Expert Palaeontologist: Direwolf De-Extinction, Dinosaur Myths, Brains and Sex! Dr David Hone

About the conversation

🧠 THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF THE GIANT'S SHOULDER FAMILY Here is the full, ad free version of my conversation with David Hone. David Hone is a palaeontologist and Reader in Zoology at Queen Mary University of London, and one of the world's leading experts on dinosaur behaviour. He is the author of The Tyrannosaur Chronicles and How Fast Did T. rex Run?, and has named a couple of dozen species. Here he strips away the Jurassic Park version of dinosaurs, shows how much fossils can and can't tell us, then turns on Colossal Biosciences' dire wolf, which he says isn't a dire wolf at all. Expect to learn: - The Sphere Of Possibilities: how each line of evidence shaves down what a dinosaur could have done - Pack Hunting: why a few Velociraptor-kin found together proves almost nothing - Baby Food: why the big predators mostly ate juveniles, not adult giants - Feathers And Colour: how fossil feathers reveal what dinosaurs really looked like - "That's Not A Dire Wolf": why he thinks Colossal's de-extinction claims don't hold up GUEST LINKS Queen Mary University of London Profile: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/staff/david-hone.html X: https://x.com/Dave_Hone Archosaur Musings (Blog): https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/ How Fast Did T. rex Run? (2022): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691242518 LISTEN ON Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-giants-shoulder/id1752486249 SKOOL Want a full breakdown of your own conscious inner experience? Join the Giant's Shoulder community: https://www.skool.com/the-giants-shoulder-6526/about FOLLOW EVAN https://x.com/evan_mcgl TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 Trailer 0:02:24 Why Write A Book On Dinosaur Behaviour? 0:05:55 The Sphere Of Possible Behaviours 0:07:35 Did Velociraptors Really Hunt In Packs? 0:10:23 How Sure Can We Ever Be? 0:11:03 Spinosaurus: The Gold Standard Of Evidence 0:14:45 The Fossil Record Lies By Omission 0:16:28 Stomach-Flushing Crocodiles 0:17:30 What Modern Predators Teach Us 0:21:05 Why Big Predators Mostly Ate Baby Dinosaurs 0:23:39 How Long Did Dinosaurs Live? 0:27:38 What Actually Killed Most Dinosaurs 0:33:09 What Everyone Gets Wrong About Dinosaurs 0:35:24 Jurassic Park Is 30 Years Out Of Date 0:37:57 The Feather Revolution 0:43:48 Reading Colour In Fossil Feathers 0:46:26 Can AI Help Palaeontology? 0:49:38 There's No Such Thing As A Complete Skeleton 0:52:40 Digital Dinosaurs: Scans, Muscles And Mass 0:56:01 Has Anyone Found A Fossil Dinosaur Brain? 0:58:54 Dinosaur DNA And Soft Tissue 1:04:23 "That Thing's Not A Dire Wolf" 1:05:49 What Even Is A Species? 1:08:41 A Grey Wolf With A Few Edits 1:11:49 Why Mammoths Are Never Coming Back 1:15:03 The Tasmanian Tiger Case 1:17:04 Venture Capital And Playing God 1:19:51 How The Media Fell For The Dire Wolf 1:21:59 Reacting To Life On Our Planet 1:28:27 How Fast Could T. Rex Run? 1:31:21 Do Dinosaurs Really Fight Like That? 1:34:41 Science Communicator vs Spectacle 1:38:12 What's Next For Palaeontology? 1:41:03 Why We've Only Ever Coloured One Dinosaur 1:45:49 Why Does Palaeontology Matter? 1:49:22 Could A 300-Kilo Pterosaur Really Fly? 1:54:49 What Mass Extinctions Teach Us About Now .....Email for sponsorship enquiries: evan@thegiantsshoulder.com