The Land Before Podcast: Fossil Histories and Paleo Mysteries
The Land Before Podcast explores fossil histories and paleo mysteries from Dinosaur Ridge, sites around Colorado, the United States, and everywhere on Earth where the remains of dinosaurs and prehistoric life is found. In 2022, a group of Dinosaur Ridge staff members teamed up to create this podcast to connect with dinosaur enthusiasts, those interested in paleontology, geology, ichnology, natural resource preservation, STEM education, natural history, and new fossil discoveries. Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, Colorado is North America’s #1 rated dinosaur tracksite, according to an esteemed panel of paleontologists. More than 250,000 visitors from around the world visited the site in 2021 to see the tracks, ancient seaway ripple marks, trace fossils and dinosaur bones embedded in the Jurassic and Cretaceous rock of the Dakota hogback. Since 1989, the nonprofit group Friends of Dinosaur Ridge has been providing educational tours and other visitor services including camps for kids, while working to ensure preservation of the dinosaur tracks and fossils set in the Ridge just east of the iconic Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre outdoor concert venue. Dinosaur Ridge is part of the Morrison-Golden Fossil Areas National Natural Landmark, a subunit of the National Park System. In this podcast series, our own network of experts share their knowledge and interpretations, explore the issues and challenges impacting the field, do some myth-busting, and of course celebrate the fun stuff from fresh fossil finds to dinosaur movies, dinosaur art, and the stories told in popular culture that continue to fuel human fascination with life on the planet from long before our time. Please visit the website https://dinoridge.org to learn more about Dinosaur Ridge, and how you can get involved.
Episodes
In the final episode of Season One, we take a look at the iconic mighty Triceratops, inspiration for the Colorado Rockies team mascot Dinger. Plus the geological wonder of shale found on Dinosaur Ridge nearly 6,000 feet above sea level. How did this sedimentary outcrop end up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains? Special guest baseball announcer Drew Goodman delivers the final quiz of the season. Thank you for listening! Send id...
In this episode, we go back to the Ice Age to a site near Dinosaur Ridge where a Columbian mammoth grave is rapidly being surrounded by a new housing development. And we go oven further back in time to the days when crocodilians inhabited Colorado waterways, including one at Dino Ridge- long before the Rocky Mountains uplifted. The state's ever-changing plant and animal history has left a treasure trove for paleontologists to study...
In this episode, a Master Falconer describes the serious commitment involved in keeping a wild raptor; the way it might be done if dinosaurs could be captured and cared for. You cannot tame them, but you can earn their respect. And we dig into dinosaur dung to learn what clues it reveals about eating habits, especially before egg-laying. Host Erin LaCount is joined by three PhDs: Cynthia Norrgran, Nicole Peavey, and Karen Chin for ...
Host Erin LaCount talks about the connection between birds and dinosaurs - and how birds have changed and stayed the same across deep time. Plus, what it's like keeping one of today's largest bird species as pets.
Host Erin LaCount takes us back in time to explore the fossil history of the Morrison Formation apex predator from the Late Jurassic Period. The paleontologists who played roles in describing this theropod from the 1870s to the 1970s in Colorado include a teenage girl named India Wood. What makes Allosaurus different from other dinosaurs? Listen and learn!
SHOW NOTES (Bonus Pre-Season Episode)
- Evidence indicates the Stegosaurus did not swish its spiked tail back and forth like a Medieval weapon, but rather used it for locomotion and communication, and when need be for defense. Morrison Natural History Museum Director Matthew Mossbrucker provides the non-gory details in his interview with Michelle Howell.
- Dinosaur Ridge vol...
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