Conan O’Brien…. what’s your favorite dinosaur?

It was truly an awesome day, when Jimmy was invited to be a guest on Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan which you can listen to here and watch on TeamCoco’s YouTube page.

Conan and Jimmy explored the world of paleontology and dropped several bits of dino-knowledge that might have you wondering “… did he make that up?”

If there are two things you can say about me, I always try to cite my references, and I’m terrified of being wrong on the internet. To tie up those ends, here you can find direct links to the studies, research, and evidence that I talked about during the show!

Feel free to @ me.

Jimmy

I moved to Orlando to start working at Orlando Science Center.

One of my roles there was as the Paleontology Content Developer, where I would pull the latest and greatest dino news from the headlines and make it easier to understand for kids and adults. Eventually, I was responsible for the exhibit’s story, and the layout of the space. I brought in new displays of local prehistoric animals from the Florida Fossil Hunters.

I never lost the bug for these amazing animals that used to call this place home. I dedicated myself to learning how they lived, how they moved, and what roles they had on earth, because those are the roles we’re filling now. And knowing where we came from tells us where we’re going.

Meet the Cassowary - the dinosauriest dinosaur alive

I love the Southern Cassowary of New Guinea and Australia. They are the most dinosaur-like of the modern dinosaurs. With their huge claws and talons, their history of actively hunting humans, and confirmed kill count.

Author and scientist you should know Darren Naish wrote an awesome blog about Cassowaries, and that even though they can be dangerous—they’re still incredibly beautiful and deserve respect on their names.

How to Name a Dinosaur

It would be a dream to dig up a new dinosaur species and add a new name to the list of words your kid keeps shouting. Recently, dinosaurs have had more dynamic names—

Thanatotheristes - “The Reaper of Death.”

Moros intrepidus - “The harbinger of doom” (And Kat’s favorite tyrannosaur)

Llukulkan - “The one who causes great fear.”

So if I were in this position, I’d need something truly awesome to hold up.

“Hexamortis anteterra” - “Six deaths before you hit the ground”

Subtle.

Meet the next generation of awesome paleontologists!

• Myria Perez - @Paleontologica - Myria is a fossil preparator at the Smithsonian, and an ambassador for the If Then She Can Stem program. She’s also got a statue.

• Ashley Hall - @LadyNaturalist - Ashley is an author, paleontologist, and museum educator who has empowered thousands of people across the US.

• Katie Hunt - @KateWhoExcavates - Katie is a fossil preparator who invites guests to be the first human eyes to see 145 million-year-old dinosaurs as she clears the rock away bit by bit.

• Kathryn Abbott - @Kathrondon - The Spino Queen herself, Kat studies dinosaurs and marine reptiles to capture the wonder of the natural world and is always ready to drop colossal dinosaur facts.

• Candice Nikki Simon - Living the dream of a paleontologist in the beginning of her journey, Nikki is changing the world.

• Evelyn Vollmer - Making TikTok relevant and using technology to turn Dinosaurs into Light, Light into Math, and Math into dinosaurs again.

• Alena Iskanderova - Using technology to protect the past, Alena started a movement for citizen science and discovery around the world.

• Dean Lomax - Author and paleontologist, Dean is an expert on marine reptiles and an amazing human being.

• Jingmai O’Connor - Assistant curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum, and one of the world’s most awesome dead bird nerds.

• Kallie Moore - Host of PBS Eons, and Paleontology Collections Manager for Univeristy of Montana. Kallie also has fossils on display in museums around the world—including Disney.

T. rex is my favorite dinosaur. Not just because of how amazing it was, but because it’s a gateway animal, inspiring artists, authors, and future scientists to explore the world around them.

T. rex grew out of its arms - its earlier ancestors were more agile and had longer arms.

The whole purpose of evolution is changing and adapting to the environment around you—over a long period of time.

Dinosaurs are birds - birds are dinosaurs - arms become wings.

• I misspoke a little on this one. All birds are dinosaurs, not all dinosaurs are birds. That’s why we call a bunch of them, “Non-avian dinosaurs.” Velociraptor, Anzu, T. rex and Incisivosaurus are all dinosaurs perched in the bird family tree — the Maniraptora most directly evolved into the Paraves and then the Aves. The bones of Dakotaraptor and Velociraptor feature quill knobs, where muscles and ligaments would attach to huge feathers on the wing-like arms. Take a look here and tell me feathered dinosaurs aren’t scary.

• Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Diplodocus are most definitely not birds.

T. rex teeth evolved to crunch bone and everything around it. These sturdy, serrated bananas could withstand forces over 431,000 pounds per square inch! Evelyn Vollmer

Chickenosaurus - 65 million years of the undo button.

If Jurassic Park were real

• Veterinary or Education department

• Modern theme park roles

• AZA requirements

• How to build a working Jurassic Park.

I died the way I lived — surrounded by the teeth of Tyrannosaurus rex.

so, What’s conan’s Favorite Dinosaur?!

• DiploDOcus or DipLOdocus. Both are good.

• One of the longest Sauropods

• Lived in plains and savannas in herds.

• Evidence suggests they could whip their tails like thunderclaps for communication and defense.

• The name translates to “Double-Beam lizard”.

• Check out the video to the right to explore this awesome dinosaur with me!

Dinosaurs that Look like Conan

• Therizinosaurus

• That claw though.

• Cut for Time: Cryolophosaurus with the bright orange pompadour.