Fossils and Fiction

<p>The ocean had apex predators long before sharks — and this week, we're diving into the extraordinary world of ichthyosaurs with one of the world's leading experts on them.</p><p>Alyssa sat down with Dr Dean Lomax — palaeontologist, author, broadcaster, and all-round ichthyosaur evangelist — ahead of his first-ever visit to Australia for <strong>Queensland Dinosaur Week (4–10 May 2026)</strong>. 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.</p><p>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.</p><p>-- </p><ul><li>Dr Dean Lomax's website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://deanrlomax.co.uk">deanrlomax.co.uk</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Locked-Time-Behavior-Unearthed-Extraordinary/dp/0231197284"><em>Locked in Time</em> — Dean Lomax and Bob Nicholls</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Secret-Lives-Dinosaurs-Unearthing-Prehistoric-ebook/dp/B0F5DZ7TY1?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AxUirouERWpxpxF_J1EV5BC7KlkGvshPlWwKcBgr_w41lVSbe_hSCCLfbF2HGOESEJuaK9MBMovlT2Sl5YVdJVi49bjozek1ao0lWzYMflmaYwc6dOObHrgJDVx57tc5uadCoMyq4bg-BnxxuJg_HXUYJVTK7XFJrKVUU92MeJ9I4g8PoQCdDzJ-2YGOfIDY-xzaBc4P1o9T6j0LV_lPyaYj1b6F9GIShMLdfOfmrD0.pjt7x94lqMm08StdNAA8urwOn8ByVtQqy7p7r0fg814&amp;dib_tag=AUTHOR"><em>The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs</em> — Dean Lomax and Bob Nicholls</a></li><li><em>Why Dinosaurs</em> documentary — <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfSIU2c9GRU">[available free on YouTube]</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://dinosaurexperiences.com/queensland-dinosaur-week-2026/">Queensland Dinosaur Week</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://fossilsfiction-shop.fourthwall.com/">Fossils and Fiction membership and merch</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Fossils and Fiction is kept ad-free by our members. Fossils and Fiction is a production of Extinction Media.</p>

<p>We're road tripping across Queensland for Queensland Dinosaur Week. </p><p>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. </p><p>For more info, check out <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://dinosaurexperiences.com/queensland-dinosaur-week-2026/">https://dinosaurexperiences.com/queensland-dinosaur-week-2026/</a></p>

<p>Travis just spent three weeks galavanting around the museums of Europe, and he's here to tell you all about it. From Naturalis in Leiden, to Oslo, Oxford, London and Lyme Regis, you'll get the low down on the visitor experience at museums across the continent. </p><p>__ </p><p>More info: </p><ul><li>Australia Post's 'creatures of the palaeozoic' <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://collectables.auspost.com.au/stamp-issues/view-all-stamp-issues/creatures-of-the-palaeozoic">https://collectables.auspost.com.au/stamp-issues/view-all-stamp-issues/creatures-of-the-palaeozoic</a> </li><li>ABC Coverage of Dinosaur Dreaming <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-11/dinosaur-dig-at-inverloch-finds-bones-and-fossils/105904132">https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-11/dinosaur-dig-at-inverloch-finds-bones-and-fossils/105904132</a> </li></ul>

<p>Travis went to Europe and Alyssa went to Chattanooga. All to find out more about your favourite fossils. We bring you some news on extraordinary palaeo discoveries, a fascinating interview with Dr Indrani Mukherjee about the state of geoscience in Australia and her research into Earth's earliest life, and Alyssa ranks 2025's big hits (come at her).</p><p>__ </p><p>Tess Gallagher, Dan Folkes, Michael Pittman, Tom G. Kaye, Glenn W. Storrs, Jason Schein; Fossilized melanosomes reveal colour patterning of a sauropod dinosaur. <em>R Soc Open Sci.</em> 1 December 2025; 12 (12): 251232. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251232">https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251232</a></p><p>Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E., Jaramillo, C. <em>et al.</em> Cretaceous amber of Ecuador unveils new insights into South America’s Gondwanan forests. <em>Commun Earth Environ</em> <strong>6</strong>, 745 (2025). <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02625-2">https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02625-2</a></p>

<p>Dinosaur mating? Two new tyrannosaurs? We discuss a couple of groundbreaking papers followed by a trip to Wellington Caves, the site of some of Australia's earliest and greatest palaeontological discoveries. </p><p>More info:</p><p>Join us in Adelaide for Fossils and Fiction live on November 29! <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1964100016020?aff=oddtdtcreator">https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1964100016020?aff=oddtdtcreator</a></p><p>Visit Wellington Caves <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wellingtoncaves.com.au/">https://www.wellingtoncaves.com.au/</a> </p><p>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., &amp; Murphy, E. (2025). Deciphering causes and behaviors: A recurrent pattern of tail injuries in hadrosaurid dinosaurs. <em>iScience</em>, 113739. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113739">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113739</a></p><p>Zanno, L. E., &amp; Napoli, J. G. (2025). Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus coexisted at the close of the Cretaceous. <em>Nature</em>. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09801-6">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09801-6</a></p><p></p>