How many fossils are there?

CrowdScience

BBC

Science

4.8 • 985 Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2022

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The odds of becoming a fossil are vanishingly small. And yet there seem to be an awful lot of them out there. In some parts of the world you can barely look at a rock without finding a fossil, and museum archives worldwide are stuffed with everything from ammonites to Archaeopteryx. But how many does that leave to be discovered by future fossil hunters? What’s the total number of fossils left to find?

That’s what listener Anders Hegvik from Norway wants to know and what CrowdScience is off to investigate. Despite not having the technology or time to scan the entire planet, presenter Marnie Chesterton prepares to find a decent answer. During her quest, she meets the scientists who dig up fossils all over the world; does some very large sums; and asks, have we already found all the T-rexes out there?

Presented by Marnie Chesterton and produced by Anna Lacey

(Photo: Fossilized dinosaur bones and skull in the send. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of
0:07.0	Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.4	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. Now you're listening to crowd science from the BBC World Service.
0:35.0	Now you need to be further back than that.
0:38.0	Health and safety and all that.
0:41.0	You're listening to crowd science from the BBC World Service.
0:44.6	We may not get anything out of the rock.
0:46.9	I'm Marnie Chesterton and today I'm out with fossil enthusiasts Chris Andrew and his rock hammer on the famous beaches of
0:54.4	Lyme Regis.
0:55.4	End's worn away but that's Devil's Toenail, Guifia.
0:58.9	The Devil's Toenail.
1:00.1	What is a Devil's To-Nel?
1:01.9	It's an oyster. The Latin names go I fear are Qator. I will be asking questions later and they're one of the few fossils with an English name and they used to think of the hook shape they look like a devil's
1:13.2	toenail. The cliffs around here have been throwing out everything from
1:17.6	toenails to complete ichthyosaur skeletons for thousands of years.
1:22.0	What's that one?
1:23.0	Well, let's nautilus light.
1:25.0	It is, absolutely, very good.
	...

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