In this episode Angele Sjong interviews Tyler Lyson, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, about his team’s extraordinary fossil discovery at the Corral Bluffs.

When the asteroid destroyed most of life on earth 66 million years ago, including the dinosaurs, this cataclysmic event ended the Age of Reptiles and began the Age of Mammals.Paleontologists have long struggled to understand the first million years of the Age of Mammals, however.  What kinds of mammals survived this event?   When and how did mammals become big again?  When did mammals begin to diversify?  What was the plant life and climate like at this time?   The animal and plant fossils at Corral Bluffs shed light on this critical time period in earth’s history that has been a mystery for so long.

The Corral Bluffs have been featured on the PBS Nova show titled “Age of Mammals.”   Nova show, “Rise of the Mammals”.

The Corral Bluffs’ fossils are on exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science:

DMNS Exhibit: After the asteroid: Earth’s comeback story

Executive Producer: Joel Parker

Listen to the show: