Alyssa sat down with Dr Dean Lomax — palaeontologist, author, broadcaster, and all-round ichthyosaur evangelist — ahead of his first-ever visit to Australia for Queensland Dinosaur Week (4–10 May 2026). It's a conversation about science, storytelling, and what it really takes to build a career in palaeontology when nobody in your family has ever been to university.

Plus: Travis is flying up to Brisbane for Dino Week himself, we make some big announcements about the future of the show, and we reveal what kookaburras have in common with Jurassic Park.

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• Dr Dean Lomax's website: deanrlomax.co.uk
• Locked in Time — Dean Lomax and Bob Nicholls
• The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs — Dean Lomax and Bob Nicholls
• Why Dinosaurs documentary — [available free on YouTube]
• Queensland Dinosaur Week
• Fossils and Fiction membership and merch

Fossils and Fiction is kept ad-free by our members. Fossils and Fiction is a production of Extinction Media.

Featuring interviews with experts from the Queensland Museum, Eromanga Natural History Museum, Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum (Winton), and Kronosaurus Korner (Richmond), we find out what's happening across the state from May 4-10, 2026.

For more info, check out https://dinosaurexperiences.com/queensland-dinosaur-week-2026/

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More info:

• Australia Post's 'creatures of the palaeozoic' https://collectables.auspost.com.au/stamp-issues/view-all-stamp-issues/creatures-of-the-palaeozoic
• ABC Coverage of Dinosaur Dreaming https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-11/dinosaur-dig-at-inverloch-finds-bones-and-fossils/105904132

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Tess Gallagher, Dan Folkes, Michael Pittman, Tom G. Kaye, Glenn W. Storrs, Jason Schein; Fossilized melanosomes reveal colour patterning of a sauropod dinosaur. R Soc Open Sci. 1 December 2025; 12 (12): 251232. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251232

Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E., Jaramillo, C. et al. Cretaceous amber of Ecuador unveils new insights into South America’s Gondwanan forests. Commun Earth Environ 6, 745 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02625-2

More info:

Join us in Adelaide for Fossils and Fiction live on November 29! https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1964100016020?aff=oddtdtcreator

Visit Wellington Caves https://www.wellingtoncaves.com.au/

Bertozzo, F., Tanke, D. H., Conti, S., Manucci, F., Arnott, G., Godefroit, P., Ruffell, A., Fowler, D., Freedman Fowler, E. A., Bolotsky, I. Y., Bolotsky, Y. L., & Murphy, E. (2025). Deciphering causes and behaviors: A recurrent pattern of tail injuries in hadrosaurid dinosaurs. iScience, 113739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113739

Zanno, L. E., & Napoli, J. G. (2025). Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus coexisted at the close of the Cretaceous. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09801-6

Dr James Rule gives lets us in on the secrets of the seals, covering their evolution, fossil history, and some challenges with modern marine mammal research. James tells us the best and worst seal and lays down the terms to the whales. Also, it's Halloween, so we take a look at some creepy museum exhibitions.

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Flynn, A. G., Brusatte, S. L., Chiarenza, A. A., García, J., Davis, A. J., Secord, R., Shelley, S., Weil, A., Heizler, M. T., Williamson, T. E., & Peppe, D. J. (2025). Late-surviving New Mexican dinosaurs illuminate high end-Cretaceous diversity and provinciality.

Sereno, P. C., Saitta, E. T., Vidal, D., Myhrvold, N., Real, M. C., Baumgart, S. L., Bop, L. L., Keillor, T. M., Eriksen, M., & Derstler, K. (2025). Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template “mummification.” Science, science.adw3536. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw3536

Support the Diplodocoid publishing campaign: https://experiment.com/projects/reassessing-the-evolutionary-family-tree-and-biogeography-of-the-iconic-sauropod-group-diplodocoidea?s=search

Check out the palaeo art gallery here https://extinctfineart.com/virtual-paleoart-gallery/

Check out Zev's website https://www.zevlandes.com/ or Instagram @ZevLandes.

More info:

Bell, P. R., Pickles, B. J., Ashby, S. C., Walker, I. E., Hurst, S., Rampe, M., Durkin, P., & Brown, C. M. (2025). A ceratopsid-dominated tracksite from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. PLOS ONE, 20(7), e0324913. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324913

Ben's website: https://www.benfrancischelli.com/

George Frandsen is founder of the Poozeum in Williams, Arizona. He shares the story of the Poozeum and its mission to educate the world about coprolites. George also introduces us to Barnum - the world's biggest T. rex poop. Alyssa and Travis review Walking with Dinosaurs and Jurassic World: Rebirth before Travis unleashes his softer side with a little palaeo poetry ('Species' by Tishani Doshi, from A God at the Door published by Cooper Canyon Press).

More info:

• King Tyrant on Amazon
• Haridy, Y., Norris, S.C.P., Fabbri, M. et al. The origin of vertebrate teeth and evolution of sensory exoskeletons. Nature 642, 119–124 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08944-w

This episode features renowned palaeoartist Mark Witton talking about his new book King Tyrant and other topics in palaeoart. Plus, news on the world's first sauropod gut contents. Then, Travis and Alyssa challenge each other to a prehistoric spelling bee.

More info:

Mark Witton's website https://www.markwitton.co.uk/

Poropat, S. F., Tosolini, A.-M. P., Beeston, S. L., Enchelmaier, M. J., Pentland, A. H., Mannion, P. D., Upchurch, P., Chin, K., Korasidis, V. A., Bell, P. R., Enriquez, N. J., Holman, A. I., Brosnan, L. M., Elson, A. L., Tripp, M., Scarlett, A. G., Godel, B., Madden, R. H. C., Rickard, W. D. A., … Grice, K. (2025). Fossilized gut contents elucidate the feeding habits of sauropod dinosaurs. Current Biology, 35(11), 2597-2613.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.053

We discuss new research showing the origin of tyrannosaurs may have been in Asia and also how megaraptors arose and spread throughout Gondwana. And another new paper pushes back the origin of tetrapods and (maybe) places it in the southern continents.

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• Long, J. A., Niedźwiedzki, G., Garvey, J., Clement, A. M., Camens, A. B., Eury, C. A., Eason, J., & Ahlberg, P. E. (2025). Earliest amniote tracks recalibrate the timeline of tetrapod evolution. Nature, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08884-5

• Morrison, C., Scherer, C. R., O’Callaghan, E. V., Layton, C., Boisvert, C., Rolando, M. A., Durrant, L., Salas, P., Allain, S. J. R., & Gascoigne, S. J. L. (2025). Rise of the king: Gondwanan origins and evolution of megaraptoran dinosaurs. Royal Society Open Science, 12(5). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242238

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Check out:

• Gray Fossil Site https://gfs.visithandson.org/
• Dinosauria Season 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRXB67fcXZA
• Paleo Pines https://paleopines.com/
• Pint of Science https://pintofscience.com.au/

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Palaeo Pulse:

McCurry, M. R., Gill, A. C., Baranov, V., Hart, L. J., Slatyer, C., & Frese, M. (2025). The paleobiology of a new osmeriform fish species from Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2445684

More: McInerney, P., Blokland, J., & Worthy, T. (2024, June 3). New fossils show what Australia’s giant prehistoric ‘thunder birds’ looked like – and offer clues about how they died out. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/new-fossils-show-what-australias-giant-prehistoric-thunder-birds-looked-like-and-offer-clues-about-how-they-died-out-221599Kotevski, J., Duncan, R. J., Ziegler, T., Bevitt, J. J., Vickers-Rich, P., Rich, T. H., Evans, A. R., & Poropat, S. F. (n.d.). Evolutionary and paleobiogeographic implications of new carcharodontosaurian, megaraptorid, and unenlagiine theropod remains from the upper Lower Cretaceous of Victoria, southeast Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 0(0), e2441903. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2441903

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More:

Virtual paleoart exhibitionhttps://extinctfineart.com/virtual-paleoart-gallery/

Ammonite moviehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt7983894/

Lovelace, D. M., Kufner, A. M., Fitch, A. J., Curry Rogers, K., Schmitz, M., Schwartz, D. M., LeClair-Diaz, A., St.Clair, L., Mann, J., & Teran, R. (2025). Rethinking dinosaur origins: Oldest known equatorial dinosaur-bearing assemblage (mid-late Carnian Popo Agie FM, Wyoming, USA).Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,203(1), zlae153.https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae153

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Colin Boisvert X/Twitter: https://x.com/colin_boisvert

Colin Boisvert Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colinboisvert1/

Barker, C. T., Handford, L., Naish, D., Wills, S., Hendrickx, C., Hadland, P., Brockhurst, D., & Gostling, N. J. (2024). Theropod dinosaur diversity of the lower English Wealden: Analysis of a tooth-based fauna from the Wadhurst Clay Formation (Lower Cretaceous: Valanginian) via phylogenetic, discriminant and machine learning methods. Papers in Palaeontology, 10(6), e1604. https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.1604

Zev Landes https://www.zevlandes.com/

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Follow Steph-Richter-Stretton on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/biostephigraphy/

Lopatin, A. V., Sotnikova, M. V., Klimovsky, A. I., Lavrov, A. V., Protopopov, A. V., Gimranov, D. O., & Parkhomchuk, E. V. (2024). Mummy of a juvenile sabre-toothed cat Homotherium latidens from the Upper Pleistocene of Siberia. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 28016. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79546-1

The conversation places Haliskia in context with other Aussie pterosaurs and pterosaur families from around the world.

She also discusses the importance of museums like Kronosaurus Korner and the Australian Age of Dinosaurs in promoting paleotourism and supporting local communities. Adele shares her optimism for future discoveries of pterosaurs in Australia and highlights the significance of these findings for scientific research and public interest.

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More info:

Adele's podcast Pals in Palaeo https://palsinpalaeo.com/

Kronosaurus Korner https://www.kronosauruskorner.com.au/

The Conversation article on Haliskia https://theconversation.com/100-million-year-old-fossil-find-reveals-huge-flying-reptile-that-patrolled-australias-inland-sea-231393

Scientific Reports paper describing Haliskia https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-60889-8

Scientific Reports paper describing Ferrodraco lentoni https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49789-4

Check out https://sandrabennettauthor.com/

Check out Amanda's Instagram @perryology101

Ari also shares his collaboration with palaeontologists and the challenges of incorporating scientific knowledge into dance performances and the process of choosing specific prehistoric animals as characters in his performances.

Prehistoric Body Theater uses stagecraft and set design to create a portal for the audience's imagination, allowing them to journey into deep time. The performances incorporate prosthetic elements and clay-textured sets to create a sensory experience. The company aims to tour their work globally and continue to bridge the gap between art and science.

Check out more about Prehistoric Body Theater https://www.prehistoricbody.org/

Check out @PalaeoAstrid on Instagram for more.

For more info, check out DinosaurTrips.com

They also discuss the impact of Jurassic Park on dinosaur fandom and the genre of eco-horror. The conversation explores the themes of environmental impact, the future of the Jurassic Park franchise, the portrayal of dinosaurs as animals or monsters, and the use of dinosaurs as agents of punishment. The discussion also touches on the tension between realism and spectacle in the films, the changing debates and viewpoints within the franchise, and the engagement with cultural and scientific debates. The conversation highlights the unique nature of the Jurassic Park series in actively engaging with these themes on screen.

This is Part 2 of coverage of 'The Jurassic Park Book', edited by Dr Matt Melia and published by Bloomsbury.

More info:

• The Jurassic Park Book https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/jurassic-park-book-9781501384844/
• Cinergie Journal: 'Franchising Jurassic Park' https://cinergie.unibo.it/issue/view/1234

• Dr Catherine Pugh's website https://catherine-pugh.co.uk/
• Dr Ross Garner's university profile https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/garnerrp1

More:

• Follow Bronwyn's Facebook page
• Buy Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey
• We have a copy of Diprotodon to give away - drawn April 10, 2024. See the Fossils and Fiction Instagram for details.

Follow Jake's work on Instagram @theropods_down_under

Alyssa's research focuses on the growth patterns of early arthropods. She explores the concept of the inhibitory cascade model and its implications for understanding the life cycle and evolution of these animals.

Alyssa also shares her experiences in science education and outreach, emphasising the importance of making science accessible and engaging for diverse audiences.

More info:

• Found a Fossil website https://www.foundafossil.com/

• Hurst, S. (2023). Found a Fossil: Assessing Australian perceptions of heritage discoveries and conservation [Thesis, Macquarie University]. https://doi.org/10.25949/22662535.v1
• Hurst, S., Kosnik, M., Evans, L., & Brock, G. A. (2023). Found a fossil: Improving awareness, engagement, and communication strategies for heritage discoveries. Journal of Science Communication, 22(5). https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/JCOM_2205_2023_A03/

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Thanks to Charles Sturt Uni student intern Jack Thompson for his assistance with this episode.

For more information on Scenic World and Dinosaur Valley visit https://scenicworld.com.au/

Check out I Know Dino on their website or your favourite podcasting app: https://iknowdino.com/ 

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Stuff mentioned: 

Clements, T., Atterby, J., Cleary, T., Richard P. Dearden, & Rossi, V. (2022). The perception of palaeontology in commercial off-the-shelf video games and an assessment of their potential as educational tools. Geoscience Communication, 5, 289–306. https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-289-2022 

Common Descent Podcast: https://commondescentpodcast.com/

Noble, B. (2016). Articulating Dinosaurs: A Political Anthropology. University of Toronto Press. https://utorontopress.com/9781442621329/articulating-dinosaurs/ 

Plotnick, R. E., Anderson, B. M., Carlson, S. J., Jukar, A. M., Kimming, J., & Petsios, E. (n.d.). Paleontology Is Far More Than New Fossil Discoveries. Scientific American. Retrieved September 15, 2023, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/paleontology-is-far-more-than-new-fossil-discoveries1/ 

Terrible Lizards Podcast with Dave Hone and Iszi Lawrence https://terriblelizards.libsyn.com/ 

Nadelson, L., Culp, R., Bunn, S., Burkhart, R., Shetlar, R., Nixon, K., & Waldron, J. (2009). Teaching Evolution Concepts to Early Elementary School Students. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2(3), 458–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-009-0148-x

Books mentioned:

• Manias, C. (2023). The Age of Mammals: Nature, Development and Paleontology in the Long Nineteenth Century. University of Pittsburgh Press. https://upittpress.org/books/9780822947806/
• Ashby, J. (2022). Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Lives of Australian Mammals. HarperCollins. https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008431440/platypus-matters/
• Douglas, K. (2010). Pictures of Time Beneath: Science, Heritage and the Uses of the Deep Past. CSIRO Publishing. https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/6342/
• Panciroli, E. (2021). Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution. Bloomsbury. https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/beasts-before-us-9781472983978/

• Adele's website https://www.adelepentland.com/
• Pals in Palaeo Instagram https://www.instagram.com/palsinpalaeo/
• Pals in Palaeo links https://linktr.ee/palsinpalaeo

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Articles/interviews mentioned:

• Shaye Ganam, 770 CHQR/630 CHED Edmonton and Toronto, Thirty years after Jurassic Park hit movie screens, its impact on science and culture remains as strong as ever, https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DXM7ooNyFpIQmBAIBktuK?si=v6dMHMZXQquZG7VZrQpTIQ
• Nahal el-Hadi, The Conversation Weekly, Thirty years after Jurassic Park hit movie screens, its impact on science and culture remains as strong as ever — podcast, https://theconversation.com/thirty-years-after-jurassic-park-hit-movie-screens-its-impact-on-science-and-culture-remains-as-strong-as-ever-podcast-210110
• Suzanne Hill, ABC Nightlife, https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/jurassicpark-dinosaurs-movies/102492598

• Travis Holland and Lisa Watt, The Conversation, Toss Aside Those High Heels: How Jurassic World's Claire Dearing lights a path for women in action films, https://theconversation.com/toss-aside-those-high-heels-how-jurassic-worlds-claire-dearing-lights-a-path-for-women-in-action-films-182334

• Travis Holland, The Conversation, How Jurassic Park changed film-making and our view of dinosaurs, https://theconversation.com/how-jurassic-park-changed-film-making-and-our-view-of-dinosaurs-203147
• Travis Holland, Fossils and Fiction, Making Sarah Harding, https://www.fossilsfiction.co/2022/05/02/making-sarah-harding/
• Holland, T., & Watt, L. (2023). Sexism in survival situations: Reconsidering gender in Jurassic Park. In S. Gerrard, & R. Middlemost (Eds.), Gender and action films 1980-2000: Beauty in motion (1st ed., pp. 123-136). (Emerald Studies in Popular Culture and Gender). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-506-720221009

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Dr Nic Campione's UNE profile: https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/dr-nicolas-campione

Dr Nic Campione's research publications https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=DIilDo0AAAAJ&hl=en

UNE's Undergraduate Certificate in Palaeontology https://www.une.edu.au/study/courses/undergraduate-certificate-in-palaeontology

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Follow Dr Peter Cullen Bryan on Twitter @pfxbryan

Don Bluth. Somewhere Out There: My Animated Life.  SmartPop, 2022. 

1988 Pizza Hut puppets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce17QquyL8s 

Forgotten Disney: Essays on the Lesser-Known Productions.   https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/forgotten-disney/

This episode also features a song called 'These Curious Things'. Words and music by Michael Mills, featuring Gemma Dandie on lead vocals with Professor Flint and Michael singing harmonies.

Buy tickets to A Curious Thing: The Story of Mary Anning: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/a-curious-thing-the-story-of-mary-anning-af2023 

More on 'Curious Things': https://linktr.ee/TheseCuriousThings 

More on Professor Flint: https://linktr.ee/professorflint

Papers: 

1. Clements, T., Atterby, J., Cleary, T., Dearden, R. P., and Rossi, V.: The perception of palaeontology in commercial off-the-shelf video games and an assessment of their potential as educational tools, Geosci. Commun., 5, 289–306, https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-289-2022, 2022.
2. Dunne, E.M., Raja, N.B., Stewens, P.P. et al. Ethics, law, and politics in palaeontological research: The case of Myanmar amber. Commun Biol 5, 1023 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03847-2

Follow Isaac on Twitter @IsaacARKerr and Adele @AdelePentland. 

Papers mentioned: 

1. Kerr, I. A. R. and Prideaux, G. J. (2022) ‘A new genus of kangaroo (Marsupialia, Macropodidae) from the late Pleistocene of Papua New Guinea’, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. Taylor & Francis, 00, pp. 1–24. doi: 10.1080/03721426.2022.2086518.
2. Kerr, I. A. R. (2022) 'This giant kangaroo once roamed New Guinea - descended from an Australian ancestor that migrated millions of years ago'. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/this-giant-kangaroo-once-roamed-new-guinea-descended-from-an-australian-ancestor-that-migrated-millions-of-years-ago-185778 
3. Pentland, A. H. et al. (2019) ‘Ferrodraco lentoni gen. et sp. nov., a new ornithocheirid pterosaur from the Winton Formation (Cenomanian–lower Turonian) of Queensland, Australia’, Scientific Reports. Springer US, 9(1), pp. 1–13. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-49789-4.
4. Pentland, A. H. et al. (2022) ‘The osteology of Ferrodraco lentoni, an anhanguerid pterosaur from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia’, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 41(5). doi: 10.1080/02724634.2021.2038182.

'Sea Monsters' is open on the following schedule:  

• Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, 25 June 2022 to 14 August 2022; 
• Newcastle Regional Museum, September 2022 to February 2023; 
• Western Australian Maritime Museum, April to July 2023; 
• Museum of North Queensland, Townsville, September 2023 to February 2024. 

More information and tickets https://www.sea.museum/whats-on/exhibitions/sea-monsters 

Follow Tom on Twitter @Tom_Jurassic, and check out the Jurassic Park Podcast, Collect Jurassic, and Jurassic Collectables. 

Follow Dr Garner on Twitter @DrRPG_TV.

Referenced material:

1. Washington Post article on reviving the thylacine;
2. Article in The Conversation about Claire Dearing;
3. Article about Sarah Harding.
4. 'Doctor Who and the Dinosaurs' in Doctor Who and Science, 2021

For more information about Prehistoric Planet, visit the Apple TV+ show page.

A transcript and more detailed show notes will be available at FossilsFiction.co. 

A transcript of this episode is available now. 

You can submit comments for inclusion in future episodes via our Anchor profile. 

To learn more about the Australian Age of Dinosaurs, visit their website, Facebook, or Instagram. The Australian Age of Dinosaurs is a non-profit, independent institution. To support their work, consider becoming a member. 

A transcript of this podcast is available here.

Resources referenced in this episode:

1. Dinomania: Why we love, fear, and are utterly enchanted by dinosaurs (2018), by Boria Sax;
2. Avian Illuminations: A cultural history of birds (2021), by Boria Sax;
3. Jurassic Park (1993) by Michael Crichton;
4. Jurassic Park (1993) by Steven Spielberg;
5. Weird Studies, a podcast by Phil Ford and JR Martel;
6. Audio files of dinosaur and other Jurassic sounds by The Natural History Museum, London.

View episode transcript.

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Links:

• Holland, T. A. (2024). Palaeo podcasting: A practice-led extended-mixed methods case study. Media International Australia, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X241265824
• Fossils and Fiction Episode 26, Alyssa Fjeld's Ancient Bugs https://www.fossilsfiction.co/2023/12/18/episode-26/
• Common Descent Podcast https://commondescentpodcast.com/