Episode 106: Herpetology
Palaeocast
English - January 01, 2020 16:23 - ★★★★★ - 154 ratingsNatural Sciences Science Education Courses evolution geology palaeontology paleontology science dinosaurs education fossils paleo Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Herpetology is the study of reptiles, amphibians and caecilians. This includes frogs, salamanders, crocodiles, snakes, lizards and tuatara, to name just a few. These cold-blooded tetrapods have an evolutionary history that reaches back to the Carboniferous. For many of these groups, questions remain about their evolutionary relationships and patterns of diversity through major extinction events. New fossil discoveries are helping address some of these outstanding mysteries.
Prof. Susan Evans studies the evolution of ‘herps’ at University College London. She joins us in this episode to give an overview of the field, and the research she is carrying out with colleagues around the world. We explore the elusive origins of crown amphibians, and what recent fieldwork in Scotland could reveal about their emergence in the Jurassic.