleontology Lecture Series with all of you. Zoom Link: www.fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com SPRING 2022 Kicking off 2022 is Dan...
Valley of a Thousand Peaks in the Rocky Mountains
09 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Rocky Mountain Trench is one of the few geologic wonders we can see from space. It is known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench...
Solving an 85 Million-Year-Old Puzzle — Excavating An Elasmosaur
08 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A mighty marine reptile was excavated on the Trent River near Courtenay on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The excavatio...
Celebrating 2021 With All of You & Welcoming 2022 With An Epic Fossil Contest
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nothing says Happy 2022 like free prizes. Thank you to each and every one of you who spent time with me in 2021. It is time to wrap up the year and we...
Love the Wild: Moose / Alces alces
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Love the Wild: Moose. One of the most impressive mammals of the Pacific Northwest and the largest living member of the deer family are Moose. They are...
Cretaceous Capilano Fossil Field Trip
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fossil Field Trip to the Cretaceous Capilano Three Brothers Formation — Vancouver has a spectacular mix of mountains, forests, lowlands, inlets and ...
The Fossils and Geology of Haida Gwaii
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The islands have gone by many names. To the people who call the islands home, Haida Gwaii means Island of the People, it is a shortened version of an ...
Fossil Collecting Austria's Triassic Limestones
23 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fly with me over to Austria in Europe to visit the Hallstatt Limestones. These are the world's richest Triassic ammonite outcrops. Along with divers...
Fossil Collecting Wrangellia
22 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fossil Collecting in the islands of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. The mist-shrouded islands of Haida Gwaii are at the western edge of the con...
Harrison Lake Fossil Collecting 101
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you are planning a fossil field trip to Harrison Lake, this is the episode for you! We'll talk about getting there. What to bring and what you'll f...
Welcome to the Fossil Huntress Podcast: Season Five
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Season Five of the Fossil Huntress Podcast. If you love palaeontology, you will love this stream. Ammonites, trilobites, you’ll find them...
British Columbia’s Iconic Spirit Bears
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Visiting the Great Bear Rainforest takes planning and is well worth the trip. You will want to book a guide to lead you through this 6.4 million hecta...
Our Palaeontological History: From Fish to Tetrapods
16 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1930s, our understanding of the transition of fish to tetrapods — and the eventual jump to modern vertebrates — took an unexpected lea...
Fossil Field Trip to the Oregon Coast
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Oregon Coast on the western edge of the USA is a wonderful place to collect fossils. The area has been known for its wonderful fossil fauna since ...
Burgess Shale Biota: Life in Middle Cambrian Seas
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
High up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains there are mysteries more than half a billion years old. These are the outcrops of the Burgess Shale Biota — ...
Love the Wild: Gentle Gentoo Penguins
20 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Gentoo Penguins with their black, white natural colouring akin to formal wear — are some of my favourite animals. They are foraging predators — di...
Earth’s Earliest Atmosphere: Cyanobacteria
30 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We owe a huge nod of gratitude to the wee photosynthetic microbes known as cyanobacteria for their work in helping to create the first oxygen to enter...
Fool’s Gold: Betting On Gold Prospects
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When I was little, maybe 5 or 6 years old, I struck gold! Well, it wasn't real gold, but I was most convinced. Someone had dumped a tailings pile near...
José Bonaparte: Master of the Mesozoic
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most delightful palaeontologists to grace our Earth was José Fernando Bonaparte (14 June 1928 – 18 February 2020). He was an Argentinian...
The Great Karoo of South Africa
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Great Karoo was formed in a vast inland basin starting 320 million years ago, at a time when that part of Gondwana which would eventually become A...
Marble Canyon: Stromatolites in Limestone
21 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marble Canyon in British Columbia, Canada is a lovely place to hike. Here you can see some of the oldest freshwater stromatolites on Earth and one of ...
Love the Wild: Australia’s Fossil Megafauna
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia has always held appeal as a country with weird and wonderful wildlife. This is as true today as it was back in the Pleistocene — 2.5 milli...
The Shifting Earth: Plate Tectonics
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Plate tectonics looks at Earth’s outer layer. It is made up of large, moving pieces called plates. All of Earth’s land and water sit on these plat...
Amber: Fossilized Tree Resin
21 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its colour and natural beauty since the Neolithic. We find amber around the globe, genera...
Ammonite Valentine: Upper Cretaceous Brannen Lake Motorcross Pit
14 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the classic Vancouver Island fossil localities is the Santonian-Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous Haslam Formation Motocross Pit near Brannen Lak...
Love the Wild: Koala Bears / Marsupials
13 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Koala, Phasscolarctos cinereus, are truly adorable marsupials native to Australia. These cuddly "teddy bears" are not bears at all. Koalas belong to a...
Furry, Fuzzy, Polar, Panda — Bears: Ursidae
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bears are one of my favourite mammals. Had they evolved in a slightly different way, we might well have chosen them as pets instead of the dogs so man...
Fossil Field Trip to Sooke
31 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The upper Oligocene Sooke Formation that outcrops on southwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia is a wonderful place to collect and especially go...
Rene Savenye: Friendship & Fossil Bees
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is a tale of friendship, tragic loss and fossil bees — and an introduction to one of the most delightful paleo enthusiasts to ever walk the pla...
Geologic Time & the Periodic Table
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Part of our ability to date the rock sequences we see in the world and determine which are older and which younger has to do with simple observation. ...
The Map that Changed the World
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our World has shifted dramatically over time. Our great land masses and oceans have moved, grown, shrunk, come together and pulled apart over the Eart...
Dinosaur Hunting: Alberta Fossil Field Trip
10 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alberta is a gorgeous province in western Canada that borders British Columbia & Saskatchewan. Here you can see the glorious Canadian Rocky Mounta...
Fossils Deep in the North Sea
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brown Bank in the North Sea is a treasure trove of Miocene and Pleistocene Fossil Mammal material. It is also a great place to unearth archaeological ...
Palaeontology: Mass Extinction Events
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We live on a beautiful and ever-evolving planet — both in its geography, living and extinct species. Whether you study palaeontology (Brits & Ca...
Geologic Time & Radioisotope Dating
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We live on an amazing planet with a 4.5 billion year history of life evolving from a single cell to multicellular life to the sheer volume of diversit...
Cam Muskelly vs Megalodon
26 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For the ARCHEA blog post on Megalodon, I wanted to choose a human to give that mighty shark a true sense of scale. And in choosing a human, I thought ...
Palaeontology: The Mighty Megalodon
26 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
23-million-years ago to just over 3-million-years ago, the apex predator of the seas was the hulking cousin to today's Great White Shark. That big bea...
The Dove Creek Mosasaur
25 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Dove Creek Mosasaur, which includes the teeth and lower jawbone of a large marine reptile was discovered by Rick Ross of the Vancouver Island Pala...
Carboniferous Mason Creek Biota
25 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You may have seen some lovely plant material in dark nodules of siderite or iron carbonate coming from the Mazon Creek Fossil Beds. the Mason Creek Bi...
Happy Holidays 2020
25 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
God Jul & the Very Best of the Holiday Season to You & Yours. However you celebrate, sending you love and light for a wonderful holiday ...
Hunting Ichthyosaurs: Svalbard Fossil Field Trip
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join in for a chilly visit to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard between mainland Norway and the North Pole. This one of the world’s northernmost...
Kazakhstan: Fossils and Geology
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kazakhstan Fossils and Geology: This morning on the ARCHEA Blog I shared a tasty block of Semenovites (Anahoplites) cf. michalskii ammonites that hail...
Welcome to Season Two
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Winter Solstice 2020 — Welcome to Season Two. The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern h...
Carnotaurus: Flesh-Eating Dinosaur
20 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Carnotaurus sastrei, a genus of large theropod dinosaurs that roamed the southern tip of Argentina, South America during the Late Cretaceous, 72 ...
Brachiopods and Living Fossils
12 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Brachiopods, sharks, crocodiles, coelacanth, ginko, horsetails and velvet works are all considered Living Fossils. We'll talk about those species and ...
The Fossil Record: Woolly Mammoths
12 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Woolly Mammoths were true elephants, unlike their less robust cousins, the mastodons. Mammoths were bigger — both in girth and height — weighing i...
Lemurs of Madagascar
12 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Lemurs are mammals of the order Primates, divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 highly diverse species — 105 to be...
Exploring the Geology & Fossil Record of Madagascar
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One hundred and seventy million years ago, Madagascar was landlocked in the middle of the supercontinent Gondwana, sandwiched between land that would ...
Eocene Cryptodiran Fossil Turtle
06 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An Eocene Cryptodiran Fossil Turtle, Baena arenosa, from fine-grained lime mud outcrops in the Green River Formation, Wyoming, USA. This fellow, with...
The Fossil Record: Green River Formation
06 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Green River Formation is a series of Eocene outcrops with outstanding preservation. Here we see the species that lived and died then fossilized wi...
Palaeontology: John Leahy & Dave Langevin
05 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
John Leahy & Dave Langevin worked up at the McAbee Fossil Beds for more than two decades. Together they opened up the site and our understanding o...
The Fossil Record: McAbee Fossil Beds
05 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The McAbee Fossil Beds are known for their incredible abundance, diversity and quality of fossils including lovely plant, insect and fish species that...
Exploring the Triassic: Hallstatt, Austria
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Hallstatt Limestone is the world's richest Triassic ammonite unit, yielding specimens of more than 500 ammonite species. Along with diversified ce...
Geology & the Fossil Record: Building Washington State
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There was a large downpour that hit Washington State causing massive slides. The blocks you see here all came crashing down on the hillside. Once the...
Geology & the Fossil Record: Ktunaxa Nation Eager Formation
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ktunaxa people have occupied the lands adjacent to the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers and the Arrow Lakes of British Columbia, Canada for more than 10,0...
Dr. Ted Danner, Professor Emeritus, UBC
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In May 2001, Dr. Ted Danner, Professor Emeritus from UBC and my mentor gave a talk to the Vancouver Paleontological Society. For over fifteen years, w...
Geology & Fossils of the Gulf Islands
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Gulf Islands in British Columbia include Mayne, Galiano, Hornby, and Gabriola. The largest is Salt Spring, famed for its locavore-minded farmers, ...
Evolution: Of Land and Sea
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many land animals have returned to the sea throughout evolutionary history. We have beautifully documented cases from amphibians, reptiles, birds and ...
Pterosaurs: Flying Reptiles of the Mesozoic
20 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the extinct clade or order Pterosauria. They soared our ancient skies during most of the Mesozoic — from the late...
Nevada Fossil Field Trip
20 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the Triassic, 290-210 million years ago, massive marine reptiles — the ichthyosaurs — hunted in the shallow sea that blanketed what would ...
Haida Gwaii: Islands of Mist
15 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steeped in mist and mythology, the islands of Haida Gwaii abound in local lore that surrounds their beginnings. Today, the Hecate Strait is a tempestu...
Trent River Elasmosaur Excavation
14 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A mighty marine reptile was excavated on the Trent River near Courtenay on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada in August 2020...
Ichthyosaurs of the Blue Lias
14 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consi...
Palaeontology: A Global Passion
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A warm welcome to all of you and thank you for listening to the Fossil Huntress Podcast. We've just crossed over the one month mark and I wanted to sa...
The Rocky Mountain Trench
08 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Rocky Mountain Trench is one of the few geologic wonders we can see from space. It is known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench...
The Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds
08 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds now sit in the Main Ranges of the Rockies but were once at the bottom of shallow sea beds down near the edge of ances...
The Cambrian Explosion
07 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Come and explore one of British Columbia's most intriguing fossil localities — the Burgess Shale. This amazing window into our ancient seas was foun...
Fossil Birds of the Jehol Biota
01 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Fossil Birds of the Jehol Biota have caused an international stir amongst palaeontologists. The Jehol outcrops of northeastern China has unearthed...
Ancient Fossil Octopus: Keuppia
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are two species of Keuppia, Keuppia hyperbolaris and Keuppia levante, both of which we find as fossils. We find their remains, along with those ...
Paddling the Bowron Lakes
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A cool morning breeze keeps the mosquitoes down as we pack our kayaks and gear for today’s paddling journey. It is day four of our holiday, with two...
Angiosperms in British Columbia
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Plant fossils are found coast-to-coast in Canada, from 45-million-year-old mosses in British Columbia to fossil forests on Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere ...
Rise of the Angiosperm: Crocus
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The earliest flowering plants show up in the fossil record 130 million years ago. These beauties became the dominant type of forest plant by about 90 ...