The Common Descent Podcast

Blending in with the surroundings is an incredibly useful habit. Even without evidence, this fact would be obvious from the sheer variety of organisms that do it and the vast diversity of strategies and adaptations they use. This episode, we look at what camouflage is and how it works in its many forms, and we explore how we can spot camouflage – and what we can learn from it – in the fossil record.

In the news: curled-up trilobites, Antarctic octopus DNA, crab organs, and giant whales.

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Happy New Year!

It’s time again for our annual answering-your-questions marathon episode! Thanks to all our askers for a great set of questions!

And as always, a huge thanks to all of you who have supported the podcast this year, whether you’re a top-tier Patron or a newcomer who’s just a couple episodes in. You make Common Descent possible.

Now sit back and enjoy several hours of us rambling about whatever you asked about.

Check out our website for blog posts and more:

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here:

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

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:

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more:

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here:

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Filter feeding is among the most widespread dietary strategies in the world. From tiny bivalves to massive basking sharks, animals have developed a vast array of convergent strategies for filtering tiny food particles out of the water. This episode, we discuss what it takes to be a filter feeder, why it’s so common, the various methods animals employ to make it happen, and how we try (sometimes successfully) to identify filter feeding in the fossil record.

In the news: Thailand trilobites, mammal aging, bird-like footprints, and whale echolocation.

Time markers:

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more:

The End of the Year Q&A submission form is open! Submit your question here:

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here:

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mini-episodes are rewards for our high-level supporters on Patreon, each one focusing on a requested topic for a specific Patron. From time to time, we combine a bunch of these and release them as a bundle for all our listeners to enjoy. Enjoy!

A huge thanks as always to our Patrons for their kind and generous contributions to our education efforts.

Intro: 00:00:00

Check out our website for blog posts, additional content, and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

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/

If things get too hot or too cold, the crucial processes inside the cells and tissues of living organisms stop working properly, and that’s bad. So, organisms expend a lot of time and energy managing their body temperatures. This episode, we break down the familiar concepts of “warm-blooded” and “cold-blooded,” we discuss the many adaptations that animals use to manage the heat, we explore what evidence allows us to interpret thermoregulatory strategies in the fossil record, and we investigate what is known about how these strategies have evolved over time.

In the news: soft robot echinoderms, bird tracks, taste evolution, and dinosaur eggs.

Time markers:

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more:

The End of the Year Q&A submission form is open! Submit your question here:

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here:

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Listen up! The world around us is full of sound, and animals have evolved numerous strategies for receiving and interpreting those sounds. In this episode, we discuss the many varieties of sound-sensing organs and how they’ve evolved repeatedly throughout life history. We’ll also explore some of the other important things that ears can do, including the ever-important task of maintaining our equilibrium.

In the news: carnivorous lampreys, caterpillar legs, early dragonflies, and the sea star body plan.

Time markers:

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more:

The End of the Year Q&A submission form is open! Submit your question here:

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here:

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Welcome … to Cute-E!

Every October during Spook-E, we have fun speculatively evolving monsters from myths and stories, but we leave out the cuddlier side of fiction. In Cute-E, we’re choosing kinder creatures and discussing how they – or something like them - might evolve under the rules of evolution and natural selection, pulling inspiration from organisms of the real world. This year’s theme: Dragons.

This episode, we snuggle up with the sweeter side of dragons. How might natural processes produce intelligent, social, and even amicable draconic beasts? Our creatures to create this time: Friendly Dragons.

Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

More ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

You can email us at commondescentpodcast@gmail.com

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

These days, we Homo sapiens are the only humans around, but that wasn’t always the case. This episode, we are joined by special guest Dr. Bridget Alex to discuss our most famous extinct cousins, Neanderthals. We explore what makes them similar and dissimilar to us, what evidence we use to study their lives and culture, and how our understanding of them has grown from outdated misrepresentations to the complex and fascinating people we now know them to have been.

In the news: a fossil bat skull, beaver evolution, early pliosaurs, and Ancient Egyptian snakes

Time markers:

Find Dr. Alex on her website: bridgetalex.com

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more:

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here:

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

It’s October, and that means it’s Spook-E Season once again! Each episode in the series, we pick a type of monster and explore how it – or something like it – might evolve under the rules of evolution and natural selection, pulling inspiration from life in the real world. This year’s theme: Dragons.

This episode, we combine some disparate mythologies. How could nature give rise to a shelled wonder with a mixed reputation? Our creatures to create this time: Turtle Dragons.

Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent

More ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

You can email us at commondescentpodcast@gmail.com

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.