Episode 246 - Gharials
6/21/20262 hr 24 min
Happy Croc Month!
Most living crocodilian species look pretty similar overall – that’s why there are so many tips for telling alligators from crocodiles – but one group really stands out with their bulging eyes and remarkably slender snouts. This episode, we explore the various features and habits that make gharials unique among crocs, and which have caused no end of confusion for scientists trying to sort out their evolutionary history. And, of course, we’ll take a trip into the fossil record to visit some of the most extraordinary long-snouted crocs of the distant past.
In the news: hagfish eyes, dinosaur arms, fungal spores, and fishing dinosaurs.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:06:45
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:40:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:09:35
Patron question: 02:12:00
With the help of our Patrons, we’ll be donating this year to:
The Crocodile Research Coalition https://crocodileresearchcoalition.org/
Save the Snakes https://savethesnakes.org/
The Natural Resources Defense Council https://www.nrdc.org/
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
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
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDavid· Host0:00
You're listening to the Common Descent Podcast.
Will· Host0:03
[upbeat music] Hello, David.
David· Host0:20
Hello, Will.
Will· Host0:21
And hello, listeners. Welcome to episode 246 of the Common Descent Podcast. This episode, in honor of Croc Month, we will be discussing gharials.
David· Host0:34
This is exciting. It's so- It is ... it's so fun to get to zoom in on a s- a, in this case, a very specific group- Yes ... of critters.
Will· Host0:43
This is a very niche corner of the croc... at least modern times-wise, of our crocodilians we have. We're gonna talk about the two modern species of gharial and their much more diverse fossil cousins.
David· Host0:59
Yeah. Talk about what's going on with those weird snouts.
Will· Host1:02
Yes. We're gonna get to discuss the unique features and complications of their slender, slender snouts. We are discussing this topic in honor of Croc Month, and because it was requested by me, because no one else requested gharials, because you've all let me down personally.
David· Host1:22
The listeners, you, you really... I- I'm so sorry, listeners, you really dropped the ball on this one.
Will· Host1:28
It just... W- g- come on,