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Eons
The Extinction That Never Happened
Season 1
Episode 10
Natural history is full of living things that were long thought to have gone extinct only to show up again, alive and well. Paleontologists have a word for these kinds of organisms: They call them Lazarus taxa.
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0:30
The Permian began with the formation of a supercontinent and ended in the biggest extinction ever.
9:11
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10:16
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11:45
What did ancient people once know about these bizarre megafauna that we’ve since forgotten?
7:44
5,700 years ago, woolly mammoths crossed a remote tundra island off Alaska.
9:48
Why did vertebrates conquer both the land and the air before the depths of the sea?
8:27
Long-extinct dinosaurs may still haunt us—possibly driving us to age faster than any vertebrate.
9:34
Only twice in Earth's history have supermountains risen, and both times reshaped life forever.
10:05
500+ pterosaur fossils found at Solnhofen may be hiding a dark secret distorting our view of them.
11:08
Why are our teeth so sensitive? The answer originates in the armored skin of ancient fish.
10:45
For flowering plants to take over, they first helped burn the old world—and then put the fires out.