Fossil Huntress — Palaeo Sommelier
140 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -Geeky Goodness from the Fossil Huntress. If you love palaeontology, you'll love this stream. Dinosaurs, trilobites, ammonites — you'll find them all here. It's dead sexy science for your ears. Want all the links? Head on over to Fossil Huntress HQ at www.fossilhuntress.com
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Episodes
2024 Fossil Lecture Series & British Columbia’s New Provincial Fossil
March 21, 2024 03:51 - 7 minutes - 7.13 MBIn this episode, you'll hear about some wonderful free Zoom Fossil Talks in March and May 2024. There is no need to register. You can head on over to www.fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com and note the talk dates and times. The link will be shared live on the site on the day of the talk. Upcoming Free Fossil Lectures via Zoom: Sun, March 24, 2024, 2PM PST — Dan Bowen — Struck by Lightning: The Mary Anning Story Learn about the history of Mary Anning from Dan Bowen, Chair of the Vancouver Is...
Dr. Victoria Arbour — Royal BC Museum Fieldwork at the Carbon Creek Basin Dinosaur Tracksite
November 19, 2023 22:36 - 36 minutes - 33.9 MBVictoria is a vertebrate palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist and is the leading expert on the palaeobiology of the armoured dinosaurs known as ankylosaurs. She has named several new species of ankylosaurs, studied how they used and evolved their charismatic armour and weaponry, and investigated how their biogeography was shaped by dispersals between Asia and North America. British Columbia has a rich fossil record spanning over 500 million years of the history of life on Earth. Victor...
Vancouver Island Mosasaur
May 30, 2023 15:16 - 11 minutes - 11 MBVancouver Island holds many wonderful fossils and incredible folk excited to explore them. The Dove Creek Mosasaur, which includes the teeth and lower jawbone of a large marine reptile was discovered by Rick Ross of the Vancouver Island Palaeontological Society, during the construction of the Inland Highway, near the Dove Creek intersection on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Mosasaurs had a hinged jaw that allowed them to swallow prey larger than themselves. They evolved special pterygo...
A Taste for Studies: Tortoise Urine, Armadillos, Fried Tarantula & Goat Eyeballs
March 26, 2023 13:57 - 6 minutes - 6.38 MBA Taste for Studies: Tortoise Urine, Armadillos, Fried Tarantula & Goat Eyeballs While eating study specimens is not in vogue today, it was once common practice for researchers in the 1700-1880s. Charles Darwin belonged to a club dedicated to tasting exotic meats, and in his first book wrote almost three times as much about dishes like armadillo and tortoise urine than he did on the biogeography of his Galapagos finches. One of the most famously strange scientific meals occurred on January ...
Predators and Prey in Devonian Seas
March 25, 2023 21:22 - 12 minutes - 11.3 MBPredators and Prey in our Devonian Seas. It is here we see the first tetrapods — land-living vertebrates — appeared during the Devonian, as did the first terrestrial arthropods, including wingless insects and the earliest arachnids. In the oceans, brachiopods flourished. Crinoids and other echinoderms, tabulate and rugose corals, and ammonites were also common... and a mighty one-ton eating machine that ruled our ancient seas.
Earth’s First Four-Legged, Air-Breathing Vertebrates
March 24, 2023 19:09 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBIn the late 1930s, our understanding of the transition of fish to tetrapods — and the eventual jump to modern vertebrates — took an unexpected leap forward. The evolutionary a'ha came from a single partial fossil skull found on the shores of a riverbank in Eastern Canada. Meet the Stegocephalian, Elpistostege watsoni, an extinct genus of finned tetrapodomorphs that lived during the Late Givetian to Early Frasnian of the Late Devonian — 382 million years ago. Elpistostege watsoni — perha...
North America’s Rocky Mountain Trench
January 30, 2023 07:37 - 6 minutes - 6.16 MBNorth America's Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. This massive rift valley stretches all the way from the British Columbia-Yukon border south to the St. Ignatius area and can be seen from space.
Oh, Shiny! Pyritized Fossils
November 11, 2022 09:00 - 3 minutes - 3.28 MBWe sometimes find fossils preserved by pyrite. They are prized as much for their pleasing gold colouring as for their scientific value as windows into the past. If you have pyrite specimens and want to stop them from decaying, you can give them a 'quick' soak in water (hour max) then wash them off, and dry them thoroughly in a warm oven. Cool, then soak in pure acetone for a couple of days. Then soak in paraloid, a thermoplastic resin surface coating or acetone for a couple of days. Keep the...
Bitten and Smitten by the Mineral Bug
November 10, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 7.67 MBThis is a blast from the past and the tale of how I was bitten and smitten by the mineral bug. I hope you enjoy this story from my youth growing up on the northern end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada—and the minerals that can be found there.
Extinct Giants: Woolly Mammoths
November 09, 2022 16:30 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBExtinct Giants: The Woolly Mammoths. These massive beasts roamed the icy cold tundra of Europe, Asia, and North America from about 300,000 years ago up until about 10,000 years ago making a living by digging through the snow and ice to get to the tough grasses beneath. The last known group of woolly mammoths survived until about 1650 B.C.—over a thousand years after the Pyramids at Giza were built. Will we bring them back? I cannot say for sure but they are a captivating animal in our Earth'...
Fossil Gear: What to Bring Fossil Collecting
November 08, 2022 18:50 - 8 minutes - 7.74 MBLearn all about the gear you might need out in the field fossil collecting. What you'll need depends on where you collect and what time of year you go but this will get you started and set up for success.
Hunting Ichthyosaurs in the Norwegian Archipelago of Svalbard
November 07, 2022 17:56 - 7 minutes - 6.99 MBJoin in for a chilly visit to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard between mainland Norway and the North Pole. This one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas with rugged terrain, glaciers and polar bear. The rocks here house beautiful Triassic ammonoids, bivalves and primitive ichthyosaurs. To see some of the fossils from here, visit: https://fossilhuntress.blogspot.com/2020/12/ammonoids-and-bivalves-of-svalbard.html
The Weird and the Wonderful: Lessons from the Cambrian
September 26, 2022 00:42 - 55 minutes - 51.7 MBJoe Moysiuk is a palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist, with research interests in macroevolution, evolutionary developmental biology, and the origin of animal life. He has extensive experience with fossils from the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada, one of the world’s most significant fossil sites. As part of his continuum of Burgess Shale-related research, he is currently pursuing a PhD focusing on the earliest evolution of today’s most diverse animal group: the arthropods. Li...
Welcome to Season Seven
July 20, 2022 18:48 - 6 minutes - 5.99 MBWelcome to Season Seven of the Fossil Huntress Podcast. In this episode you’ll hear about the many yummy fossil projects and field trips over the past few months including a trip to Vancouver Island’s Wild West Coast, great talks & a TV project.
Kirk Johnson — A Lucky Paleontologist & the Tale of Three Splendid Canadian Fossils
March 21, 2022 00:02 - 1 hour - 78.9 MBKirk Johnson is a geologist, paleobotanist, and the Sant Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. His research focuses on fossil plants and the extinction of the dinosaurs, and he is known for his scientific articles, popular books, museum exhibitions, documentaries, and collaborations with artists. Bright, funny and a delightful human being, Kirk Johnson is a leader in his field and beyond. He has collaborated on numerous projects including two recent documentari...
Palaeontology Lecture Series — Spring 2022
February 12, 2022 23:28 - 7 minutes - 6.99 MB2022 Palaeontology / Paleontology Lecture Series with all of you. Zoom Link: www.fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com SPRING 2022 Kicking off 2022 is Danna Staaf, the Cephalopodiatrist with Cephalopods are the New Dinosaurs, Sun, February 12, 2022 at 2PM PST. Cephalopods, Earth's first truly substantial animals, are still among us. Their fascinating family tree is a whose-who of squid, octopus, cuttlefish, nautilus, and their brethren. Cephalopods number more than 800 species with new species stil...
Valley of a Thousand Peaks in the Rocky Mountains
January 09, 2022 17:38 - 6 minutes - 6.16 MBThe Rocky Mountain Trench is one of the few geologic wonders we can see from space. It is known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench — a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains.
Solving an 85 Million-Year-Old Puzzle — Excavating An Elasmosaur
January 08, 2022 10:00 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBA mighty marine reptile was excavated on the Trent River near Courtenay on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The excavation is the culmination of a three-year palaeontological puzzle. The fossil remains are those of an elasmosaur — a group of long-necked marine reptiles found in the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous some 215 to 80 million years ago. In the case of the Trent River, it is closer to 85 million years old. The marine reptile fossil was excavated 10...
Celebrating 2021 With All of You & Welcoming 2022 With An Epic Fossil Contest
December 29, 2021 20:48 - 3 minutes - 3.14 MBNothing says Happy 2022 like free prizes. Thank you to each and every one of you who spent time with me in 2021. It is time to wrap up the year and welcome in 2022. I wish you health, happiness and many fossils.... perhaps as prizes. That's right. It is time to celebrate you! We're starting off 2022 with some great giveaways. Head on over to the ARCHEA YouTube Channel to learn how you could add a few nice fossils, some collecting gear and oodles of tasty fossil goodness to your collection in...
Love the Wild: Moose / Alces alces
November 08, 2021 13:25 - 10 minutes - 9.99 MBLove the Wild: Moose. One of the most impressive mammals of the Pacific Northwest and the largest living member of the deer family are Moose. They are taller than everyone you know and weighs more than your car. You may encounter them lumbering solo along the edge of rivers and lakes, taking a refreshing swim or happily snacking on short grasses, water plants, woody shrubs and pinecones. You can often see them in Canada and some of the northern regions of the USA going about their business ...
Cretaceous Capilano Fossil Field Trip
November 08, 2021 00:53 - 8 minutes - 7.53 MBFossil Field Trip to the Cretaceous Capilano Three Brothers Formation — Vancouver has a spectacular mix of mountains, forests, lowlands, inlets and rivers all wrapped lovingly by the deep blue of the Salish Sea. When we look to the North Shore, the backdrop is made more spectacular by the Coast Mountains with a wee bit of the Cascades tucked in behind. If you were standing on the top of the Lion's Gate Bridge looking north you would see the Capilano Reservoir is tucked in between the Lions ...
Exploring Wrangellia: Haida Gwaii
November 01, 2021 04:05 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBThe islands have gone by many names. To the people who call the islands home, Haida Gwaii means Island of the People, it is a shortened version of an earlier name, Haadala Gwaii-ai, or taken out of concealment. Back at the time of Nangkilslas, it was called Didakwaa Gwaii, or “shoreward country.” By any name, the islands are a place of beauty and spirit and enjoy a special place in both the natural and supernatural world. Haida oral history traces the lineage of their families back to the o...
The Fossils and Geology of Haida Gwaii
November 01, 2021 04:05 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBThe islands have gone by many names. To the people who call the islands home, Haida Gwaii means Island of the People, it is a shortened version of an earlier name, Haadala Gwaii-ai, or taken out of concealment. Back at the time of Nangkilslas, it was called Didakwaa Gwaii, or “shoreward country.” By any name, the islands are a place of beauty and spirit and enjoy a special place in both the natural and supernatural world. Haida oral history traces the lineage of their families back to the o...
Exploring Haida Gwaii
November 01, 2021 04:05 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBThe islands have gone by many names. To the people who call the islands home, Haida Gwaii means “island of the people,” it is a shortened version of an earlier name, Haadala Gwaii-ai, or “taken out of concealment.” Back at the time of Nangkilslas, it was called Didakwaa Gwaii, or “shoreward country.” By any name, the islands are a place of beauty and spirit and enjoy a special place in both the natural and supernatural world. Haida oral history traces the lineage of their families back to t...
Fossil Collecting Austria's Triassic Limestones
October 23, 2021 02:00 - 9 minutes - 8.52 MBFly with me over to Austria in Europe to visit the Hallstatt Limestones. These are the world's richest Triassic ammonite outcrops. Along with diversified cephalopod fauna — orthoceratids, nautiloids, ammonoids — we also see gastropods, bivalves, especially the late Triassic pteriid bivalve Halobia (the halobiids), brachiopods, crinoids and a few corals. We also see a lovely selection of microfauna represented. For microfauna, we see conodonts, foraminifera, sponge spicules, radiolaria, f...
Fossil Collecting Wrangellia
October 22, 2021 02:00 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBFossil Collecting in the islands of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. The mist-shrouded islands of Haida Gwaii are at the western edge of the continental shelf and form part of Wrangellia, an exotic terrane of former island arcs, which also includes Vancouver Island, parts of western mainland British Columbia and southern Alaska. This is a trip that takes some level of planning but is well-worth every moment. I consider a visit to these sacred islands a "trip of a lifetime." And if you ...
Fossil Collecting Haida Gwaii
October 22, 2021 02:00 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBFossil Collecting in the islands of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. The mist-shrouded islands of Haida Gwaii are at the western edge of the continental shelf and form part of Wrangellia, an exotic terrane of former island arcs, which also includes Vancouver Island, parts of western mainland British Columbia and southern Alaska. This is a trip that takes some level of planning but is well-worth every moment. I consider a visit to these sacred islands a "trip of a lifetime." And if you ...
Harrison Lake Fossil Collecting 101
October 20, 2021 17:11 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBIf you are planning a fossil field trip to Harrison Lake, this is the episode for you! We'll talk about getting there. What to bring and what you'll find. Drive the 30 km up Forestry Road #17, stopping just past Hale Creek at 49.5° N, 121.9° W: paleo-coordinates 42.5° N, 63.4° W, on the west side of Harrison Lake. You'll see Long Island to your right. The first of the yummy fossil exposures are just north of Hale Creek on the west side of the lake on the west side of the road. Drive just p...
Welcome to the Fossil Huntress Podcast: Season Five
October 20, 2021 07:21 - 26 seconds - 418 KBWelcome to Season Five of the Fossil Huntress Podcast. If you love palaeontology, you will love this stream. Ammonites, trilobites, you’ll find them all here. Think of it as dead sexy science for your ears. Have a listen!
British Columbia’s Iconic Spirit Bears
October 18, 2021 23:39 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBVisiting the Great Bear Rainforest takes planning and is well worth the trip. You will want to book a guide to lead you through this 6.4 million hectare wilderness on British Columbia's north and central coasts. I recommend searching www.indigenousbc.com for some wonderful knowledgeable First Nation partners on your excursion. This is a journey, an experience you will never forget, so savour every part. As you enter your footfalls are muffled by lush undergrowth, a crush of salal, fallen n...
Our Palaeontological History: From Fish to Tetrapods
October 16, 2021 02:12 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBIn the late 1930s, our understanding of the transition of fish to tetrapods — and the eventual jump to modern vertebrates — took an unexpected leap forward. The evolutionary a'ha came from a single partial fossil skull found on the shores of a riverbank in Eastern Canada. Meet the Stegocephalian, Elpistostege watsoni, an extinct genus of finned tetrapodomorphs that lived during the Late Givetian to Early Frasnian of the Late Devonian — 382 million years ago. Elpistostege watsoni — perhaps ...
From Fish to Tetrapods
October 16, 2021 02:12 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBIn the late 1930s, our understanding of the transition of fish to tetrapods — and the eventual jump to modern vertebrates — took an unexpected leap forward. The evolutionary a'ha came from a single partial fossil skull found on the shores of a riverbank in Eastern Canada. Meet the Stegocephalian, Elpistostege watsoni, an extinct genus of finned tetrapodomorphs that lived during the Late Givetian to Early Frasnian of the Late Devonian — 382 million years ago. Elpistostege watsoni — perhaps the...
Fossil Field Trip to the Oregon Coast
September 02, 2021 18:37 - 11 minutes - 11.1 MBThe Oregon Coast on the western edge of the USA is a wonderful place to collect fossils. The area has been known for its wonderful fossil fauna since the 1830s. Here we find middle Miocene (along with a wee bit of Eocene) outcrops with delicious fossil whale bone, fish teeth, turtle shell, and a magnificent assortment of molluscs — the gastropods Chlorostome pacificum, Turritella oregonensis, Crepidula, Cryptontica oregonensis, Polinices canalis, Neverita, Sinum scopulosum and the large and ...
Burgess Shale Biota: Life in Middle Cambrian Seas
July 06, 2021 22:46 - 14 minutes - 13.8 MBHigh up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains there are mysteries more than half a billion years old. These are the outcrops of the Burgess Shale Biota — more than 150 species that provide a window into life in our Cambrian seas. Charles Doolittle Walcott will be forever remembered for his extraordinary discovery of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of Yoho National Park in southeastern British Columbia — delivering to the world one of the most important biota of soft-bodied organisms in the foss...
Gentle Gentoo Penguins
June 20, 2021 21:14 - 6 minutes - 5.85 MBGentoo Penguins with their black, white natural colouring akin to formal wear — are some of my favourite animals. They are foraging predators — dining on crustaceans, fish and squid in the cold nearshore waters of the Antarctic Peninsula, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Sandwich Islands. South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the Falklands are inhospitable British Overseas Territories in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The first scientific description of these romantic seabirds was...
Love the Wild: Gentle Gentoo Penguins
June 20, 2021 21:14 - 6 minutes - 5.85 MBGentoo Penguins with their black, white natural colouring akin to formal wear — are some of my favourite animals. They are foraging predators — dining on crustaceans, fish and squid in the cold nearshore waters of the Antarctic Peninsula, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Sandwich Islands. South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the Falklands are inhospitable British Overseas Territories in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The first scientific description of these romantic seabirds was...
Earth’s Earliest Atmosphere: Cyanobacteria
May 30, 2021 19:27 - 7 minutes - 6.65 MBWe owe a huge nod of gratitude to the wee photosynthetic microbes known as cyanobacteria for their work in helping to create the first oxygen to enter our atmosphere and make you and I — & indeed all life on Earth — possible. When the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, it was an inhospitable place. Even with a Sun some 25 per cent weaker than it is today, ours was a molten world that needed to undergo a long period of cooling before the conditions for life would arise. And arise they did....
Fool’s Gold: Betting On Gold Prospects
May 27, 2021 18:38 - 8 minutes - 7.67 MBWhen I was little, maybe 5 or 6 years old, I struck gold! Well, it wasn't real gold, but I was most convinced. Someone had dumped a tailings pile near the woods where I lived and in the sun, those crushed pieces of rock sparkled. I had already been bitten by the love of minerals and fossils and so naturally I filled my pockets and brought as much home as a youngster can carry. Where I was told that it was Fool's Gold. But, still... it was so compelling and just so gold-like. So, secretly ...
José Bonaparte: Master of the Mesozoic
May 20, 2021 19:36 - 6 minutes - 5.61 MBOne of the most delightful palaeontologists to grace our Earth was José Fernando Bonaparte (14 June 1928 – 18 February 2020). He was an Argentinian paleontologist who you'll know as the discoverer of some of Argentina's iconic dinosaurs — Carnotaurus (the "Bull" dinosaur we've talked about in a previous episode), along with Amargasaurus, Abelisaurus, Argentinosaurus and Noasaurus. His first love was mammals and over the course of his career, he unearthed the remains of some of the first Sout...
The Great Karoo of South Africa
May 12, 2021 22:33 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBThe Great Karoo was formed in a vast inland basin starting 320 million years ago, at a time when that part of Gondwana which would eventually become Africa, lay over the South Pole. The Karoo records a wonderful time in our evolutionary history when the world was inhabited by interesting amphibians and mammal-like reptiles — including the apex predators of the day, the Gorgons. Gorgons or Gorgonopsia were sabre-toothed therapsids who roamed our ancient Earth from the Middle to Upper Permian...
Marble Canyon: Stromatolites in Limestone
March 21, 2021 02:56 - 4 minutes - 4.57 MBMarble Canyon in British Columbia, Canada is a lovely place to hike. Here you can see some of the oldest freshwater stromatolites on Earth and one of our oldest lifeforms. The canyon's name comes from the brilliant limestone of its walls. The bedrock is microcrystalline limestone (sedimentary rock) rather than marble (metamorphic rock). The rocks found here tell of the forming of British Columbia. Marble Canyon was once part of a chain of Pacific Islands originating far to the southwest of t...
Australia’s Fossil Megafauna
March 05, 2021 17:58 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBAustralia has always held appeal as a country with weird and wonderful wildlife. This is as true today as it was back in the Pleistocene — 2.5 million years ago to 11,500 years ago.
Love the Wild: Australia’s Fossil Megafauna
March 05, 2021 17:58 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBAustralia has always held appeal as a country with weird and wonderful wildlife. This is as true today as it was back in the Pleistocene — 2.5 million years ago to 11,500 years ago.
The Shifting Earth: Plate Tectonics
March 02, 2021 04:25 - 7 minutes - 7.35 MBPlate tectonics looks at Earth’s outer layer. It is made up of large, moving pieces called plates. All of Earth’s land and water sit on these plates. The plates are made of solid rock. Under the plates is a weaker layer of partially melted rock. The plates are constantly moving over this weaker layer. Think of the Earth as an egg. The outer hard shell is the lithosphere or "hard rock" and the next layer or egg white is the mantle. The central core has two parts: the outer is more liquid and...
Plate Tectonics
March 02, 2021 04:25 - 7 minutes - 7.35 MBPlate tectonics looks at Earth’s outer layer. It is made up of large, moving pieces called plates. All of Earth’s land and water sit on these plates. The plates are made of solid rock. Under the plates is a weaker layer of partially melted rock. The plates are constantly moving over this weaker layer.
Amber: Fossilized Tree Resin
February 21, 2021 19:49 - 8 minutes - 7.74 MBAmber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its colour and natural beauty since the Neolithic. We find amber around the globe, generally in rocks that are Cretaceous or younger. Tree resin or sap is essential to a tree. Roots take up water and nutrients, and these need to be spread throughout the tree. Sap is the viscous liquid that carries these yummy minerals and nutrients to areas where they are most needed. Tree leaves produce simple sugars that must get transported thr...
Ammonite Valentine: Upper Cretaceous Brannen Lake Motorcross Pit
February 14, 2021 20:13 - 8 minutes - 7.63 MBOne of the classic Vancouver Island fossil localities is the Santonian-Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous Haslam Formation Motocross Pit near Brannen Lake, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The quarry is no longer active as such though there is a busy little gravel quarry a little way down the road closer to Ammonite falls near Benson Creek Falls. Today it is an active Motocross site. Beneath the crisscrossing tire tracks, it remains one of the classic localities of the Nanaimo Group. We find...
Koala Bears: Marsupials
February 13, 2021 20:27 - 7 minutes - 6.84 MBKoala, Phasscolarctos cinereus, are truly adorable marsupials native to Australia. These cuddly "teddy bears" are not bears at all. Koalas belong to a group of mammals known as marsupials. Fossil remains of Koala-like animals have been found dating back to 25 million years ago. As the climate changed and Australia became drier, ancient vegetation evolved to what we know as eucalyptus, becoming the Koalas food source. Koalas have pouches on their bellies where their newborns develop. Their ...
Love the Wild: Koala Bears / Marsupials
February 13, 2021 20:27 - 7 minutes - 6.84 MBKoala, Phasscolarctos cinereus, are truly adorable marsupials native to Australia. These cuddly "teddy bears" are not bears at all. Koalas belong to a group of mammals known as marsupials. Fossil remains of Koala-like animals have been found dating back to 25 million years ago. As the climate changed and Australia became drier, ancient vegetation evolved to what we know as eucalyptus, becoming the Koalas food source. Koalas have pouches on their bellies where their newborns develop. Their ...
Furry, Fuzzy, Polar, Panda — Bears: Ursidae
February 05, 2021 06:53 - 6 minutes - 6.27 MBBears are one of my favourite mammals. Had they evolved in a slightly different way, we might well have chosen them as pets instead of the dogs so many of us have in our lives today. For them and for us, I think things worked out for the best that they enjoy the rugged wild country they call home. Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wi...