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Eons
The Huge Extinctions We Are Just Now Discovering
Season 6
Episode 8
What graptolites tell us is a story of incredible changes in the ocean, of periods where the oceans became poisonous and suffocating before eventually clearing up again. They unlock extinctions and recoveries that scientists didn't see. And, most of all, they show us how unpredictable the Silurian period really could be.
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7:59
When did we start practicing medicine in its varied, complex forms?

9:11
For some, the rise of venomous elapid snakes was an almost apocalyptic catastrophe.

12:07
When you only have fossils, how do you know if a dinosaur is female or male?

11:57
What are animal-like fossils doing in rocks a billion years old?

9:41
Paranthropus lived alongside our ancestors. If we are still here, why aren’t they?

8:42
Exoskeleton fragments may have allowed microbes to sail the ocean and change the world.

10:45
Fire only exists only on Earth because fire can’t exist without life.

7:09
Turns out bats didn’t give us butterflies and we should be thanking bees and beans.

9:05
How can we figure out when we first started wearing clothes?

7:50
From an evolutionary perspective, is bigger always better?

9:14
How did ants take over the world?

9:31
This is how our planet rescued itself from extreme conditions in the Cretaceous Period.