Join in the exploration of the fascinating science of paleontology — that lens that examines ancient animals, plants & ecosystems from wee single-celled organisms to big & mighty dinosaurs.
Cretaceous Capilano Fossil Field Trip — From downtown Vancouver, drive north through Stanley Park and over the Lion’s Gate Bridge. Take the North Vancouver exit toward the ferries.
Turn right onto Taylor Way and then right again at Clyde Avenue. Look for the Park Royal Hotel. Park anywhere along Clyde Avenue.
From Clyde Avenue walk down the path to your left towards the Capilano River.
Watch the water level and tread cautiously as it can be slippery if there has been any recent rain. Look for beds of sandstone about 200 meters north of the private bridge and just south of the Highway bridge.
The fossil beds are just below the Whytecliff Apartment high rises. Be mindful of high water and slippery rocks.
For more geeky goodness visit Fossil Huntress HQ at www.fossilhuntress.com
Woolly Mammoths – Picture a towering, shaggy titan lumbering across a frozen expanse, as winds howl through its dense, draping fur. This is the Woolly Mammoth—an Ice Age icon that could stand up to 11 feet tall, placing it nose-to-nose with a modern African elephant and utterly dwarfing most other terrestrial creatures of its time.
Just imagining the primal force of such a beast stirs excitement, as they stomped across the tundra in herds, trumpeting through the bitter winds and surviving on a variety of tough, frosty vegetation.
Though their colossal footprints echo through history, it wasn’t just size that made Woolly Mammoths unforgettable. Their massive, spiraling tusks—sometimes measuring over 10 feet—were invaluable tools for excavating snowdrifts in search of edible grasses or fending off fierce predators. And with all that dense, oily fur keeping them warm, these creatures likely carried an intense, pungent musk wherever they roamed, hinting at a mix of sweat, earthy scents, and the lingering aroma of moist vegetation lodged in their coats.
You might catch a whiff of something akin to a barnyard on steroids—an odor that would have signaled their presence long before you actually saw one.
Throughout the Pleistocene, these mighty mammals forged a path through some of the toughest environments on Earth, coexisting with a host of other megafauna. While many factors—such as changing climates and relentless human hunters—eventually spelled their downfall around 4,000 years ago, the Woolly Mammoth still kindles our imaginations today.
The countless fossils and remarkably preserved specimens unearthed from permafrost remind us of an age dominated by larger-than-life beasts, and the enduring allure of these magnificent giants continues to shape our understanding of prehistoric worlds.
Welcome to the Fossil Huntress Podcast. Today on the show we’re talking about living dinosaurs—our avian friends, the birds.
From the tiniest hummingbird to the towering ostrich, these feathered creatures carry the legacy of the mighty theropods, bridging millions of years of evolution in their lightweight skeletons and high-powered hearts.
So join me as we explore both the link between the sweet little chirpers you see in your yard and impressive predators like T. Rex and Velociraptor.
For more like this, visit Fossil Huntress HQ www.fossilhuntress.com to connect with the ARCHEA Blog, Facebook and Instagram for more geeky goodness!
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 Peninsula of Quebec in Canada, from the mid-1800s.
Miguasha is known for its exceptional preservation of Late Devonian (370 million years ago) fossil fish, including lobe-finned fish that played a crucial role in the transition of vertebrates from water to land.
The park's cliffs contain fossils of various fish groups, including Agnathans (jawless fishes), Placoderms (heavily armored fish), Acanthodians (spiny fish), and Sarcopterygians (fleshy-finned fish with lungs), as well as invertebrates like crustaceans, worms, and Eurypterids (giant cousins of land scorpions).
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 on the planet — the Burgess Shale — nestled high in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada.
So close your eyes and fly with me up to the top of North America, find Canada’s far western shores then head east. If you were driving from Vancouver to Burgess in Yoho National park the trip takes about 9 hours. But as we are flying, we arrive rather instantly.
This site isn’t just famous — it’s legendary. Why? Because the Burgess Shale preserves an astonishingly detailed snapshot of early life on Earth, dating back to the Middle Cambrian, about 508 million years ago.
The creatures found here represent some of the earliest complex life forms — a mind-blowing cast of characters from a time when life was exploding in diversity and complexity.
Think of it as nature’s original experiment lab, full of alien-looking arthropods, spiny worms, bizarre filter feeders, and some of the earliest chordates — animals that share our evolutionary ancestry.
Some of the headliners include:
Anomalocaris – a meter-long predator with grasping appendages and a circular mouth lined with teeth. It looks like something straight out of a sci-fi film.
Opabinia – with five eyes and a long proboscis, it's one of the weirdest creatures ever discovered.
Wiwaxia, Hallucigenia, Marrella – each one stranger than the last.
And then there’s Pikaia, a tiny, worm-like creature with a notochord — a feature shared by all vertebrates. That includes you and me. It’s one of the earliest known members of our own evolutionary lineage.
What Do These Fossils Tell Us?
The Burgess Shale helps us understand the Cambrian Explosion, that dramatic moment in Earth’s history when most major animal groups first appeared.
It shows us that early life was more diverse — and stranger — than we ever imagined. Evolution involves a lot of experimentation — many of the creatures found here left no descendants. Even tiny creatures like Pikaia played a major role in our own evolutionary history.
It’s a story of ancient oceans, evolutionary innovation, and a delicate moment frozen in shale.
A time capsule from a world we barely recognize — yet one that gave rise to us all.
You can visit the fossils. There are three main hikes:
Walcott Quarry Hike – This is the classic. A full-day, 21 km round-trip hike with stunning views and up-close looks at where Charles Doolittle Walcott first discovered these fossils in 1909.
Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds – A bit shorter but still steep, this hike rewards you with a literal ground covered in trilobites!
Stanley Glacier Hike in Kootenay National Park – A more recent site with new discoveries and another great option to experience the Burgess Shale in the wild.The hikes are moderately to very strenuous, and must be booked in advance through Parks Canada’s website.
The guides are knowledgeable interpreters — often geologists or paleontologists themselves — and they bring the whole story to life.I highly recommend visiting Yoho National Park and joining one of those hikes. Standing on that mountainside, with half-a-billion years of history beneath your boots, is a humbling, awe-inspiring experience.
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 know trilobites are often tiny—beautiful, delicate little creatures. But this one? This one was a behemoth.
Over 70 centimeters long, with a thick armored body and wide paddle-shaped tail, Isotelus rex was the apex of its kind, scuttling across the seafloor of a vast inland sea that once covered much of what we now call Canada.
But the fossil didn’t just appear. It was discovered by two dedicated scientists—Dr. David Rudkin and Dr. Graham Young—whose lives and work have been shaped by a passion for ancient life.
We’ll dive into their stories too. So grab a cup of something warm, sit back and enjoy this tale of discovery!
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 host, Heidi Henderson, coming to you from the rain-kissed coastline of British Columbia on Canada's far western shores.
Today on the show, we’re diving into one of the most iconic fossils of all time: trilobites—those segmented, alien-looking creatures that once ruled our ancient seas.
So grab a cup of something warm, cozy up, and let’s take a journey—travelling in time way back more than half a billion years.
Highlights from the Show...
One of the most famous trilobite sites in the world is Burgess Shale in Yoho National Park, British Columbia. While the Burgess is better known for its soft-bodied creatures like Anomalocaris and Hallucigenia, it also preserved some incredibly detailed trilobites, like Olenoides serratus.
You can actually see their legs preserved—a rare thing in the fossil record!
Farther east, in Manitoba, you’ll find Isotelus rex, the largest complete trilobite ever discovered. This big boy stretched 70 centimeters long—over two feet! Isotelus roamed the ancient Ordovician seas that once covered much of central Canada. Imagine snorkeling and coming face-to-face with one of those…Fun Trilobite Facts
Trilobites were among the first animals to develop complex eyes. Some had excellent vision, while others were blind—adapted to deep, dark ocean floors.
They molted their exoskeletons like modern-day crabs. That’s why we find so many trilobite fossils—many are actually molted skins, not full bodies.
Some species rolled up into tight balls, just like modern pill bugs—a defense mechanism against predators.
Over 20,000 species of trilobites have been identified, making them one of the most diverse fossil groups ever.Wrap Up
Trilobites are more than just pretty fossils; they’re storytellers, time travelers in stone. And they continue to surprise us.
If you ever find yourself walking an ancient seafloor—maybe on the shores of Newfoundland, the cliffs of Anticosti Island, or the dry bed of a long-gone sea in Manitoba—keep your eyes open. You might just meet a trilobite, frozen mid-crawl in a 400-million-year-old journey.
Thanks for joining me, my fossil friends. Until next time, keep seeking, keep wondering, and keep listening to the whispers of the stone.
Welcome back to the Fossil Huntress Podcast, the show where we dig into the dirt—both literally and historically—to uncover the most fascinating stories from Earth’s deep past.
I’m Heidi Henderson, the Fossil Huntress, your host, and today… we’re diving into one of the most epic rivalries in science history.
It was one of the most famous of all paleo feuds we affectionately call the Bone Wars—the intense feud between two 19th-century paleontologists: Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh.
Alright, let’s set the scene.
It’s the late 1800s. Paleontology is still a young science, and the American West is full of undiscovered fossil treasure. Into this world step two brilliant, ambitious, and very competitive scientists: Cope and Marsh.
Edward Drinker Cope was a Philadelphian—charismatic, energetic, a bit hot-headed. He published tons of papers, traveled constantly, and had a deep love for reptiles and amphibians.
Othniel Charles Marsh was from Connecticut—quiet, methodical, and extremely well-connected. In fact, his wealthy uncle was the founder of Yale’s Peabody Museum.
At first, they were friends. Briefly. They even went fossil hunting together in New Jersey. But that didn’t last long.
So what went wrong?
Well, the drama really kicked off over a fossil of an extinct marine reptile called Elasmosaurus. Cope reconstructed the skeleton and proudly published it—except he put the skull on the wrong end. Marsh gleefully pointed out the mistake, and let’s just say Cope didn’t take it well.
From that moment on, it was war.
The two men started competing furiously—racing to out-discover, out-name, and out-publish each other. They hired entire fossil-hunting teams, often sending them to the same dig sites in the American West.
And they didn’t play fair.
They bribed each other’s workers.
They spied on dig sites.
They even dynamited fossils to keep the other from getting them. (Yes, really.)
But here's the wild part: in their rush to beat each other, Cope and Marsh made some of the most important fossil discoveries in history.
Between them, they described over 130 new dinosaur species—including some names you might recognize:
Stegosaurus
Apatosaurus
Diplodocus
Allosaurus
And dozens more. Their discoveries laid the groundwork for modern paleontology—even though they were practically trying to ruin each other the whole time.
By the time the Bone Wars fizzled out in the 1890s, both men were basically broke. They’d spent their fortunes on fossil digs, museum battles, and publishing wars.
But despite the chaos, their work helped turn dinosaurs into a global fascination—and opened the door to one of the greatest eras of fossil discovery the world had ever seen.
So what’s the legacy of the Bone Wars?
Well, it’s a cautionary tale about how ego and rivalry can warp science—but also a story about passion, persistence, and the thrill of discovery.
Today, paleontologists continue to refine, revise, and build on the work that Cope and Marsh started—even correcting some of the mistakes they made in their rush to be first.
Because science isn’t about who gets the credit. It’s about uncovering the truth, one bone at a time.
Hey there, and welcome to the Fossil Huntress Podcast, the podcast where we dig into the past—literally!
I’m your host, Heidi Henderson, and today we’re going to crack open a topic that’s millions of years in the making.
We’re talking about paleontology—what it is, what paleontologists actually do, and what exactly counts as a fossil. So grab your metaphorical shovel, and let’s get digging.
Alright—so first off, what is paleontology? It’s a big word, but let’s break it down.
“Paleo” means “ancient,” and “-ology” means “the study of.” So paleontology is the study of ancient life. That means anything that lived on Earth long before humans showed up—from tiny trilobites to towering T. rexes.
But paleontology isn’t just about dinosaurs. It includes ancient plants, sea creatures, insects, and even microscopic organisms. If it lived a really, really long time ago and left behind a trace, paleontologists want to know about it.
So how do we study life that’s been gone for millions of years?
That’s where fossils come in.
A fossil is the preserved remains or traces of a once-living organism. That could be bones, teeth, shells—or even footprints, burrows, or plant imprints. Some fossils are what you’d expect: hard bones turned to stone.
But others can be things like petrified wood, fossilized poop—yes, that’s a thing and it’s called coprolite—or impressions of leaves.
Fossils form over really long periods of time. Usually, the process starts when an animal or plant gets buried quickly under sediment—like mud or sand.
Over time, more layers build up, pressure increases, minerals seep in, and eventually, the organic stuff gets replaced or preserved. Fast-forward a few million years and boom—you’ve got a fossil.
If you would like to learn more about different types of fossils or head out virtually on some fossil adventures, head on over to Fossil Huntress HQ at www.fossilhuntress.com.
Be sure to check out the ARCHEA Blog for great content and learning tools.
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 Wallace and eventually led to the publication of the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
Both Sclater and Wallace were extraordinary in their own right. Both were passionate about natural history, keen observers of our natural world, world travellers and gracious in their gifts to the world.
Season Ten, Episode 106
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 www.fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com and note the talk dates and times. The link will be shared live on the site on the day of the talk.
Upcoming Free Fossil Lectures via Zoom:
Sun, March 24, 2024, 2PM PST — Dan Bowen — Struck by Lightning: The Mary Anning Story
Learn about the history of Mary Anning from Dan Bowen, Chair of the Vancouver Island Palaeontological Society (VIPS) and British Columbia Palaeontological Alliance (BCPA).
Mary Anning was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known worldwide for her discoveries in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England.
Sat, May 4, 2024, 1PM PST — Jean-Bernard Caron, Lower Cambrian Cranbrook Lagerstätte in the East Kootenay region of south-eastern British Columbia, Canada
Jean-Bernard Caron is a French and Canadian palaeontologist and curator of invertebrate palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
He will share his insights on the weird and wonderful marine fossil fauna from the many outcrops of the Lower Cambrian Eager Formation near the town of Cranbrook. His team did some extensive field work—particularly at the Silhouette Range locality—a few summers ago and we are keen to hear the results of their efforts.
The fossils we find in the Eager Formation are slightly older than those found at the Burgess Shale Lagerstätte. Burgess is Middle Cambrian and the species match the Eager fauna one for one but the Eager fauna are much less varied.
The specimens we find are wonderfully preserved and a few have recently been re-named. Learn about new insights into the species we find here and more about the diverse team that has been studying them.
Sound the horns, beat the drums and stomp your feet—it's official! The Puntledge Elasmosaur is now British Columbia's Provincial Fossil.
Mike Trask found the first elasmosaur in 1988 while exploring the Puntledge River with his daughter. He found the first terrestrial dinosaur remains from Vancouver Island and coined the term "sabre-toothed salmon" of legendary fame.
It was Mike's twin brother Pat Trask, who led the excavation of the juvenile elasmosaur from the Trent River back in August 2020. Many talented souls from the Vancouver Island Palaeontological Society and Courtenay Museum joined him.
Visit www.fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com for Free VIPS Paleo Talks & ARCHEA at www.fossilhuntress.blogspot.com or www.fossilhuntress.com for more yummy goodness!
Vancouver Island holds many wonderful fossils and incredible folk excited to explore them. 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 Palaeontological Society, during the construction of the Inland Highway, near the Dove Creek intersection on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Mosasaurs had a hinged jaw that allowed them to swallow prey larger than themselves. They evolved special pterygoid teeth projecting back into the roof of their mouths that acted as guards against escaping prey. The jawbones Rick found were exposed just up to the hinge. Given the size, this toothy fellow could have been as much as seven (7) metres long and weighed up to a tonne.
In the late 1930s, our understanding of the transition of fish to tetrapods — and the eventual jump to modern vertebrates — took an unexpected leap forward. The evolutionary a'ha came from a single partial fossil skull found on the shores of a riverbank in Eastern Canada.
Meet the Stegocephalian, Elpistostege watsoni, an extinct genus of finned tetrapodomorphs that lived during the Late Givetian to Early Frasnian of the Late Devonian — 382 million years ago.
Elpistostege watsoni — perhaps the sister taxon of all other tetrapods — was first described in 1938 by British palaeontologist and elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London, Thomas Stanley Westoll. Westoll's research interests were wide-ranging. He was a vertebrate palaeontologist and geologist best known for his innovative work on Palaeozoic fishes and their relationships with tetrapods.
As a specialist in early fish, Westoll was asked to interpret that single partial skull roof discovered at the Escuminac Formation in Quebec, Canada. His findings and subsequent publication named Elpistostege watsoni and helped us to better understand the evolution of fishes to tetrapods — four-limbed vertebrates — one of the most important transformations in vertebrate evolution.
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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 the past. If you have pyrite specimens and want to stop them from decaying, you can give them a 'quick' soak in water (hour max) then wash them off, and dry them thoroughly in a warm oven. Cool, then soak in pure acetone for a couple of days. Then soak in paraloid, a thermoplastic resin surface coating or acetone for a couple of days. Keep them in a sealed container with a desiccant pack afterwards to keep them dry — or leave them out on display to enjoy knowing that the decay will come in time. We do this with cut flowers so why not fossils sometimes? A friend gives her pyrite fossils on display a quick thumb wipe with vaseline or petroleum jelly. I'm not sure if the hydrocarbons there will play nice over time but they will act as a protective barrier.
