Every Time Things Have Evolved Into Moles

[@BenGThomas]

Hi everyone! As pointed out by a few comments, I unfortunately missed a couple more incredible instances of mole convergence by prehistoric animals. To make up for it I've made a follow-up video to this one covering those cases, which you can watch by clicking the link in the description or in the end cards!

[@sirduckoufthenorth]

Good stuff

[@iambeavis762]

Please make a video about spiny animals. Like hedgehogs, tenrecs, echidnas, and porcupines.

[@brianedwards7142]

You can always tell a true mole from a lookalike because moles hate spring cleaning and bunk off to picnic with water rats.

[@DannyJane.]

@@brianedwards7142 🤣🤣🤣

[@darcieclements4880]

Hey man don't worry about missing a few, I honestly would expect a video like this to potentially be hours long given how many there are alive on Earth right now. We even continue to discover new extant ones regularly because surprise animals that live underground don't always get noticed right away. I would imagine in the fossil record the fact that most of these critters are tiny would play a role in continuing discovery of them as well.

[@Croakin]

Inside of you are two wolves: one is evolving into a crab, The other evolving into a mole.

[@eybaza6018]

Three actually,the 3rd one wants to become a turtle

[@C-Farsene_5]

Fourth one wants to be a worm

[@OriginalGlorfindel]

My introvert self is aiming for mole, but my life is moulding me turtle. 😂

[@eybaza6018]

@@C-Farsene_5 The 5th wants to become a dolphin

[@C-Farsene_5]

@@eybaza6018 fish you mean?

[@leppeppel]

Given that the research into the convergent evolution of "turtles" and "moles" both led to a warning *not* to delve too deep into testudines and rodents, I have to assume that researching the inevitable crab video will lead to a horrifying Lovecraftian descent into madness brought about by knowledge mankind was not meant to possess.

[@DrakonBlake]

Trees could be even worse by this logic

[@NomicFin]

The final horrifying revelation from the dive into the crab-hole is that man is in fact a type of crab. Think about it: humans are the only mammal capable of strafing (walking sideways, which crabs are well known for), and our hands are pretty much a mammalian equivalent of pincers. What is a man but nature's attempt to make a crab out of a mammal?

[@ArjanKop]

It will. Carcinologists even sit apart from entomologists at lunch at the museum, and the latter are already considered to be weird by malacologists and the unimaginative people who stuck to vertebrates.

[@billflunkendorf]

Yes

[@billflunkendorf]

@@ArjanKopThose idiots with their backbones so boring

[@Dylan-vd6rz]

Slugs. I don't think many people know or realize how many times slugs have evolved from snails. It wasn't just one common ancestor. Shell loss has happened multiple times. There's even "transitional" species called semislugs or half slugs where the shell is greatly reduced or even partly internalized

[@isaacbruner65]

On a related note, most cephalopod groups have also internalized or lost their ancestral mollusc shells. The most primitive group of cephalopods, the nautiluses, still have their shells, though.

[@NinjaXryho]

Man, what if an ex-turtle evolved

[@mattwilson3417]

How to explain loss of shell in life cycle between different stages e.g. nudibranchs

[@nikobellic570]

This comment grossed me out and needs salt poured on it

[@rat_dragon]

I was just gonna say this lol @@isaacbruner65

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

So, if some creatures keep evolving into crabs, and some creatures keep evolving into moles . . . does that make mole crabs peak evolution?

[@WAMTAT]

Twist, mole crabs are just turtle

[@volodyanarchist]

Only dolphin/sharks refuse to follow this trend!

[@ItsTheSpecialistLIVE]

@CastortheMudwingso real for that

[@MugiwaraZero]

Bones inside? Become mole Bones outside? Become crab No bones? Grow bones to become a crab or mole you loser

[@hoze1235]

I hate sand it's coarse

[@i.m.evilhomer5084]

One of most annoying things about researching moles is finding proper pictures of them. Most of the time, clickbait websites & Reddit users simply repost the same image of a marsupial mole & claim it to be any number of mole, golden mole, & even mole-rat species!

[@singerofsongs468]

As a natural history museum educator, I run into this kind of thing _all the time_ when I’m doing research! It’s so frustrating.

[@tasnifrahman2486]

Have you tried limiting your research or peer reviewed studies or is that too restrictive?

[@horsetuna]

There was a david attenborough (I forget which one) with a golden Mole and all I could think of was, "Bugs Bunny burrows through the ground like a Golden Mole, not a rabbit." It was just this mound of sand moving along, stopping on occasion.

[@Ballistics_Computer]

Redditors, the so-called champions of science in the modern world, are singlehandedly the greatest contributors to scientific misinformation of our time.

[@khoury]

That’s reddit for you

[@gameguy6003]

Convergent evolution of saber toothed predators could be an interesting video. it has evolved independently at least 7 times over the course of synapsid evolution.

[@gameguy6003]

other possible options could include hedgehog/porcupine style of spined/quilled animals or animals that evolved for headbutting

[@Jpteryx]

Or convergent evolution of swordfish. It happened more than you might think.

[@tribalbabymum]

Definitely this, I found this channel looking for the topic. I understand that sabres evolved convergently some 13+ times. That I leant some years ago, so is likely different by now. Fascinating.

[@randompheidoleminor3011]

@@Jpteryx its crazy that sawfish and sawsharks both independently evolved saws for snouts

[@reuireuiop0]

Beaver, also evolved at least once before. And talking Sabre tooth, did dino and their precursor, not also develop the sabre tooth lifestyle ? Some Gorgonopsid perhaps ? Smilogorgon, can't wait to see that !

[@JimmyBlether]

How about convergent evolution of leglessness in vertebrates, meaning various groups derived from lizards, caecilians, and so on.

[@Littlekoji-df1cf]

Yes!

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

We even have a great example of a living species thats in a transitional stage between having legs and becoming completely legless, The Mexican Mole Lizard

[@JimmyBlether]

@@Im-Not-a-Dog I kinda feel that they aren't transitional unlike say a florida sand skink's as their front legs actually do something, unlike the excuses for legs attached to a florida sand skink's body.

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

@@JimmyBlether Thats a fair point, but given that their two remaining legs arent actually used for moving the animal, but rather just for moving dirt, I still count them as being vestigial as far as the primary purpose of a limb goes. Even bipedal creatures like most primates and Kangaroos still use their front limbs to move in some capacity, either for climbing or crawling, but the Mole Lizard's limbs arent capable of moving its body at all.

[@JimmyBlether]

@@Im-Not-a-Dog Amusingly they still seem to try to walk based on video I have seen on them, they kinda look like they forgot they're all body now

[@isaacbruner65]

Trees are a very interesting case of convergent evolution as well. What we think of as a tree encompasses several very distantly related plant lineages. There are also cases where two plant lineages are closely related and one is a tree but the other is not (for example, climbing palms vs. palm trees). The oldest trees were a type of clubmoss, then tree ferns were dominant for a while, then gymnosperms (conifers, cycads, ginkgos) and since the late Cretaceous flowering plants mainly fill that role.

[@MossyMozart]

@isaacbruner65 - So many people think that all trees are related to each, like they are one big "tree family". As you point out, they are not.

[@CaptainVaughn0]

i've known about the fucked up convergent evolution of trees since i was a kid since i live among palm trees. i wondered why they weren't like other trees. little me found out they were actually giant grass. Edit: even that isn't accurate because they only share an order, palm trees are their own thing, but weird how any huge plant is considered a tree

[@lactuca12]

@@CaptainVaughn0 I have called palms as "grass with a trunk". Here in Uruguay we even have a palm with an underground trunk, Butia lallemantii, which looks like and can be confused with a mat of tall grass.

[@idrawsdinosaurs400]

I honestly think trees, bushes, etc. are better understood as the plant equivalent of calling an animal a "biped" or "volant" or something like that, where it's understood as just being a shape or lifestyle that many different animals can exist in rather than a distinct biological category. In this sense, a palm and a conifer being trees is more like us and ostriches both walking on two legs.

[@jarnkarlinn]

I'd love to see a video about this

[@ArjanKop]

Hurray! I love the fact that several ‘crabs’ are also ‘moles’. All we need now are a leggles snake crab and a pike crab, or perhaps a dolphin crab.

[@Taomantom]

crabcat

[@littledreamerrem7021]

Do not tempt Lady Evolution.

[@oberonpanopticon]

Be patient, evolution will get there eventually. All will become crab. Resistance is futile.

[@Gobbygiblet]

"Crab Dolphin, Craab Dolphin, Craaaab Dolphin!" Sounds very South park Lol

[@benjamindebo9283]

Crabgator

[@thepenguin..]

Crabs: “finally a worthy opponent, our battle will be legendary”

[@Sebebastian]

An episode on Nectarivores would be interesting. Basically because hummingbirds and bats cross into a niche that is dominated by invertebrates. Insectivores specialized on termites and ants might also be quite interesting, because of their skull anatomy, which is in my opinion an evolutionary deadend.

[@ziizification]

I mean, ants are the single most populous category of animals ON EARTH by an order of magnitude so I think if ants disappear the environment has much bigger problems than if anteaters are going to survive or not.

[@vaiyt]

Ants and termites are so successful themselves that over-specializing in eating them ain't so bad.

[@itbird180]

Maybe instead of evolutionary dead end, a potential point of no return (like ceaceans adapted for water). Though I don't know if this is actually true in the case of a typical ant-specialized body plan.

[@Sebebastian]

You guys raise a good point. Ants are kind of a force of nature equal to trees, or even more dominant than flowering plants. Makes you wonder if the ant niche would evolve on any alien planet, given that there is already complex live.

[@marysue9661]

​@@Sebebastianhumans are Kind of ant-like too. In a very broad sense, as in developing Eusociality from time to time.

[@sibrilliant]

I think star nose moles are truly one of the most visually disturbing animals. Beautiful evolution, terrifying appearance.

[@GeoffryGifari]

more than naked mole rat?

[@NutzAl825]

I think they’re cute

[@bananawitchcraft]

At the risk of not seeming sufficiently quirky, a face consisting entirely of mouth-fingers is pretty far removed from the cuteness zone in my book. I don't think naked mole rats are cute either (well, maybe the one in Kim Possible)

[@hamishfatcat3385]

​@@bananawitchcraftby your logic is an elephant creepy because it has a trunk?

[@jaysons8050]

"Everything evolves into a crab" Crab: evolves into a mole

[@nckojita]

one convergence i never really see covered is live birth, so that could be an interesting video to do! it’s super neat all the different ways wildly different animals have managed to do essentially the same thing

[@thelaughinghyenas8465]

I really am enjoying the convergent evolution series. This is GREAT stuff!

[@bjdefilippo447]

Absolutely loving it!

[@nikobellic570]

Shows how powerful natural selection really is. It's all about adapting to the environment to be successful

[@nyanniachan4963]

now i can't get the thought of convergently evolved human mimics out of my head😬 looking the same from afar but when you look closely it's full on uncanny valley

[@lizerdspherex]

Considering turtles developed from burrowing reptiles I wonder if in the future a lineage of moles might go the same way in developing a carapace. Maybe that's how glyptodonts developed?

[@minoadlawan4583]

Xenathrans descended from burrowing ancestors. That's why they have such strong forelimbs and large claws.

[@JeffTheHokie]

Termites went the opposite direction. They are essentially a clade of cockroaches, but from burrowing, they lost not only their sight, but also most of their exoskeleton. If you expose them, they are soft and wormy.

[@Gibbypastrami]

@@minoadlawan4583so…moles?

[@1i8m]

I would absolutely love a video about the convergent evolution of trees!

[@pepito_white]

That would be an even more nightmare convoluted tier

[@DG-iw3yw]

Its amazing that angiosperms propelled the evolution of the planet in the ways they did

[@nunyobidness2358]

Patiently awaiting the evolution of the 8-legged crab mole turtle

[@v_zach]

I didn't know Insectivora was obsolete. Thanks for the update.

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

Placental mammals got completely reorganized after DNA comparison became possible. Turns out cows are more related to whales than they are to horses, and other surprises.

[@RobleViejo]

Fun Fact: The Tucu-tucus are called so because of the sound they make when they burrow Source: Im Argentine, they prefer Sand rather than Soil and thus can be found near coasts

[@jamesmitchell6925]

Convergence is awesome. Love the idea of a whole series dedicated to it. Flying, crabs, mammals that look like fish, marsupials that look like placentals…

[@firething11]

There's another example which happens to be one of my favourite examples of convergent evolution - Necrolestes sp. It was a mammal in South America that diverged from other mammals before marsupials and placentals split. They have interesting skull shapes, and probably dug similarly to golden moles and marsupial moles. In fact, they appear to have evolved an additional forelimb bone from an ossified tendon, exactly the same as golden moles! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrolestes

[@BenGThomas]

I can't believe I missed this one somehow! Making a bonus follow up video to this one now :)

[@gaylereid8264]

When Ben was talkin bout S American mole lizard had forelimbs & I heard 4 limbs, & then I was waiting & waiting for the camera to pan to the area to show hindlimbs, I caught a look in Ben’s eye - as if he was or is going crazy. Then I started feeling, I was going crazy, too & I went into a fit of laughter !!!!

[@malusignatius]

There's also a couple of 'mole frogs', the Turtle Frog (Myobatrachus gouldii) and Sandhill Frogs (Arenophryne sp.) of Western Australia. As far as I know, they're the only frogs that burrow forwards.

[@ginnyjollykidd]

Wow! An animal that has converged on two of the most convergent body plans!

[@purplehaze2358]

I feel like taking a shot every time the word "mole" is said in this video could be a pretty fun drinking game.

[@legendre007]

Since you mentioned hedgehogs, could you please do ‘Every Time Animals Evolved Into Hedgehogs’? 🥰 🦔 I find it fascinating how tenrecs are more closely related to elephants but look like hedgehogs. 😮

[@rickybryan1759]

You mean every time something has evolved into an Echidna

[@dracodracarys2339]

Sonic the Elephant

[@CZPanthyr]

Thank you for going down this Mole Hole! It's been fascinating. I truly enjoy all of your videos and find them entertaining and educational.

[@brockschannel3927]

Thanks for reminding me of the Spinks from the future is wild.

[@charrovampiro]

I loved that series as a kid, and also now

[@anthonys3892]

Convergent evolution is my favorite thing in evolution since I like to imagine what Alien animals might look like and convergence could maybe perhaps give a hint.

[@WAMTAT]

It depends on what alien environment they're developing in

[@anthonys3892]

@@WAMTAT Yes and even if it were earth-like, whose to say the whole mammal-reptile-insect etc rules even apply to it. But even so, I would like to imagine there’s some alien that looks like a crab, or maybe some type of dolphin/ichthyosaur somewhere in the universe

[@IWouldLikeToRemainAnonymous]

It would be awesome if you could make a poster of 'all the moles' (and other versions for the other episodes in this series), which work as an infographic summarising what you went over in this video. Seriously well done video and a topic made to be turned into posters!

[@marioroz3142]

Some interesting convergent evolutions: Birds of Prey, Crocodiles (several groups developed the water edge ambusher lifestyle including some Archosaurs, Amphibians and even an extinct whale), Herons/Cranes and other similar birds, Flying squirrels, Reefs, Sabertooths, Pillbugs and Hummingbirds.

[@martinivakovic5070]

Hummingbird convergence is probably the most fascinating example. Insects, birds and mammals are divided by almost 500 milion years of evolution and still evolved identical, incredibly rare combination of features. When you take a closer look at evolution you realize it's just chemistry following the rules of classical physics and the real weird thing would be if we didn't see the repeating patterns.

[@WaterShowsProd]

Yes, there's a bird here in Thailand that I mistook for a humming bird until I learnt that it was another type of bird that had gone through convergent evolution. Makes sense, of course. Tropical flowers and weather, produces similar results in the evolution of the bird.

[@mymom1462]

This is super interesting. I think moles, frogs/turtles, worms, and crabs are the most versatile body plans as that morphotypes allows you to traverse water and sand (which is also a fluid) and when you think of how the world is for a fairy fly, if you’re small enough even air can feel think enough to be fluidlike. That being said, thank you for another Banger video Ben. Please do a video on every time animals have evolved into worms as I think it is a much more versatile body plan than crabs or moles (although solves a similar traversal problem).

[@The_SOB_II]

I wonder how hard it is to know how many invertebrates revolved the warm body plan, seeing as it seems that that was the basal state for most phyla. Among vertebrates I can think of several example though. Extant jawless fish, true eels, moray eels, snakes, legless lizards, caecilians.... Might have to be two videos

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I think convergent evolution 🧬 is some of the most fascinating aspects of biology. As well as extremophiles, parasites, the symbiotic internal microbiome, & the fact that organic life has found a way to form from inorganic matter in general..

[@rochrich1223]

What do you call a mole in Scotland? A mole. The Great Escape Steve "Cooler King" McQueen and Angus "the Mole" Lennie

[@Liethen]

Well, Pokemon needs to give us a set of legendary moles based on the starnosed mole, golden mole, and marsupial mole

[@MandyyGrimm]

Right as I was reaching for my phone when you welcomed comments about other types of convergent evolutions you followed it up with exactly what most people were thinking of; crabs! I'm excited, can't wait! Love your videos & how informative they are.

[@The_SOB_II]

You have led me to realize that I love convergent evolution

[@Redneckkratos]

So I guess everything at the end of time will either be; krab, mole, or turtle

[@blackavar5723]

I am so envious of all of these people who got to hold moles! Thank you for doing such a cool video on one of my favorite creatures :)

[@tmate88-j8y]

1:25 more convergent evolution yes please! I'm working on an evolution simulator and your content is so damn fascinating and insightful! 😊🙏

[@Hi_Im_Akward]

Please do legless/limbles long bodies like worm like or snake like bodies. I've learned that almost every branch of lizard has one, and amphibians also have one, along with worms and fish with no fins. Idk if there are mammals, dinosaurs or anthropods, but would be interested to find out.

[@Cat_Woods]

Convergent evolution always makes me wonder about other habitable planets and moons and whether the whole universe is populated with critters similar to dolphins, crocodiles, crabs, turtles, and moles. And perhaps even a few similar to bipedal primates with enlarged brain-like organs.

[@kurtoogle4576]

Yes to more convergent evolution, please!

[@leppeppel]

15:10 It's rough having a leather toenail for a face.

[@Calvin.of.Martin.Street]

Would larval or juvenile cicadas qualify? They spend up to 17 years completely underground (at least as far as I know).

[@fol4636]

It’s fun to think about if there was a mole-like dinosaur

[@matthewwagner47]

Great video. Very informative and learn something on every video. Thank you for sharing friend.

[@stuchly1]

Incredibly fascinating video once again. Brimming with information. Thank you so much for deciding to make this a series. Wonderfully informative.

[@syafiqjabar]

Fairy armadillos have also been found to be the closest living relatives to the glyptodonts, based on genetics.

[@A_picture_of_Mohammed]

man I've been watching you're family on here for years ..and its come such a long way ..thanks for entertaining and teaching me mate....wish you guys he best in what ever you choose to do

[@corvid...]

I absolutely LOVE the phylogenetics and convergent evolution studies.. Clint's Reptiles also has great videos focusing on this very interesting topic

[@--Paws--]

I was waiting for toads and frogs to be part of this list of mole like forms, at least raninidae crabs were mentioned which look like frogs/toads. Most burrowing frogs and toads alredy have the mole-shape. Their stout body seems to be ideal for digging and excavating substrate much like how the mole's stout body.

[@diptube6563]

Their forelimbs are typically medially rotated instead of pronated outward

[@GrizzlyHillsRadio]

"Well stand on my tunnel" Great work I really enjoyed this

[@bluestormpony]

Hearing about the convergance of trees, crabs dolphin like marine animals would be awesome!

[@aaronmoravek]

I have been waiting for this exact video to come out. Thank you. You mentioned all the weird moles including mole crabs. Top props!

[@gattycroc8073]

how can you forget Necrolestes aka the Dryolestiden mole. the fact that you did not include in this video is kind of surprising since your one of the many KZbinrs that got me into fossil history.

[@feiryfella]

Wrote my thesis on convergent evolution. Moles do come up a lot, along with crabs and wolves. I pushed the envelope on the topic as far back as I could!

[@timothygreer188]

One of the best deep dive videos you've done, Ben.

[@AlmostEthical]

Amazing how marsupial moles have a similar flat leathery nose to koalas. Not many animals have that feature. Speaking as an Australian, I approve of a root rat being a technically known as T. rex (see urban dictionary).

[@WaterShowsProd]

You forgot how avocados convergently evolved into guacamole.

[@rileyernst9086]

Ah mole crickets known colloquially as 'toe biters', for their big intimidating digging claws, in my household growing up. Sources of much hysteria on the part of us children, and much amusement on the behalf of our parents.

[@IamNoOne-001]

👏👏👏👏This Channel never disappoints! Incredible work man!!!✌✌✌

[@Qaos]

You know an evolutionary body plan is good when even the crabs are taking notes.

[@horsetuna]

I am really enjoying this 'Not an Animal Animal" series. Maybe Not A Butterfly/Moth next? Not An Ant?

[@phearz0r]

Fascinating video! It was crazy to see the Mole Cricket after all those mammals! Great series! You may be onto something with this one, everyone is excited about it.

[@ic5889]

I think my favourite trait that evolved multiple times is multicellularity. It's evolved at least three times for animals, plants and fungi

[@stephenbesley3177]

Incredible! It's amazing how much I'm learning even at my later stage in life. I'm certain another lifetime wouldn't fail to surprise how amazing evolution and the animal kingdom is. Thank you Ben.

[@thelaughinghyenas8465]

I would love to see how many things converged into dinosaurs, especially the small bipedal ones. It's the BIG ones that get all the love!

[@Darkthestral1]

Oooo an episode about things evolving to fly would be amazing! Pterodactyls, bats, birds it's so cool how such different animals took distinct approaches to flight.

[@ploutophylax]

I wonder if human features like brain capacity, opposable thumbs and upright posture are niche-specific-and before asking that, what is the niche of our species?

[@Littlekoji-df1cf]

Good question.

[@chrisinnes2128]

Endurance hunter

[@generalputnam2990]

Opportunist.

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

​@@chrisinnes2128 And bear-like foraging omnivore.

[@andyh7152]

It would have been fun so see burrowing avians in this as well. Or maybe do a complete episode on them as well. Loving this work :)

[@dboot8886]

The penultimate form of evolution, peak of biological perfection, *THE MOLECRAB!*

[@Commander_Appo]

*THE MURTLECRAB*

[@BorealHP]

First time running across your channel and that was simply fantastic. How you managed to make a topic that complex, with a gazillion names that are hard to pronounce and how confusing convergent evo can be.. masterfully skilled

[@billyr2904]

Could you do a video on the many times that lizards (Order Squamata) evolved a vermiform body-plan, which means a worm-shaped body with completely absent or reduced limbs. You can start with the most famous example of vermiform lizards... the snakes.

[@gianlucaconsiglio8335]

I have so many suggestions for this series: long necked browsers (giraffes = sauropod), cursorial predators (wolves = tasmanian tiger), big horned grazers (triceratops = rhino), arboreal predators (foosa = thylacaleo), cursorial swimmers (dolphins = ichthyosaur), flying pollinators (hummingbirds + bees), arboreal browsers (koalas = sloths), semi-bipedal forest browsers with big ass claws (giant ground sloth, chalicothere, therizinosaurus), and that's just off the top of my head! Can't wait for more!

[@drunkpunkrat5764]

1:33 - a "worm" bodyplan? Worms, eels, snakes, olms, legless lizards...

[@BenGThomas]

There will definitely be a worm video 😁

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

Ben, you should do a video on the evolution of the Star-nosed mole and the other members of it's genera. That would be a fantastic episode.

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

One of my friends had a pair of star-nosed moles as pets and they were really, really cool to watch. Idk how they got them or any of that, this was years ago when I was a freshman in high school. I just remember checking out all his reptiles and then he had a huge tank filled with dirt and plants and he turned the tank and showed me their tunnels, it was really neat.

[@EcoLogicality]

wait. the true moles may be the mole mimics? or were we just too quick to recognize moles as moles? does this mean the mole mimics are actually mole moles?

[@bruh_moment]

No idea, but reminds me of how penguins are named such because they reminded people of great auks which were originally named penguins however since the great auk later went extinct the impostor penguins have become the idea of what a penguin is

[@rebecculousrk]

I really love naked mole rats because their existence was predicted before they were discovered by one my heroes. Biologist and naturalist E. O. Wilson predicted the existence of an eusocial mammal; a mammal which lived in a hive arrangement, like ants. (And bees, termites, etc…). When the naked mole rat was discovered, he was proven correct. ❤p.s. Whoa, that marsupial mole skeleton looks so strange! The skull without eyes, fused neck bones and hulking fore claws are just fascinating to see! Thank you so much for this brilliant series! ❤

[@germanomagnone]

I don't know if it might be interesting for you but I'll try to give at least 2 or 3 ideas: the "wolves" of the animal families (more or less like the dromaeosaurs and the troodonts), the small arboreal animals and the various evolutions of the crocodiles and "prototypes" of dinosaurs in the Triassic. (in the 2002 speculative evolution docufiction "The Future Is Wild" they showed a possible "mimic of the mole" in ep.5 "Cold Kansas Desert" they showed the Spink: a descendant of the quail with blade-like wings and a similar lifestyle to the naked mole-rat, which for me reminds me very much of a guina pig.)

[@ThildasBeinhaus]

Love how Shrew is such a specific and lovely term. In germany we just call them "pointy mouse" 😅 just like slugs here are "naked snails" 🙃

[@SaltyCrabOfficial]

i just love convergent evolution... PLEASE TALK ABOUT Spiculosiphon oceana a species of amoeba that steals parts of a sponge to act like one

[@DragonScale2002]

One of my favorite examples of convergent evolution that still exists today is Green Tree Pythons and Emerald Tree Boas. The layperson may think they are the same animal, when in fact they are from completely different parts of the world and evolved from different categories of snake (ie boas give live birth generally and pythons lay eggs generally). It's just that the trait of "lime green snake that is very thin and grabs birds from the treetops" was an evolutionarily niche that was advantageous in both Asia and South America. However I'm not super familiar with extinct species in general, so I am sure these videos will be informative for me. Keep up the good work!

[@breedingaviandinosaurs2728]

Very interesting episodes. Another nice example of convergent evolution: Many lineages of fish have evolved into pike form, even a relative of the guppy.

[@richardthompson6079]

Thank your for hard work. I love every installment.

[@a.v.y8331]

idk if it's just me but I find moles both extremely adorable and highly creepy/uncanny

[@lordboreas1425]

Talking about convergence, Notosuchia is nearly convergence with some sort of mammals in nearly every species found.

[@jessejarmon2100]

What about ancestral turtles? As it's thought that turtles first evolved from subterranean burrowers, which is backed up by fossils of ancient turtle ancestors that also convergently evolved mole-like traits.

[@bjh3661]

Your videos about convergent evolution are fascinating. They bring to mind Rupert Sheldrake's ideas of Morphic Resonance.

[@loganlogon3720]

How about one on hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies?

[@miketheburns]

excellent video! so glad you went so in-depth about all the different convergences. thank you so much!

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Fairy Armadilos are ridiculously cute.

[@Scrinwaipwr]

I was expecting cynodont or some other synapsid stem mammal to appear in this video. I'm sure there must've been some very mole-like ones as that niche will always have existed, but I guess we haven't found their fossils yet.

[@fol4636]

In an alternative universe: “Every Time Things Have Evolved Into Humans”

[@WolfieDawn]

"and the one time they chose peace instead of annihilation"

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I'm sure you've heard of it: Man after Man, All tomorrow's, After Man. *Are Speculative evolution books covering weird human evolution concepts

[@AlmostEthical]

Super interesting - subscribed! Here's a quick brainstorm of possible future topics that can (usually) apply to both vertebrates and invertebrates: Worm shape. Flight. Bipedalism. Grasping appendages. Intelligence. Speed. Slime. Spines. Types of mating calls. Venom. Infanticide. Cooperative rearing of young.

[@theresaawilson]

Not a particular body plan per se, but an it would be interesting to learn how often locomotion by hopping evolved. I know about Kangaroos and their relatives, of course, and also jerboa, but there must be others out there.