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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 9h

Next week, on Episode 228...

Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 4d

Let's-a go! Our first monster of 2025 is here!

This episode, we begin with a baddie from the Mushroom Kingdom. What evolutionary path might generate a pipe-dwelling plant-like predator? Our creatures to create this time: Piranha Plants.

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 5d

It looks like such fun!

Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 7d

IT'S SPOOK-E SEASON!

Four episodes! Every Saturday! Monsters of Nintendo!
Then Cute-E!
Then a Livestream!

Follow us all Spook-E Season long on social media, in our Discord, and of course on the episodes themselves!

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Reposted by Common Descent

J. Raasch @jraasch.bsky.social · 8d

Learn about BEAKS! Bird beaks, turtle beaks, dinosaur beaks, beaks, beaks, beaks!!!

Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 10d

Birds, turtles, and many more groups have developed toothless snouts covered in a tough sheath. This episode, we’ll explore the defining features of beaks and their various functions.

Episode 227 – Beaks

Listen to Episode 227 on Podbean, YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! The famous faces of birds and turtles are just some of the examples of the many times animals h…

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 9d

News from Episode 227:

A review of mammal evolution highlights the many times that lineages have evolved into specialized ant-eaters.

Mammals Have Evolved Into Anteaters at Least 12 Times Since The Dinosaurs

If you want to get by in this world, you could do a lot worse than developing a predilection for ants.

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 9d

News from Episode 227:

Ancient DNA reveals several types of bacteria that lived in and on mammoths as far back as one million years ago.

Scientists Investigate the Bacteria That Colonized Extinct Mammoths—and Uncover the Oldest Known Microbial DNA From a Host

Some of the microbes might have been benign or helpful, while others could have caused deadly diseases

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 9d

News from Episode 227:

A look into the deep history of sharks reveals patterns in which body shapes were most successful at different time periods.

Sharks now roam the open ocean. But for 200 million years, they only lived near the sea floor

A new study sheds light on how sharks colonised the oceans and became apex predators.

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 10d

Birds, turtles, and many more groups have developed toothless snouts covered in a tough sheath. This episode, we’ll explore the defining features of beaks and their various functions.

Episode 227 – Beaks

Listen to Episode 227 on Podbean, YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! The famous faces of birds and turtles are just some of the examples of the many times animals h…

buff.ly

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Reposted by Common Descent

Punk_Entomology @punkentomology.bsky.social · 12d

How do you spend part of your Friday night?

I had a lovely time in the @commondescentpod.bsky.social’s love Q&A chat about mimicry.

And now? Borderlands 4

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 14d

Next week, on Episode 227...

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 20d

What if the Geologic Time Scale was based on the evolution and extinction of PLANTS??
🌱🌿🌴🌲🌳🌻

Leaf It To Us Podcast @leafittouspod.bsky.social · 20d

Scientists organize the history of the Earth based on the experiences of animals. But what if the Geologic Time Scale was plant-centric? This episode, Aly presents Nora with her take on a time scale based on the evolution and extinction of plants through time.

Image by Lucy Wayland

A photo of rock layers tilted in multiple directions, all overgrown with plants.
Text above the image says "Episode 12 - The Geologic Time Scale According to Plants"
Image by Lucy Wayland

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 23d

News from Episode 226:

DNA and fossils reveal when - and how often - cave fish adapted to the caverns of eastern North America.

These Cavefish Lost Their Eyes, but They Gained Some Pretty Nifty Traits

Mexican tetras that got swept into pitch-black caverns had no use for the energetically costly organs

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 23d

News from Episode 226:

An ancient lineage of sea-dwelling turtles now known from Syria.

50-Million-Year-Old Sea Turtle Unearthed in Syria Stuns Paleontologists

Scientists discovered Syriemys lelunensis, a 50-million-year-old fossil sea turtle from Syria. Near the city of Afrin in Syria, an international group of scientists, including members of the…

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 23d

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Oldest Known Fossil of an Armored Ankylosaur Is 'Far Weirder' Than Paleontologists Expected

The 13-foot dinosaur, covered in long spikes fused into its bones, suggests ankylosaurs developed tail weapons 30 million years earlier than thought

www.smithsonianmag.com

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 23d

News from Episode 226:

The oldest known ankylosaur is surprisingly spiky

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 23d

News from Episode 226:

A new species of large terrestrial croc-cousin from Cretaceous Argentina.

70 million-year-old hypercarnivore that ate dinosaurs named after Egyptian god

Researchers have unveiled Kostensuchus atrox, a giant crocodile relative that ate dinosaurs in Argentina 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · 24d

This episode, we explore the tragic story of the world's most famous extinct birds, the scientific details we've learned since their disappearance, and the cultural impact of their loss.

Episode 226 – Dodos

Listen to Episode 226 on Podbean, YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! There is perhaps no more famous symbol of extinction than these birds. This episode, we discuss…

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Reposted by Common Descent

Leaf It To Us Podcast @leafittouspod.bsky.social · Sep 4

Plants require sunlight to survive, but when night falls and the daytime-dwellers disappear, many varieties of flower come alive. This episode, Nora and Aly explore the allure of “moon gardens” and the adaptations that allow beautiful and aromatic flowers to thrive in darkness.

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · Sep 4

Don't miss our newest episode of Briks with Bask!

Briks with Bask - Astrobiology: Alien Planet Probe

YouTube video by Common Descent

youtu.be

Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · Sep 3

Send in your requests now for an episode about cheese skippers!

Punk_Entomology @punkentomology.bsky.social · Sep 2

“I don’t know what cheese skippers are.”

Was just waiting for you guys to go “should we call Brandon and ask?”

Great episode guys.

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Common Descent @commondescentpod.bsky.social · Sep 1

Spook-E is coming up! Our series where we speculate upon the evolution of fictional monsters!

This year's theme: Monsters of NINTENDO

New episode each Saturday in October, Cute-E the first of November, and a Spook-E Livestream on November 8th!

Engage in your own spookulations over on our Discord!