'Living Fossils' Aren't Really a Thing

↓ More info below ↓

Crocodiles, horseshoe crabs, and tuatara are animals that have persisted for millions of years, said to have gone unchanged since the days of the dinosaurs. But even the most ancient-looking organisms show us that evolution is always at work.

Produced for PBS Digital Studios.

Want to follow Eons elsewhere on the internet?

References:

[bm]

He was so offended by Hank saying "living fossil" that he had to make a whole video about it to correct him.

[jcortese]

"Living fossil" == Sometimes Mother Nature just gets it right early on.

[johnweigel]

I always took a "living fossil" to be a species that was discovered in fossil form before it was discovered as still alive in the modern world. The coelacanth was the most famous example of such a "living fossil."

[fusionfall]

I believe there needs to be an episode explaining how these "hoofed mammals" evolved into todays whales.

[whitneyempey]

I'd love to see a video on the eras, epochs, and periods because I don't know anything about them at all... or actually what the difference is between an era and a period...

[brianstark]

Eons always has the perfect blend of humour and scientific info!!

[irishmigit]

After seeing Hank Green in a turtle costume give a lecture on science, him saying I'm a living Fossil makes me laugh so much thinking back to the costume

[mbrannon]

I've been subscribed since day one after seeing this channel on PBS's Spacetime. I love this channel and the subject matter but I feel like the format would really benefit from a slightly longer duration. Obviously the episodes don't need to be full length thirty minute features but at the current 5-6 minute average time, it is just enough time to get interesting and whet your appetite before it ends frustratingly short. I think the channel would really be perfect at the 10 minute mark and the level of detail that implies. I know it's still a fairly new channel and this isn't related to this specific video but I just wanted to leave feedback. Hopefully this is something that changes over time. Cheers. I love what you guys are doing and look forward to it every week.

[Zootycoonman]

Same thing wrong with asking: are humans STILL evolving? Of course yes. Metapopulation genetics fluctuate with each subsequent generation, oscillating around the average genetic change per generation. Metagenerations eventually have overarching ‘themes’ that result in genetic drift from the original generation - eventually oscillating into speciation. Humans and all life will forever evolve so long as they exist.

[SunnyApples]

So in Game Theory, there is this concept of "Nash equilibrium" where every player in the game has nothing to gain by changing their strategy. I would expect living things in a environment that doesn't change much to fall into this Nash equilibrium, and stick to their survival strategy for a long time.

[TheSaneHatter]

My understanding, from an early age, was that "living fossil" was a colloquial term to describe an animal thought to have gone extinct long ago (i.e. before humans), but then found alive. Pretty specific, and not really worth debunking.

[austynstorm]

Can you guys do a Video about why early life split into plants and animals and what was there evolutionary purposes for splitting

[xaosbob]

I would love to see these develop into a longer format, say 12-15 minutes, so you can go a bit more in-depth with your topics. Citing studies on-screen (and in the description, when that would work) would be a good addition.

[camgood]

I thought everyone knew that "living fossils" was just a colorful term. The creatures obviously do exist today, and they aren't made of rock, so..? There are people who thought that the term had scientific significance?

[knightlygaming]

Interesting video that made me think about the little changes that aren't usually discussed when referring to these "living fossils". With that said I would love to see an episode talking about the armored fish (such as dunkleosteus) and why they grew their armor as well as why they went extinct.

[justine]

PBS Eons keeps proving they are one of the best channel (y)

[sueanoimm]

May I request a full video about ancient crocodilian's diverse body plan? I learned briefly about crocs with armadillo-like armor, crocs with long legs and are chasing predators instead of ambush, crocs with duck-bill like mouth, crocs with 4 huge fang-like teeth, and many more. It would be a great future content for a series like Eons.

[danstewart]

We have echidnas (montremes, egg laying mammals) come into our yard, and platypus (the one other monotreme) in nearby waterways. They are wonderful animals that fit into their environment very well. In fact, in Tasmania, both species of monotreme are furrier to account for the colder weather, and the platypus are larger.

[AxiomApe]

I love this channel. Thanks for all the awesomeness

[veearce]

Love those two brothers :) but all of you are great, even steve