For most of the Cenozoic Era, South America was home to an incredible group of predatory birds called phorusrhacids, which included some of the largest carnivorous birds of all time. With their giant axe-like beaks and powerful clawed legs, these giants have gained the nickname “terror birds.” This episode, we explore what makes these birds unique, how they varied across their diversity, and what exactly they were doing with all those terrifying tools.

In the news: a bitten plesiosaur, wildflower adaptation, a new croc, and dinosaur parents.

Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:06:25 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:51:30 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:29:3015 Patron question: 02:30:05

Some helpful links mentioned in the Announcements: The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ The National Immigrant Justice Center: https://immigrantjustice.org/ Pal Humanity: https://chuffed.org/project/122818-support-north-gaza-rebuilding-lives-restoring-hope-with-pal-humanity?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post 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/

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

Creatures of the night! The world is a different place in the dark, and a whole array of organisms have adapted to being most active outside of daytime hours. This episode, we’ll explore the regular traits that allow nocturnal animals to get by, we’ll discuss some of the ways nocturnal evolution has shaped living species, and we’ll investigate which – if any – of these traits we can identify in the fossil record.

In the news: snake hormones, Australian amphibians, ancient microbes, and baby dinosaurs.

Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:07:25 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:39:15 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:14:30 Patron question: 02:03:45

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post 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/

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

Welcome ... to Pok-É!

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, so we’re picking some of our favorite Legendary Pokémon and speculating upon how they – or something like them – might evolve in real life, pulling inspiration from species throughout our planet’s history!

This episode, we take on the super-ancient Pokémon of Hoenn. How could natural selection result in masters of the sea, land, and sky embroiled in an endless feud? Our creatures to create this time: Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza.

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

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

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.