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Join David and Will as they explore the paleontologists’ perspective on various topics in life and earth history. Each episode features a main discussion on a topic requested by the listeners, presented as a lighthearted and educational conversation about fossils, evolution, deep time, and more. Before the main discussion, each episode also includes a news segment, covering recent research related to paleontology and evolution. Each episode ends with the answer to a question submitted by subscribers on Patreon. New episodes with new topics every fortnight!
Episodes

Saturday May 18, 2019
Episode 61 - Behavior in the Fossil Record
Saturday May 18, 2019
Saturday May 18, 2019
It’s easy to see how fossils can teach us what ancient animals looked like, or how they evolved. But what about the ways they moved, ate, socialized, reproduced? In this episode, we explore the innovative ways paleontologists have devised to interpret the behavior of ancient animals. From their bones, their tracks, their living relatives, and modern clever experimentation, we can come to understand more than you’d ever imagine about behavior in the fossil record.
In the news: a Denisovan jaw, a new bat-winged dinosaur, a cave of wonders, and a flapping robot.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:32:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:07:30
Patron question: 01:41:30
The Common Descent Store is open! Get merch! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
How do you become a paleontologist? A GREAT post by our friends at Time Scavengers!
https://timescavengers.blog/2019/05/13/how-do-you-become-a-paleontologist/
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.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.
Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Comments (1)
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Question on the microwear analysis - how do you distinguish microwear while the animal is alive from wear due to erosion or from processing the fossil?
Monday May 20, 2019
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