Ep #99 Gigantic Ichthyosaurs, Enormous Octopuses and the Importance of Museums with Makoto Manabe

Dave and Ray have no guest today, just a short check in before they embark on their next 99 episodes!

Ray and Dave celebrate their 100th episode of Paleo Nerds with the legendary paleontologist and co-founder of the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Philip J. Currie

Ray and Dave interview worldly traveled and renowned Japanese paleontologist and curator who was just appointed President and Director General of the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo  

Ray and Dave interview field paleontologist and museum leader, Scott Williams, Senior Director of Exhibitions at the Museum of the Rockies whose work has helped uncover major Late Cretaceous fossils Including the famous tyrannosaurid, “Jane.”  

After a Galápagos trip with his partner Stephanie and paleontologist friends Lee and Ashley Hall, Dave realized the group was so impressed by their tour guide and conservationist, Sandra Masaquiza, that she became the perfect candidate for the next Paleo Nerds guest.

Ray and Dave review the evidence with James Napoli, co-author of the new research paper that resolves the long-standing debate over whether Nanotyrannus represents a distinct species or a juvenile T-Rex.

Ray and Dave talk with vertebrate paleontologist and SVP President Stuart Sumida about sail-backed synapsids, pelycosaurs, and the world before dinosaurs while also diving into his work advising filmmakers and animators on how extinct animals should really move, look, and behave.

Ray and Dave discuss the amazing biota of the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte with Arjan Mann, Assistant Curator of Fossil Fishes & Early Tetrapods at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois

Ray gets schooled on the Cretaceous geology around the shores of Kansas Lake Kanopolis by paleontologist Kate Andrzejewski. 

Ray and Dave talk with Smithsonian paleontologist Hans-Dieter Sues about the origins of reptiles, the rise of dinosaurs, and a lifetime unearthing Triassic treasures from around the world.