Dragonflies and damselflies are incredible insects. They are arguably the world’s most skilled fliers, arguably the world’s most successful predators, and arguably the best insects (so says David). Not only that, they and their ancient cousins have been abundant and successful aerial predators for over 300 million years. This episode, we discuss what sets these bugs apart from all the rest, we explore what’s known of their evolution from their surprisingly good fossil record, and of course we highlight their most famous extinct cousins: the giant griffenflies.
In the news: croc habitats, tyrannosaur food, elephant trunks, and early mosquitos.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:34:15
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:13:15
Patron question: 01:53:45
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http://commondescentpodcast.com/
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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.
More music like this at http://ocremix.org.
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Episode 83 - Coelacanths
Episode 82 - Trilobites
Episode 81 - Metamorphosis
Episode 80 - Mary Anning
Episode 79 - Pterosaurs
DragonCon 2019 Paleontology Hour Panel
Episode 78 - Exaptation
End of the Year Q&A 2019
Episode 77 - Fins to Feet: The Fish-Tetrapod Transition
Episode 76 - Horse Evolution
...But We Digress - Pokemon Paleontology
Episode 75 - The Great Oxidation Event
Episode 74 - South America
Episode 73 - Trees
Spook-E - Chimeras
Episode 72 - Plesiosaurs
Spook-E - Hydras
Spook-E - Gorgons
Episode 71 - The Western Interior Seaway
Spook-E - Harpies
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