Science Friday – How Big Dino Domes Might’ve Saved Today’s Bird Brains

Did larger brains help modern-day birds avoid mass extinction? Hear from evolutionary biology experts Julia Clarke and Chris Torres and ask them your questions.


What Was Poppin’ In Prehistoric America? with Dr. Julia Clarke

On this episode of Getting Curious, we’re digging deep with Dr. Julia Clarke, Wilson Professor of Paleontology at The University of Texas at Austin and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. She and Jonathan get to the bottom of how Texas looked 250 million years ago, which dinosaurs roamed prehistoric America, and what Pangaea’s got to do with the age of dinosaurs.

- Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness


Tyrannosaurus FX

When you imagine the sound of a dinosaur, you probably think of a scene from the Jurassic Park movies. How do sound designers make these extinct creatures sound so believably alive? And what does modern paleontology tell us about what dinosaurs REALLY sounded like? Featuring Jurassic World sound designer Al Nelson, and paleontologist Julia Clarke.

- Twenty Thousand Hertz


Great Transitions: The Origin of Birds

In the second film of the Great Transitions trilogy, paleontologist Julia Clarke takes us on a journey to uncover the evidence that birds descended from dinosaurs.

- HHMI Biointeractive

In the second film of the Great Transitions trilogy, paleontologist Julia Clarke takes us on a journey to uncover the evidence that birds are dinosaurs. The discovery of Archaeopteryx in a quarry in Germany in the early 1860s provided the first clue that birds descended from reptiles. But what kind of reptile?


Living Dinosaurs

Julia Clarke talks about her research on the origin of birds.

- Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Living Dinosaurs with Julia Clarke, The University of Texas at Austin

Microraptor Suggests Feathers Evolved to Attract Mates

Julia Clarke discusses how a tail shape with feathers may have originated as a function of communication rather than aerodynamics, which came later in the evolution of flight.

- The University of Texas at Austin

Julia Clarke, assistant professor of paleontology at the Jackson School of Geosciences, discusses how a tail shape with feathers may have originated as a function of communication rather than aerodynamics, which came later in the evolution of flight.

5-Foot Penguin Fossil Discovered

Scientists have unearthed fossilized remains of a 5-foot-tall penguin in present-day Peru. The 36-million-year-old fossil sheds light on bird evolution, according to National Geographic grantee Julia Clarke.

- The University of Texas at Austin

Scientists have unearthed fossilized remains of a five-foot-tall (150-centimeter-tall) penguin in present-day Peru. The 36-million-year-old fossil sheds light on bird evolution, according to National Geographic grantee Julia Clarke. Video produced by the University of Texas at Austin

Dinosaurs Alive

Journey with some of the world’s preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us.

Learn more about the film →

Dinosaurs Alive is a global adventure of science and discovery -- featuring the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period to the monsters of the Cretaceous "reincarnated" life-sized. Audiences will journey with some of the world's preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us.


 

The Four-Winged Dinosaur

Surprising fossils from northeastern China spur a debate over how birds evolved.

Read the program transcript →