How Pollination Got Going Twice

The world of the Jurassic was a lot like ours - similar interactions between plants and insects were happening, but the players have changed over time. Because it looks like pollination by insects actually got going twice.

And we appreciate Dr. Conrad C. Labandeira (NMNH, Smithsonian Institution) and Dr. Bo WANG (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for their help with this episode!

Produced by Complexly for PBS Digital Studios

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[LimeyLassen]

Beetles showing once again they're always ahead of the curve

[coreyhead]

Fun fact: magnolia trees are pollinated by beetles because magnolias are older than butterflies

[KimberlyGreen]

Bee: I am the pollinator of the world.
Beetle: Boy, I was doin' the job before you were a glimmer in the eye of evolution.

[BernardSolomon]

What an awesome channel this is!! And how amazing the human thirst for knowledge and discovery. Thank you PBS Eons for bringing this to us.

[amentrison]

Thank you for including information about Burmese amber. It's an important educational addition to this already educational content.

[CodyosVladimiros]

This is adjacent to a topic I'd love to see on Eons: the evolution of Hummingbirds. When did they arrive in the New World? When did they become extinct in the old? I keep hearing that there are certain plants in the old world that "seem adapted to pollination by hummingbirds" but... what are those plants and where are they? I haven't been able to find this information and it's fustraaaating.

[hyperactivehyena]

It almost seems like the gymnosperms created the niche, then the angiosperms capitalized on it and took over- neat

[siameseK]

I love these videos! I like how each presenter has their own style and rhythm. I also appreciate the end credits with information regarding issues in land ownerships, specimen collection, and geopolitical conflicts. These are topics that I don’t being addressed often in the scientific community and need to be. By being upfront and direct, Eons is being both respectful and responsible to the science community and the audience. Thank you!

[impendio]

Very nice chapter, insects are _so important_ and yet we almost always treat them like plagues. Also, I appreciate the disclaimer about unethical amber mining in Asia, which is a big problem, even though it has given us some *amazing* specimens over the years.

[zachcrawford]

After seeing this, I would love to see an episode on the evolution of fruit and the relationships it formed between plants and animals.

[DominikJaniec]

9:16 I'm always thankful when you disclose those information cards about problematic sources of science materials.

[dinostorion]

I love discovering species that look similar to modern ones. More convergent evolution examples

[crisptomato]

Ooh I’d love an episode on parasites and how they evolved!

[animal]

I imagine the symbiotic relationship between angiosperms and pollinators allowed them to rebound from the K-T extinction event more successfully than gymnosperms as well. Further cementing angiosperms as the dominant plant. Something that probably shaped primate evolution, and without which, would not have resulted in humans.

[aaku]

Was waiting for pbs eons to upload for eons. Finally.

[MaddoxLightning]

I appreciate how ethical your show strives to be. Crediting native peoples land and ethics of cited material. Thank you.

[ordinaryorca]

I would like to see a sequel to this episode, about how certain birds, bats and other mamals and reptiles evolved to polinate, are there waterplants that evolved polination aswell, I'd love to know more

[john]

Always love the artwork the PBS Eons team does for these videos!

[beto]

The evolution of platypus and monotremes please

[veggieboyultimate]

The reason angiosperms are the main pollinators was obvious: they awarded the insects with a sweet treat, unlike the gymnosperms.