The Common Descent Podcast

Ever since T. rex was first identified in 1905, tyrannosaurs have been among the most famous and well-studied dinosaurs of all time. Research, especially in the last few decades, has revealed incredible details of tyrannosaur evolution, lifestyles, and development. This episode, we take a tour through tyrannosaur history, envision what these predators were like in life, and touch on some of the most prominent tyrannosaur controversies, including their notorious popularity.

In the news: venom evolution, mammoth roaming, Jurassic land-croc, and climate change.

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

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

Or, make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

India is a landmass with an incredible history. Over the past half-billion years, it has spent time with the southern continents, time as an island-on-the-move, and time with the northern continents. Its fossil record is a combination of southern life, northern life, and uniquely Indian life, and its geologic history is not only the story of a traveling subcontinent, but also the origin story of one of Earth’s most impressive mountain ranges.

In the news: baby pterosaurs, vampire bats, early sponges, and snake-y ancient reptiles.

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

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

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

As organisms live, grow, and move in their environments, they leave all sorts of traces in their surroundings, and these can become fossilized just like body parts can. Trace fossils (ichnofossils) can include evidence of burrowing, walking, feeding, and more. Individual trace fossils are great for understanding the behaviors of ancient organisms, and communities of trace fossils can help us track major changes in ecosystems through time.

In the news: damaged cave bear, shrinking dinosaurs, koala lemurs, and megaripples.

Time markers:

We're on a new podcast! We're both players on Mysteries of the Mournland, a Level Up: Advanced Fifth Edition actual play horror podcast, set in the world of Eberron.

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

What exactly is a “crab” anyway? One answer is that they are among the most diverse and successful living arthropods. Another answer: they are many different groups of crustaceans that have converged on a crabby body plan. In this episode, we discuss the diversity and evolution of “true crabs,” the incredible phenomenon of carcinization that keeps creating crabs, and what it really means to be a “crab.”

In the news: poop beetles, Arctic dinosaurs, Dragon Man, and an ancient shark attack.

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

The history of evolution has seen many land animals move to the sea, but few have done it with such success and specialization as ichthyosaurs. These Mesozoic marine reptiles were the first group of tetrapods to truly dominate the marine realm, and they evolved some of the most extreme adaptations – and largest bodies – of any ocean-dwelling tetrapods. This episode, we discuss how they got started, what they did, where they went, and why they’re so incredibly famous.

In the news: giant crocs, giant rhinos, young tyrannosaurs, and dwarf elephants.

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

This June, by popular demand, we’re doing a Silver Screen Science double feature focusing on our two favorite reptiles: crocs and snakes. One croc movie, one snake movie, both quintessential creature features of the 90s.

This episode, it’s snake time: Anaconda (1997)

The Common Descent Store is open! Get merch! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

This June, by popular demand, we’re doing a Silver Screen Science double feature focusing on our favorite reptiles: crocs and snakes! One croc movie, one snake movie, both quintessential creature features of the 90s.

This episode, crocs take center stage: Lake Placid (1999)

Next time … Anaconda.

The Common Descent Store is open! Get merch! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

All over the Earth, there are biological communities that differ depending on the local climate and landscape. These are biomes, and biologists love to map them to unravel patterns of ecosystem distribution. But biomes also change over time as climates and landscapes shift. In this episode, our favorite paleobotanist, Dr. Aly Baumgartner, joins us to discuss how we identify biomes in the past and present, how they’ve changed over time, and what it means for a new biome to arise … or for an old one to go extinct.

In the news: whale diets, moa poop, shark extinction, and flower seeds.

Follow Aly on Twitter or Instagram @paleolorax

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

Far to the north and far to the south, conditions on Earth get weird. Cold climates and periods of perpetual night or day create some of the most unique habitats on the planet. In this episode, we look at what makes the polar regions so strange, how they’ve changed over time, what it takes for life to survive there, and what fossils tell us about what lived there in the past.

In the news: gut microbiomes, chewed Neanderthals, ancient symbiosis, and very old turtles.

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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

The geologic record of Earth is an archive of data on the causes and effects of changing climates. As climate changes, it impacts everything from plants and animals to rocks and rivers. The study of ancient climates is paleoclimatology, and it’s important not only for our understanding of climate in the past, but also for teasing out what’s happening with our climate today and what we can expect for the future.

In the news: tyrannosaur group, a chomped squid, horned crocs, and night dinosaurs.

This episode, we’re joined by Dr. Rachel Lupien!

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow and Support us on:

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