Fossil Fish, Pt. II: A History

Join us for Part II in our quest to uncover the tropical world of ancient Fossil Lake! Palm trees in Wyoming! Sex in the fossil record!
Check out "Lost World of Fossil Lake: Snapshots from Deep Time," by Lance Grande bit.ly/1p79CXv
Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World, by Lance Grande: bit.ly/1dr59GM
Big thanks to The Field Museum's Lance Grande, Jim Holstein, and Akiko Shinya for their assistance in making this video series possible.
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NEW BLOG! / isnotadinosaur
Subreddit: / thebrainscoop
Facebook: / thebrainscoop
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Producer, Writer, Creator, Host:
Emily Graslie
Producer, Editor, Camera:
Tom McNamara
Theme music:
Michael Aranda
Created By:
Hank Green
Special Guest:
Lance Grande
Production Assistant:
Katie Kirby
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Filmed on Location and Supported by:
The Field Museum in Chicago, IL
(www.fieldmuseum...)
Thanks to Derek Hennen, Tony Chu, Katerina Idrik, and Seth Bergenholtz who did a -fin-tastic job of subtitling and translating this episode!

[@DanThePropMan]

I absolutely love seeing the joy that everyone at the Field Museum takes in their work. It really shines through in every video.

[@knightace2002]

when your a paleontologist everything is an exciting find because then we can piece together what happened there and with enough evidence we can peice it together with such amazing detail digitally so that future generations of our own species can bear witness to one of earths most amazing timelines.

[@bsinger182]

I really hope that people continue to flock to this show. There was a time when I looked to the Discovery Channel for good science content. Save Mythbusters, I've learned that the best educational content is found right here on KZbin. I'm not even a kid. I'm old, like 40+, and yet I just can't get enough of this kind of quality programming. I hope other viewers of The Brain Scoop pass their love of this great show on to others.

[@TheHumbleBeez]

I've been watching the brainscoop so long that I just instinctually hit the like button right as the video starts. I never regret it.

[@Baud2Bits]

The joy of learning and exploring. Who could not want to know more about our natural history!

[@wellsgb1957]

Good post! Thank's

[@ianc.4936]

I know who, and I know you know who too. :) Great video guys! Keep'em coming!

[@rpm2004]

Ian C. Yeah...those damn fish racists, that's who!

[@HdaveH]

Thank you, Emily & Tom, for all your hard work! As a scientist, I enjoy how clearly you communicate not just the sciencey bits, but your excitement about learning and discovery. Clearly you have not forgotten to be awesome! Can't wait for the next one...

[@mayovkacoywolf6165]

We went over to Michigan a couple years ago and I found a trilobite fossil on the beach, then a few years later I found a fossil of something that resembled a lobster tail in a lake in Texas. Finding fossils is awesome!

[@JillH1995]

Those fossilized sting rays and turtles were really cool.

[@TicenotNice]

I always get so pumped when there is a new video!

[@thebrainscoop]

ME TOO

[@schmittelt]

As much as I like hearing about discoveries I already knew about (how the dinosaurs became extinct and so on), I really love hearing about new discoveries even more. So when I hear about pieces of the evolutionary network being found, I absolutely marvel at the work being done. This is one of the best BrainScoop episodes. Thanks, Emily!

[@PhilGartman]

These episodes from the dig site have been amazing. I feel so lucky to be given a way to experience it it. Thanks to everyone who makes it happen.

[@AbhijeetBorkar]

One of the best episodes, I must say. Really great to see the similarities of the species that existed 50 million years ago to the ones present today. Must be fun working in the sun there.

[@knightace2002]

heheh you have no idea it's amazing based off of those i've asked. the threat of being burned alive is worth it in the desert areas.

[@realspacemodels]

Always something wonderful on The Brain Scoop! Emily is the world's foremost Curiosity Correspondent - I'd follow here anywhere!

[@BHigGuy]

These videos make my day. I study something that I'm worried that I'm not interested in. These show me I'm wrong. Or rather, they show me there's a lot of interesting things among the uninteresting.

[@Artorus]

Was getting fidgety with the long wait since the last video, but this did not disappoint! I can see why it took so long to produce these field trip videos. Great work with the slideshow as well - those are some fascinating fossils!

[@thebrainscoop]

Yeah, we're really sorry we can't increase our production schedule at this time. My job with the museum keeps me super busy outside of filming and we've only got one person - Tom - filming/editing these episodes. It's a lot of work!

[@Artorus]

***** I can imagine, and I'm not complaining. :) Love the amazing work, Emily, I just can't enough of thebrainscoop!

[@docatomics]

***** ~ seek interns perhaps ?

[@K0inable]

***** If you ever can increase your production (no pressure! I love what we get now!) I would like to see more dissections. They are gross, but oh so interesting

[@buffymayfair]

Brings back memories of a family vacation, best time ever! We have so many fish that we dug up. This makes me want to go so it again.

[@davidshi451]

You know who we haven't seen in a while? ANNA GOLDMAN AAAAHHHHHH

[@JMD3M410]

I mean this in the best possible way, the music and editing reminded me of a Wes Anderson film (specifically "Life Aquatic" or "Grand Budapetst"). Keeps getting better.

[@petrij7660]

I love these videos that you guys do. I never realized how much fun and interesting paleontology can be. Thanks for spending your time on making these entertaining and educational videos for the rest of us who work in a dark office. :)

[@redwolfjoy]

This made my day! It makes me want to go out and look for fossils like I used to do as a kid. I have a small collection of shark teeth and shells and one dinosaur fossil of an unknown type.

[@johnclavis]

My only complaint about this video is that it isn't long enough. ;) I love these!

[@jimnorlem6802]

M, you just keep hitting them out of the park, loved this one, as usual . Thanks so much and soooooo happy you are there.

[@walkingphrase]

It's amazing to get this kind of detailed snapshot of earth's history in fossil form. And cool to have the Field Museum take an actual field trip! A nice change to going through natural history artifacts collections inside :D

[@tchence]

u know everytime i watch this channel is more and more awesome

[@frenchw1nter]

These episodes are capital-A Awesome!!! I have such a soft spot for fossils, always have since I was a kid, they're SO. COOL.

[@jacquiejeanes6452]

I can feel myself getting a sunburn just watching this video. Great stuff!

[@ThugMuffinification]

Its insane to me just how different everything once was. I can't imagine palm trees and crocodiles in areas like Wyoming. LOVE THIS SHOW!!!

[@whatabouttheearth]

Watch Aron Ra's 50 part series 'Systematic Classification of Life'

[@Safeway_Sage]

Excellent information! Well done as usual.

[@Zepheriah]

I think it'd be really cool to meet Tom McNamara in one episode. I feel like the cool thing about KZbin is that production is so small-scale, and that you're able to get to know the whole team. Certainly it was great when Michael Aranda was behind the camera, and him being a youtuber in his own right.

[@Ten1temsOrLess]

Sooo much knowledge condensed into 6 minutes. Great stuff :D

[@8happyperson]

Just thinking about the tiny little 3 toed horse makes me wish that I could go back to that time period and experience it for a day.

[@teriscallon]

This is so cool. I absolutely love watching these, Emily.

[@elsalolz]

Great fossil video! This should be shown in all biology classes on evolution

[@jimreimer6140]

In the beginning God created....Millions of years? Think again!!

[@araluciavideo]

I love learning about things I would never know anything about -- hyper cool!

[@paperbackmenagerie]

Lance Grande! you're back! I like this guy.

[@JasonWeakley]

Very very cool! I love dig sites!!! Please do more!

[@Mythrilspade]

Oh Emily... You're my favorite of the Vlogbrother spin-off shows.

[@TheFalloutBunny]

I just love this

[@TheAAMoy]

Emily, hat ON! Don't let the sun bake that beautiful brain of yours.

[@hifromthestudio]

So interesting watching this. Also looks like something I would like to research into the future

[@wiesje93]

I'm really enjoying these video's! :) Thanks!

[@terralynn9]

Another great episode!

[@velozmachine]

Gotta catch'em all!

[@TwinkTwinkle]

I love how these experts talk about it in a way I can understand. :-)

[@MrFerGi]

I know I'm late but below is the summary of this two part series Part I: Emily gets to work Part II: Emily gets a sunburn But in all seriousness, great videos and great quality content

[@ElSuegroyElYerno]

I love Brain Scoop!

[@desertdumitran]

That was great, fossils rock! Hey thebrainscoop, in the next video I would like to see some more brain scooping please.

[@ck121395]

Great episode.

[@BoldrepublicRadioShow]

WOW I'm not far from where this was recorded. I'd love to see this dig.

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

"Just the other day two (fossilized) six-foot turtles were found in the quarry..." I knew it, the Ninja Turtles invented time travel. Looks like two of them didn't do well.

[@MisterBrickFilms]

But we know that four of them still managed to survive until the Renaissance.

[@Draxis32]

SOFT-SHELLED TURTLES! PAY ATTENTION NEXT TIME! You're insulting the TMNT!

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

Don't be such a soft-shell. :-)

[@ihartevil]

thx for this amazingly ha bisky vid i love this stuff so much i want to go on one of these digs it looks like fun

[@EmmaSpAce111]

I just really love the eocene guys!!!

[@EmmaSpAce111]

tiny horses may have something to do with it, but everything was so cool and I am super psyched about mammal fossils!

[@G56AG]

Awesome!----Three million fish, and still not enough to have a good old fashioned fish fry!

[@GameofKnowing]

When sawing or hammering down into the rock, how does one avoid damaging fossils? Do the saws stay above the 18-inch zone you mentioned in another video? Is damage just a small but accepted risk?

[@KiddsockTV]

can;t wait to see more!

[@hkwhsu]

Makes me want to go to Wyoming and explore. Does the group there take volunteers?

[@timothypoole5718]

Great video! How sunburned did you get?

[@matiastoatv]

i guess that when you're doing paleontology you realize so easily and so "overwhelmingly" how dynamic and alive is our planet, and how time is a matter of perspective and how it is almost alive

[@joeljohnson653]

Great stuff

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

Awesome video! Kind of silly, off-topic request. Would it be possible to include the titles and composers of the pieces you use in the description? Just thought I'd ask. DFTBA!

[@gravelswitch9697]

Does this site coincide with the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum?

[@mybackhurts7020]

I have three of those this fossils thank you

[@isis5888]

3-toed horse? That's wicked!

[@tristandawson9228]

Great video as always. Emily may want to heed a bit of advice. Cowboy hats and digging for fossils have much the same relationship as coke to whiskey. The former makes the latter much easier to take. Speaking of cowboy hat wearing paleontologists, Robert T Bakker would make for a great episode. The man posited the idea of sauropods with trunks, that's a brain I'd like to see scooped. Metaphorically.

[@ElJefeGrande123]

More awesomeness.

[@BenStreeter]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know where the little clips of the stop-motion dinosaurs comes from?

[@IndriidaeNT]

This video is very cool. Given the fact that they are finding the fossils of animals from the Eocene after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs in the K-T event.

[@katsmusikandsuch]

Wait so what caused this "flash preservation"? I mean that seems like a lot of time so it really could have been anything, but is there anyway to know? Does anybody know what kind of research has been done and where I could look to find it out?

[@thebrainscoop]

There's more information in Lance's book "The Lost World of Fossil Lake" (link in desc.) describing the ideal conditions for preservation. Essentially there was an uninhabitable layer of water/environment at the bottom of the lake, so anything that died immediately sank there and covered with a layer of sediment, protected from scavengers. Later, that special layer became sandwiched between sedimentary layers called oil caps, which preserved the middle protected layer from water erosion.

[@xoxdid]

***** But how did they like, i mean, the ray died with her babies while they were swimming, I assume they died instantly? how? Sorry for my poor expressed question.

[@Frankagator]

We have nothing like this in the UK but I was wondering if this is a publicly accessible site in America? Could any fossil hunter try their hand at finding some fish or is it closed off to scientific bodies/permit holders? Fascinating place.

[@3sedavis]

Emily has such a nice way with the experts on her show. She really listens. It's not all about her. Excellent job!

[@ThePrehistoricMaster]

I have the book "The lost world of fossil lake."

[@My2ndnephew]

I'm enjoying your field trip. Nice editing, too! You should carry lip balm in those hot and dry places.

[@mealurhighlife]

What a planet!

[@chillsahoy2640]

About that last question, surely there must be a limited number of fossils in that area and that, given enough time, we will find every single fossilized remain there. But considering that only a fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Fossil Lake end up fossilized, I do agree that it will be impossible to find evidence for every single one of them unless we ever get a time machine or something similar.

[@john-alanpascoe5848]

It's true that the number of fossils at the site are limited, so it can't be excavated literally for ever. However if you extrapolate the current rate of excavation, it might take so long to excavate the entire site (compared to the scale of a human lifetime) that it might as well seem forever.

[@chillsahoy2640]

John-Alan Pascoe That is a good point, similar to the number of grains of sand on a beach: finite, but so large that you couldn't possibly count them all. Though I am also hoping for some future technology that will make finding and excavating fossils much faster without the risk of damaging them in such a way that they are no longer informative.

[@rpm2004]

E Hernandez Like the scanner on Star Trek, that would be so awesome, install it on a satellite and have it identify all the fossilized remains on an entire planet and pinpoint their location...that is of course if it's an M or L class planet (K class are only inhabitable with a pressure dome). Maybe even have a transporter to beam them safely to somewhere they can be processed.

[@gsmadmax100]

@ 4.58 the horse, is that a FISH on its but ? or just its tail ?

[@bgclo]

Music list please!

[@sambrinkley9120]

What was the music for the intro?

[@carlcastello]

The three-toed horse is sleeping with the fishes! :)

[@hypnolobster]

This owns so much.

[@O00hlala]

Is Hank Green still involved in the production of this show?

[@Lauraphoid]

Read the description :)

[@O00hlala]

Lauraphoid It says he is the creator, so that means he is not actively involved in the production of the show?

[@thebrainscoop]

O00hlala We list Hank as creator because he is - this show wouldn't exist without him or his support - but he is not active in the day-to-day production.

[@john-alanpascoe5848]

Thanks for another great video! If you'll forgive the non-biological question, what is the music piece used in the opening shots of the video? (Starting at about 0:12)

[@Kpiotr]

Dear thebrainscoop team, Should you be able to take a photo of that fossil pike Mr Grande was talking about, please upload it in one of the Ask Emily Videos or on facebook. Would be much appreciated! :)

[@Protese84]

this is my favorite method of learning a pretty, clever girl tells me things and makes me smarter :D

[@shruggzdastr8-facedclown]

I dunno why I get such a kick out of hearing, after the obligatory dramatic pause, Emily say "It still has brains on it." at the end of each video, but I do!

[@nyxion786]

These guys are finding fish and alligators. Meanwhile my collection and anything else I find is just a LOT of zebra mussels. I'm a tad jealous. xD

[@drewlatta1979]

Oh can we get a part 3, in which the paleontologist explains how the remarkable preservation was achieved?

[@ljmastertroll]

150 years and it's just the beginning.

[@UninspiredFilm5]

Awesoooooooome!! :D

[@NaihanchinKempo]

we still need a "This Still Has Brains On It" T-shirts so the Museum can make a little money

[@KiloOscarZulu]

"Meteorite Impact"(1m50s)? I thought that they are called "meteor impact", and that meteorite is what's left of the meteor after the impact?

[@jaisanatanrashtra7035]

3:58 the story teller Girl

[@1234kalmar]

Emily is so beautiful! :3

[@alanfredericks926]

I found Brian Blessed - 1:21

[@damytitnedi]

I love how they repeatedly use the word "fishes" :DD

[@willengelmann6303]

fishes describes multiple species

[@davidshi451]

Let us hope that the 6th extinction does not come upon us…or at least we colonize space before it happens :/

[@littlesnowflakepunk855]

The eocene extinction event is already affecting our environment and the species we can see. We only have a hundred or so years left unless we drastically change the way we're using and harvesting fossil fuels.

[@jaisanatanrashtra7035]

5:06 what she said

[@SciJoy]

Can people volunteer to help uncover fossils?

[@censusgary]

Fossil fish are way cool.

[@ColinDavidChen]

The filter on the fossil images makes them harder to see :(

[@jimreimer6140]

I'm glad I never got brainwashed int believing in millions of years of evolution!!

[@whatabouttheearth]

Praise our Lord Christ... opher Hitchens! Come to him and see the light.

[@bosniakedisniksic]

Plural of Fish is still Fish! Or at least around here in St. Louis. Not used hearing "Fishes". Sounds so wrong.