A Q&A with Adele Pentland, Vertebrate Palaeontologist and Expert in Australian Pterosaurs
Adele at Australian Age of Dinosaurs in Queensland
At Dinosaur Trips, we’re not just interested in dinosaurs and prehistoric life, we’re also interested in the history of paleontology, the paleontologists across generations who have shaped our understanding and appreciation for prehistoric life, and the incredible adventures that are tied to some of the most exciting discoveries in paleontology history.
Which begs the question: How do you become a paleontologist?
To learn more, Dinosaur Trips founder & director Zach Vanasse is chatting with people from all across the paleontology spectrum to learn more about what it’s like becoming and working as a paleontologist.
For this special three-part edition of ‘How to Become a Paleontologist,’ Zach got to talk to Adele Pentland, Australian Vertebrate Palaeontologist, expert in Australian Pterosaurs, and host of the excellent and entertaining ‘Pals in Palaeo’ podcast.
You can find Part 1 of Zach’s conversation with Adele here. In this post, Zach and Adele dig into what made Adele decide she wanted to do a paleo-…. sorry, palaeo-podcast.
Zach Vanasse: So when did you decide you wanted to talk about this paleontology and fossil stuff, beyond just with your paleo friends and instead make an actual podcast with your “palaeo pals?”
Adele Pentland: I’m really passionate about trying to make the science of palaeontology accessible. It’s super important to me. The first time it had crossed my mind to start a podcast was 2014, when I was still studying in undergrad. Part of me kind of regrets starting a podcast in 2023, because if I had started in 2014, my god, I would be reaping the rewards.
But I don’t think it would be what it is now if I had started early either. I’ve just had a bit more time to kind of marinate on what’s important, what the tone is, and how to deliver the content as well.
My big, lofty ambition – which, honestly, I don’t think I’ll achieve in my lifetime – is that I would love kids in Australia to love Australian fossils as much as they love the North American stuff.
Obviously there’s a big hype machine around the stuff in North America, but the first step in getting towards my goal is just making people aware of the fossils that we have here in Australia.
Why do we know North American paleontology so much better than we know Australian paleontology?
Adele-Pentland with Boulia Pterosaur Femur
In Australia, I guess it stems way back. It’s kind of been assumed that there isn’t anything at all out here in Australia, but yet the first dinosaur fossil that was described by Western scientists from Australia was described 120 years ago.
But that sort of pales in comparison to Marsh & Cope and the Bone Wars and all of this stuff. In Australia, often a lot of the dinosaurs and other fossil groups we find here are still only known from one specimen. Whereas with T. rex, there’s multiple specimens. It’s not just the one cast of the one individual.
I often joke that Muttaburrasaurus, which is like a big ornithopod known from Australia, is probably the best known dinosaur from Australia. And every museum in Australia has the exact same cast; the same mount of it. And it’s great. It’s an icon. But that species was only described in the 1960s. So again, when you compare that with all these old legacy dinosaurs to something described from the 1960s, we’ve just haven’t had as much time to familiarize ourselves with it.
Earlier this year, I got to attend a science conference called Science Meets Parliament. It was a general science conference. We had people working in all these different fields, and I talked to some of them – and they were like professors – and they were totally surprised that we had dinosaurs in Australia!
And I just had the biggest facepalm moment. Like, gosh, you know, I try really hard to work on describing new fossils and putting together press releases to make people aware of the stuff that we have going on in Australia, but it just seemed that there was still so much other work to be done.
I’ve done podcast episodes not just on Australian fossils, but there is a big focus on Australian palaeontology because, like I said before, I grew up in Melbourne. I’m now based in Outback Queensland. I’ve learned a lot about Australian fossils and there isn’t necessarily a lot of Information out there that covers that side of things.
It’s really cool to think that people are learning from the podcast, even if it’s also just helping someone stay awake as they’re driving on a long road trip.
And I love the pop culture references as well!
I’m an absolute fiend for pop culture. It’s just kind of how my brain works. I’ll be out on a dinosaur dig with my PhD supervisor, and a number of times we’ll say to each other, “dig up, stupid!” (from The Simpsons).
And the number of times I’ve interviewed people and, unprompted, they’ve brought up Jurassic Park, Walking with Dinosaurs, and now Prehistoric Planet. Like, you can’t be a palaeontologist and not encounter these things.
To me, that’s how information sticks as well. I just want to get across that paleontologists, and scientists in general, have a sense of humor. We’re all people.
I think you make it really accessible. It’s a fun listen. And as a fellow pop culture obsessive, I like those little references. It’s fun to tick them off as you’re listening, like, I caught that one. And, yeah, there’s a lot of Simpsons stuff!
Yeah, it’s my mission to try and slip in a secret Simpsons quote into every episode!
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