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Eons

Our Most Mysterious Extinct Cousins

Season 6 Episode 12

There was a group of hominins, those creatures more closely related to us than to chimpanzees, that did take a different, parallel journey from our ancestors. Our paths ran beside each other - and potentially even crossed at times - but while ours led us here, theirs led to extinction. What happened to Paranthropus and what can their fate tell us about our past?

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Season
The Mystery Of The Mashed-Up Dinosaurs
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Hidden in rocks may have animal kingdom’s oldest known predator.
These Fossils Were Supposed To Be Impossible
9:26
Hidden in rocks may have animal kingdom’s oldest known predator.
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8:09
We explore what we have in common with our ancient cousins.
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9:19
We have become the ultimate niche builders.
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9:58
Beneath their shell, the crustaceans hold an evolutionary mystery.
How Did Our Most Famous Ancestor Really Die?
7:20
The answer is part of a decades-long debate.
When A Marsupial Became An Apex Predator
10:04
In Australia, evolution built a family of deadly predators.
We Met Neandertals Way Earlier Than We Thought
7:28
We focus on the DNA we got from our Neanderthals.
How Plate Tectonics Gave Us Seahorses
7:20
Seahorses are one of the ocean's worst swimmers but their origin story is great.
Are We All Actually Archaea?
8:21
In recent years, Archaea's connection to us has been pretty huge and surprising.
Darwin Missed An Example of Evolution Right Under His Nose
8:53
Charles Darwin encountered a tiny fox-like creature during his famous voyage.
Our Ancient Relative That Said 'No Thanks' To Life On Land
8:59
While some fishapods were crawling out of water, others were diving right back in.
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