When the Synapsids Struck Back

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Synapsids were the world’s first-ever terrestrial megafauna but the vast majority of these giants were doomed to extinction. However some lived on, keeping a low profile among the dinosaurs. And now our world is the way it is because of the time when the synapsids struck back.
Thanks to Ceri Thomas for the excellent Synapsid illustration (including Bulbasaurus!)! Check out more of Ceri's paleoart at / alphynix and nixillustration.com
And thanks as always to Studio 252mya for their wonderful illustrations. You can find more of their work here: 252mya.com/
Produced in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios: / pbsdigitalstudios
Super special thanks to the following Patreon patrons for helping make Eons possible:
Katie Fichtner, Anthony Callaghan, Zachary Spencer, Stefan Weber, Ilya Murashov, Charles Kahle, Robert Amling, Po Foon Kwong, Larry Wilson, Merri Snaidman, Renzo Caimi Ordenes, John Vanek, Neil H. Gray, Esmeralda Rupp-Spangle, Gregory Donovan, الخليفي سلطان, Gabriel Cortez, Marcus Lejon, Robert Arévalo, Robert Hill, Todd Dittman, Betsy Radley, PS, Philip Slingerland, Jose Garcia, Eric Vonk, Tony Wamsley, Henrik Peteri, Jonathan Wright, Jon Monteiro, James Bording, Brad Nicholls, Miles Chaston, Michael McClellan, Jeff Graham, Maria Humphrey, Nathan Paskett, Connor Jensen, Daisuke Goto, Hubert Rady, Gregory Kintz, Tyson Cleary, Chandler Bass, Maly Lor, Joao Ascensao, Tsee Lee, Sarah Fritts, Alex Yan
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References: docs.google.com/document/d/1Y...

[@rogeriopenna9014]

*travels back in time "Behold, Synapsid! I am your intelligent descendant from the far future" *Synapsid chews human while breathing

[@harrishromero6447]

Welp it failed let get the gun

[@kingdon7795]

I don't know I would kiss the synapsid on its cheek. I think they would be great pets.

[@rogeriopenna9014]

@@kingdon7795 that depends if you are talking about a dog, that is a synapsid, or a 3 meters long carnivorous synapsid from 250M bc

[@kingdon7795]

@@rogeriopenna9014 you have to pet a gorgonopsid

[@electrictroy2010]

@harrishromero6447 SYNAPSID: “Yummm human not so intelligent after all.” .

[@chillyman1459]

Bulbasaurus... they did it. They really did it 👏👏

[@alessioscoppa1745]

Well its name was actually a coincidence but yes XD, it isn't even the first time, there's also Aerodactylus

[@allenson3553]

@@alessioscoppa1745 It's a coincidence, true, but it's an eerie coincidence when the real even animal looks like the Pokemon! All it needs is an actual bulb XD

[@Trans4mers84561]

@@alessioscoppa1745 Its species name means 'Razor Leaf', so I highly doubt it.

[@alessioscoppa1745]

@@Trans4mers84561 Believe it or not the species name was a reference to its mouth, but yes even the paleontologists who named it acknowledged these similarities XD

[@jamielishbrook2384]

@@allenson3553 but bulbasaur didnt have fuzz

[@Defenestrationflight]

Having a degree in archaeology... Burrowing is definitely among the hobbies.

[@PainterVierax]

yeah I was thinking about your profession when she said that :)

[@eduman1000]

Ahoy fellow archaeologist! I was thinking the same, love digging tunnels

[@wetstoffels3198]

Also, think about what a house is.

[@MyName_Jeff]

Hello fellow burrower, I also like to burrow! I tend to prefer burrowing in datass tho.

[@Ray-od2kb]

Since you have a degree.... what the hell is up GORILLA DUCK?!

[@arararafi]

06:25 Me: * eating * Also me: *starts chewing and breathing vigorously*

[@IceSpoon]

Also me: HA! SUCK IT DINOSAURS! I CAN DO THIS!

[@girlgamer4444]

@Blind Squid *too

[@laughs2651]

im not a therapsid, i swallow soft tacos whole

[@Jorb.]

like that pufferfish lol

[@rexythetyrannosaurusrex2897]

Icespoon ...ive did that 5 years ago..

[@friedchickenUSA]

hobbies include: breathing while chewing at the same time

[@Mrtheunnameable]

Some people have trouble with that though.

[@michaeldamolsen]

@@Mrtheunnameable Ah, a fellow sufferer of misophonia?

[@jerrypeppler1484]

I’ve always had trouble walking and chewing gum.

[@Yora21]

Being able to chew, breath, and speak at the same time was a bit of a design flaw, though.

[@the_road__warrior6185]

Vennom Scandi Your comment made my night bro.

[@Googledeservestodie]

Thanos: I will destroy 50% of life Permian Extinction: lol *amateur*

[@jeremyowen1]

Rookie numbers

[@willcrago4463]

Holocene: goodbye amphibians, and everyone else

[@Googledeservestodie]

Humanity: not if we do it first Grimace!

[@CesarLuisAfonsoDias]

Humans.... Hold my beer.

[@veggieboyultimate]

Of the universe

[@adnannaemaz1989]

Interviewer: What are your hobbies Me: Burrowing and can chew/breath at the same time

[@abyssstrider2547]

Congratulations! You have survived

[@Burn_Angel]

Don't forget hair and regulating your temperature.

[@guerrerohr5500]

I simply can’t believe how odd looking were the synapsids, wait a minute

[@MsSonali1980]

hahahaha

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

I mean...we do have arms that end in what are essentially five smaller arms...so yeah, synapsids look pretty odd.

[@touchme9366]

I refuse to believe that they look like that. With all these reconstructions of modern animal skeletons and looking nothing like the actual thing.

[@invisible3972]

@@touchme9366 It kinda frustrates me to know I WILL NEVER GET TO SEE ONE ALIVE. They look like really interesting animals.

[@makky6239]

@@invisible3972 yeah, those reconstructions doesn't look like a real animal

[@spiderdog07]

Synapsid: Mouse, I am your father! Mouse: That's not true that's impossible!!! Synapsid: Search your fossil record, you know it to be true.

[@Hawkwinter01]

@Horacio Aguirre Noooooo! 😂😂🤣 (Loved your comment, you win the internet 👍)

[@richardbidinger2577]

Nooooooooooo!!!!

[@chelsey8737]

I don't why I laughed so hard at this

[@mostlytypical3275]

This is the best comment

[@stefanhensel8611]

Even more disturbing: Mouse: Human, I am your mother.

[@WickedWildlife]

Could you do a video on when the three different types of mammals (marsupials, monotremes and placental mammals) diverged from one another?

[@richardbidinger2577]

Yes, I second that.

[@passthebutterrobot2600]

Thirded

[@johnarbuckle2619]

+

[@WickedWildlife]

trvth1s I never said the word dominant....

[@B1SCOOP]

AronRa did that in his excellent Evolution Of Life series. Go check that channel.

[@XSSmanSSX]

Evolution Wars: The Synapsids Strike Back

[@brenj]

#petion to change the title please.

[@pietaricollander672]

Episode 1: The Living Menace (Life begins) Episode 2: Attack of the Vertebrates (Fish evolve) Episode 3: Revenge of the Arthropods (Giant arthropods) Episode 4: A New Continent (Pangea forms) Episode 5: Synapsids Strike Back (This video) Episode 6: Return of the Reptiles (Age of reptiles starts) Episode 7: The True Mammals Awaken (True mammals evolve) Episode 8: The Last Dinosaur (K-T extinction) Episode 9: Rise of Mammals (Age of mammals)

[@Reverse-Isekai_Victim]

@@pietaricollander672 Hey, that actually fits pretty well.

[@serggla924]

ekwkhehkhngeb ehngejerkhbghw 10. Nuclear Winter

[@James3-5]

Evolution: the environment will decide your fate Humans: I am the environment

[@telegramsam]

prefer to burrow in blankets & pillows rather than dirt myself... less worms

[@abyssstrider2547]

less...?

[@moehoward01]

@@abyssstrider2547 One would hope so.

[@abyssstrider2547]

@@moehoward01 Indeed?

[@MagSec40]

fewer* ;)

[@wormthirtyfour]

less... _but not none?_

[@FaffyWaffles]

According to Wikipedia, Bulbasaurus was not directly named after the Pokémon Bulbasaur, but rather after its nasal bosses, which are unusually bulbous among geikiids; however, the describers noted that the similarity in name "may not be entirely coincidental." Additionally, the specific name of the type species means "leaf razor" (similar to the Pokémon move "Razor Leaf"), which is most directly a reference to its keratin-covered jaws. Other distinguishing characteristics of Bulbasaurus among the geikiids include the hook-like beak, very large tusks, and absence of bossing on the prefrontal bone.

[@Reyma777]

FaffyWaffles still bulbasaur and its “evolutions” do look like synapsids. Also is psyduck a duck or platypus?

[@andyjay729]

Wait, was Bulbasaurus named before or after the Pokemon?

[@MissingRaptor]

@@andyjay729 afterwards, as I understand it.

[@last9up]

I want to believe!

[@chillyman1459]

It was named in 2017

[@awkwardfishl9778]

Kind of disappointed that bulbasaurus doesn’t have a cabbage on its back.

[@u06jo3vmp]

I thought that's an onion.

[@lh8664]

@@u06jo3vmp it's a plant bulb

[@mondraymondo]

Who knows. Maybe the plant degrades too quickly before it fossilizes

[@noisy_killjoy]

Just get some tape and boom you have a pokémon

[@bigpapao8889]

Hey mom can we have mammals? "We have mammals at home" Mammals at home:

[@harrishromero6447]

Wait we are mammal

[@nabusvco]

I knew pokemon were real Bulbasaurus proves it.

[@soldiergigas14]

That's what I was thinking! 😁🤣

[@joshabadie1431]

It's species name translates to "leaf razor.".

[@arceuslordofcreation8824]

😉

[@suchomimustenerensis]

@@joshabadie1431 funny considering the Bulbasaur line learns a move called Razor Leaf.

[@andy-kg5fb]

They were 300 mya.

[@robertkirby8685]

First Age of Synapsids (Stem-Mammals): 300-252 MYA Age of Archosaurs: 252-200 MYA Age of Dinosaurs: 200-66 MYA Second Age of Synapsids (Crown-Mammals): 66 MYA-Present We've have indeed come full circle.

[@SharkanKuthoshqea]

Coming up soon, Age of Dinosaurs 2: Electric Birdaloo

[@borga6566]

@@SharkanKuthoshqea lol

[@Archon1995]

@@SharkanKuthoshqea Cassowaries. /sagenod

[@bri1085]

Birds are more diverse than mammals, so technically it's still the age of archesaurs

[@Robert399]

Then nuclear war => Second Age of single-celled organisms

[@andyjay729]

That title... Darth Metrodon: Birdy Wan never told you what happened to your ancestors. Human Savannawalker: He told me enough! He told me you killed them! Darth Metrodon: No, *I* am your ancestor. Human Savannawalker: No. NOOOOOO!!!! That's not true! That's impossible! Darth Metrodon: Search your DNA; you know it to be true.

[@animaticvee]

Synapsids are one of my favorite groups of animals. It always fascinated me seeing them and knowing that they are the connection between me and my dog and my cat and a giraffe. It's wild.

[@sciencecompliance235]

The ancestor of you, your dog, your cat, and a Giraffe would have lived much more recently than a synapsid. It was a fully-fledged mammal that lived around 90 million years ago.

[@culwin]

"Arguably the world's dominant form of life on land today - the mammals" Insects: yeah what about us? Bacteria: lul

[@Censeo]

Viruses "hmmmmmmmm"

[@ekosubandie2094]

@@Censeo technically they aren't really alive though

[@Censeo]

@@ekosubandie2094 that's why they couldn't speak and just made that strange noice

[@stormisuedonym4599]

Considering we're causing the first mass extinction of insects since the Great Dying...

[@Eliras24]

@Alejandro Franchini an impressive feature to not living creatures (as they're alive, when they're infecting living things, If I remember correctly high school teachings)

[@Spongebrain97]

A video on Australian megafauna if you guys haven't done so already please?

[@BackYardScience2000]

Yes!

[@WickedWildlife]

I agree!

[@germanomagnone]

@@WickedWildlife me too!!!

[@CryptidSystem]

As an Australian I concur. Hit me with that Demon Duck of Doom

[@NA-AN]

Yes please

[@brunomattos1130]

I love synapsids, they are my favorite animals ever. I wish I was one. Oh wait...

[@thespookyvaginosisnut5984]

Lol

[@J.L8787]

ancestors

[@thatdutchguy2882]

XD

[@selenaichtis6762]

@@J.L8787 actually, phylogenetic grouping rule. one thing can't be a subgroup without being in the group. so humans are hominids, primates, mammals, synapsids, amniotes, tetrapods and lobe-finned fish.

[@gertmoelders8809]

Synapsids: Damn, we survived the largest extinction event in history, nothing can stop us now! Dinosaurs: I’m about to end this mans whole carreer

[@epicbastard1]

Funny how that turned out as I eat some chicken.

[@Adahn99]

@@epicbastard1 KFC is the new Lara Croft

[@theearth1259]

Late Cretaceous asteroid : I don't think so

[@carli-wandafivaz1876]

Absolutely love this time period in fact anything from the Permian and before I enjoy the most. There is not enough informative videos regarding all the wonderful things from the beginning of life to the Permian. Thank you for all your fantastic videos

[@vickrykayser3129]

Me, too, followed by the Triassic, with all its cool, unusual creatures!

[@KhanMann66]

If it isn't about dinosaurs you can bet it isn't mentioned at all in the media. Really doubt the general public even knows there's life BEFORE dinosaurs.

[@robinmatz6686]

Also the Paleoart is amazing! I love the way they chose artists who really brought the animals into a living shape and environment

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

@@KhanMann66 Yes, esp in America, it's been all about Dinosaurs. In 2009 on Netflix I 'discovered' and became enthralled with the great DVD: "Walking With Monsters: Before the Dinosaurs" (BBC, then some Discovery Channel). I began learning Paleontology: lots and lots of fascinating cool creatures who were not dinosaurs.

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

@Chiafade now Yes, among everyday Americans it takes some doing to get them to realize there was very interesting and different life before and after dinosaurs. E.g., I wrote a story featuring dimetrodons. Even though I wrote a paragraph in it that "Dimetrodons were not dinosaurs. They were ancestors of mammals...Many people confuse dimetrodons with dinosaurs,." When i tried out the piece with a writing group nearly everyone in the group still thought and said they were dinosaurs. It's kind-of a relief for me to see and listen to British and Australian popular paleontology since they realize there is prehistoric life besides dinosaurs! (includes the BBC's "Walking with Monsters: Before the Diniosaurs" and "Australia's 1st Four Billion Years.")

[@pimd6998]

I love that you finally did a video about Synapsids but you forgot to mention the cutest and most successful group of Synapsids: The dicynodonts

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

Mammals "Am I a joke to you?" I would had like some mentions to Dicynodonts anyways.

[@abyssstrider2547]

Dicy no donts?

[@zooemperor3954]

Actually, those were the cynodonts which eventually led up to the mammals. Dicynodonts went extinct just as the Age of Archosaurs was ending and the Age of Dinosaurs was beginning, and they left no known descendents or close relatives.

[@seraaron]

Could you do a follow-up video to this one talking about the point where the cynodonts become mammals and the point where the mammals break up into the two groups left alive today? That is, the therians and the monotremes.

[@phoenixdavida8987]

yes-- what you said!

[@wildnye]

I'm really looking forward to sharing these with my kids later on.

[@wildnye]

@Keith M lol K

[@johannisak1652]

Keith M Mode

[@efrainoctavio3506]

Synapsids: The most underrated group of extinct animals in the media

[@onanimastah3126]

It's all about dinosaurs sadly...

[@efrainoctavio3506]

@@onanimastah3126 Dinos, mammoths and saber tooths. That's all our past.

[@GarlicReturns]

Dimetrodon is quite famous though, at least as a picture. Except 99% people believe it is a dinosaur. The last 1% are 7 year old boys, paleontologists and... well... "us".

[@MsSonali1980]

@@GarlicReturns hey, I when I was a little girl knew them not only the boys!

[@GarlicReturns]

@@MsSonali1980 You're right, I should have said "kids" instead of "boys", sorry !

[@danstiver9135]

The pelycosaur with the absurdly tiny head at 3:47 is Cotylorhyncus. It looks like one of the "Goombas" from the terrible Super Mario Bros movie!

[@raybobuzz]

OMG I thought that too.

[@MissingRaptor]

I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it, it really, really does.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

It wasn't *that* terrible... *drifts in a cloud of nostalgia* right? (I was too young lol)

[@williamlowry3131]

I mean, don't goombas have absurdly large heads ?

[@MissingRaptor]

@@williamlowry3131 sadly, not in the movie for some reason.

[@vancel35]

Re: The questionnaire you sent out... You asked what my favorite content is, but I like all of it, so it was hard to pick just one.

[@raiderxs1570]

If it's not the strongest or the smartest, it's the most adaptable to change - Charles Darwin. Also are we ever going to get that episode about placenta and evolution of live birth?

[@Saber23]

but humans are the smartest (well at least on paper lol) and we're one of if not the most adaptable animal on the planet

[@mrreyes5004]

@@Saber23 Yeah, name another multi-cellular species that can live on all 7 continents and dominates literally every other top apex predator on those 7 continents.

[@Saber23]

MrReyes 500 well birds live on all seven continents but 95% of the time they are not the apex predator

[@Saber23]

MrReyes 500 and also most birds aren’t really that smart at all

[@PepsiMagt]

Marsupials have live birth but no placenta

[@chocolatedoughnut1305]

So many of these animals look so derpy and I LOVE IT!!!

[@thefloridamanofytcomments5264]

In the best way tho

[@chocolatedoughnut1305]

@@thefloridamanofytcomments5264 of course! Those weirdos are the absolute cutest!

[@thefloridamanofytcomments5264]

Chocolate Doughnut behold the Siberian scutasaurus. You’re welcome. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJSpkJ97iNygmKs

[@orangeSoda35]

@5:45 you forgot to mention he evolves to Ivysaurus at level 16 and his final evolution is Venusaurus at level 32.

[@kindlin]

5:37 Bulbasaurus 5:43 Ivysaurus 6:58 Venusaurus

[@xoqvuz]

Metamorphosis

[@AyJayDraws]

Finally. The synapsids! I’d love to see more coverage on these guys. Especially Anteosaurus.

[@neonx30]

I really liked how you showed the connection between us and our long extinct cousins. Makes you appreciate life a lot more.

[@chandleryohn]

Humans burrowing... Pillow Fort! Another excellent and educational piece. Thank you so much for your hard work.

[@dimitrisbam1132]

i discovered your channel a week ago and I must say that its simply amazing...so are all of you! cheers from Sunny Greece!

[@jamesmott5181]

One of the best on KZbin.

[@yjk5737]

Sunny Greece? Why are you on KZbin and not at the beach?

[@dimitrisbam1132]

@@yjk5737 lol waiting for the weekend!

[@daddyleon]

0:53 they allll look like weird and unrealistic scify animals, nature is soo strange and wonderful to behold.

[@elyesgrati]

some look like pokemon and some are even named like them

[@limiv5272]

@@elyesgrati I think it's the other way around...

[@elyesgrati]

@@limiv5272 none are named after the other, it's just a coincidence

[@daddyleon]

@@elyesgrati Haha yes!! Bulbasaurus! I guess you can more or less date that because of it. Not by C14-dating, but by popular media/culture trends :)

[@vaimantobe3034]

Yes, a video about Synapsids! They are overlooked way too often, so it's a real treat to see them in the limelight :D

[@Danquebec01]

6:58 seriously? Looking at any picture of stem-mammals, I always feel like they must have walked very awkwardly. And hardly able to run at all.

[@pirate.the.skull.captain5319]

There ugly but cute at the same time 😂😂

[@XKathXgames]

@@knarme5160 well obviously. By the time evolution got to a cheetah body plan it had already been experimenting a lot and stem mammals were just the beginning. So you're right they probably couldn't compare in speed. Just like the Wright brothers' plane can't compare with a boing... Other than oh hey they both fly.

[@rodrigoborges3876]

This channel never disappoints!! Awesome work guys

[@fee7013]

I just love listening to her she does such a great job hosting :)

[@SalianSaxon]

Now I would love to see a video about the recovery after the great dying. Especially the story of pleuromia because 1 it is insane that just one plant dominated all of earths terrestial ecosystems en 2 dicynodont have been coverd a lot in other media. Keep up the good work

[@alicewilloughby4318]

7:17 - Wow! I realize that there's probably no real evidence of what these creatures' hides looked like, but I love this artist's interpretation with the wild cat-like spots!

[@PlainsPup]

Thanks, Eons! The back-and-forth contest for dominion of the Earth between the synapsids ("mammals") and sauropsids ("reptiles") is the most exciting one I can think of.

[@verablexitasap858]

I believe the reason we are most comfortable cuddled up in a house is sign of our need to still "burrow"

[@RoyalSeryx]

7:40 Is it just me or does that look like Chester Cheetah?

[@robinchesterfield42]

The Gorgonopsids are already weird-looking enough as it is, with the older idea of what they looked like. FLUFFY, leopard-patterned lizard-mammal things are almost brain-breaking to look at! :P (It also makes it look even more like an alien version of a saber-toothed cat...)

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Great episode, as usual. Some of those early synapsids were positively terrifying!

[@DeShawnaldTrump]

I would love to see a video on Dragonflies if it’s true that they’re old as dirt

[@rabbyssi4392]

SeanBasedSwag well they ain’t slower than molasses in January, that’s for sure

[@molybdaen11]

Is prozodonata with 325 million jears ago old enough for you? (Oldest known insect is rhyniognatha, 400 million jears ago)

[@DasGanon]

My request now is "Where the true mammals started" Like, it's gotta be some monotreme in the mesozoic

[@scottsbucs8702]

Most mammals came from Rats and very early rodents. The First rats appeared 145 million years ago. Evolutionary evidence shows that Rats turned into monkeys, and then monkeys turned into humans. So humans, for example, came from Rats down our VERY VERY earlier evolutionary history.

[@jalisakowalski6336]

Please dont ever stop this channel. Continue discovering. This series is like an addiction.

[@calessel3139]

I've always found early mammals and their evolution fascinating.

[@WhyDidntIInventYT]

in fact, we humans retain the ancient mammalian burrowing instinct -- look up 'terminal burrowing'. it's a behavior exhibited by hypothermia victims in the late stages, in which they dig into snow or go into small enclosed areas. they believe this behavior comes from the brain stem, so it must be an inheritance from our distant therapsid ancestors.

[@graphite2786]

That's unbelievably sad, creepy and wonderful all at the same time.

[@zbrown02]

graphite i mean it makes sense. snow and being under dirt/under the earth allows you to retain body heat much more easily.

[@WhyDidntIInventYT]

& here's a link for those interested: www.livescience.com/41730-hypothermia-terminal-burrowing-paradoxical-undressing.html

[@NyxNocturne96]

This episode was amazing! This is one of the first times ive ever seen information about synapsids, i really appreciate this channel! I wanted to ask if you guys were open to making a video that goes into what we know about neanderthals and their exctinction? I feel like with the level of detail you go into would really help shed some light on them.

[@itsawonderfullife4802]

My favorite KZbin channel puts out another video. And another great but forgotten story. Of the life itself! Thank you.

[@scottamori3188]

As I move my way through all of these first rate videos, I have yet to find one that didn’t teach me something and this one is no different. I have never heard of this branch of animals woven into the mammalian evolutionary fabric. Simply outstanding.

[@Loreman72]

South Africa has a huge assemblage of therapsid fossils in the Karoo Supergroup. It's right above a huge thickness of tillite, which is glacial sediment, showing that Africa was at the South Pole in the Palaeozoic.

[@baileymarkweiss5562]

It's crazy what is found here in South Africa! And most people have no idea!

[@robinchesterfield42]

I would love to learn more about this stuff! There's so much about that era of animals that doesn't get talked about much.

[@UrLeingod]

I'd like to see a video detailing when and how the mammalian lineage split into the three main groups we have today. Like... what's up with monotremes, seriously?

[@PolaroidMemory]

I love your videos so much guys, I have trouble learning and keeping things in my noggin' but over the last few years your bite sized videos have opened my mind to some really interesting finds. Thanks for everything you do and keep em coming!

[@insertoyouroemail]

Insane. I wish I could see them for real. Makes me so sad that those ancient times are lost forever.

[@jcortese3300]

Terrifically interesting as usual. And you know, it hit me recently that while mammals don't have beaks (yes, I'm still on about beaks apparently), we do have a very similar structure: horns. We don't use them to eat with because for some reason, they only popped up on top of our heads, but they're kind of like the mammalian analogue to a beak: a bony projection on our skulls covered in a keratin sheath. I think we never ended up using them to eat because, being warm-blooded mammals, we had higher calorie requirements and had to keep the greater food-processing capabilities of teeth rather than the insect-and-seed-oriented beaks. I'm not sure -- I'm still mulling this one. But it did strike me as interesting that mammals and reptiles actually DO have bony keratinous skull projections in common -- but while they have beaks, we have horns. Well, some of us do. :-) If teeth are suppressed by the genes that cause beaks to be expressed, I wonder how the genes that cause horns to be expressed might interact with the rest of a mammal's genes? GOD I wish I worked for you people. I should write this up and submit it as a spec script. I am not kidding. How do you people feel about remote workers?

[@Danquebec01]

Insects and seeds are calorie dense. Grass isn’t calorie dense, yet a lot of mammals eat it.

[@jcortese3300]

@@Danquebec01 They're calorie-dense, but man you need to eat a LOT of them ... For food in bulk -- for big, warm animals -- I think teeth might be necessary. Someone somewhere must have done quantitative research on this ...

[@Danquebec01]

@@jcortese3300 Still, the only birds I know that eats grass are birds that lived on islands where there were no mammals (like New Zealand). Most small mammals who don’t eat meat, like squirrels, only eat calorie-dense food like seeds. And they very much have teeth. I think you’re overplaying the teeth and need of calorie-dense food link there, especially bulk calorie-dense food. Teeth are certainly useful to a large carnivorous animal, so they can hold their prey and not have to swallow it whole. But large carnivorous birds with beaks are known to have existed, so it’s not like it’s essential either. Teeth are also useful in eating hard to digest food low on calorie, like grass, because chewing it makes it much easier to digest. So, I hardly see any link.

[@albatross4920]

5:43 wow, never seen this evolution of Bulbasaur before 🤔

[@ccvcharger]

Is it an Alola variant?

[@KuriusOranj]

Thanks so much for your work and your enthusiasm, Kallie!! Your awesomeness is immeasurable. :)

[@bfkick5971]

Always love tuning in to PBS Eons

[@vincentcournoyer5522]

Maybe our need to have a roof over our heads is connected to the habit of burrowing? Very interesting episode thank you Eons!

[@Packless1]

...mammal-like-reptiles... ...the group Hollywood forgot...! ;-)

[@molybdaen11]

Acrually, the is this one episode of "primeval" where a super advanced predator from the future were send back to the perm - just to get eaten by a mammal like lizzard.

[@Packless1]

@@molybdaen11 ...indeed...the Gorgonopsid from 'Primeval' is one of the few...! (there should be more...! ;-)

[@robinchesterfield42]

I would SO watch a movie about that. Actually, with The Great Dying, you have the perfect structure for a dramatic plot already. We get attached to some of the weird creatures, we follow their lives...and then CHAOS DOOM DESTRUCTION EVERYTHING DIES EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE. ...and...right before the credits...a family of little furry things crawls out of the rubble. There's still hope. Even after all that, life goes on. :) Dramatic music swell as they look over a cliff into the Triassic horizon and a flock of early dinosaurs run by in the distance, roll credits. Seriously it'd totally work as a movie plot. It'd be a Pixar movie sadder than Up! and probably traumatise some folks (I mean, there's no way to make The Great Dying cheerful and/or not scary; it's in the name) but...

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

So awesome! I had no idea that synapsids were so dominant prior to saurapsid types! This was masterfully written for easy understanding :)

[@workingguy6666]

Excellent video. Thank you, Kallie, and the eontologist and PBS teams.

[@jabby6709]

**flexes on reptiles by chewing and breathing at the same time**

[@stevenwoods4690]

I love this channel, great job folks!

[@Horizontedesucesos_]

Thank you PBS Eons for this!! love your channel

[@indyrock8148]

I just started watching this channel a couple of weeks ago. I find the synapsids before the great dying fascinating.

[@hollyodii5969]

Synapsids are amazing! I'd love to learn more about them! Thank you Eons!

[@BNSFGuy4723]

Holly odii, I’m a human, therefore a synapsid. What would you like to know? :p

[@wannabewyvern]

@@BNSFGuy4723 mammals and synapsids are different I’m pretty sure, just like how reptiles and amphibians split apart

[@EChacon]

Do a video on TitanoBoa and the Australian MegaFauna.

[@onanimastah3126]

Damn, they look wacky as heck! Nice look btw!

[@dougfairbanks8055]

Now THAT was informative!! So much information coming together.....Many Thanks PBS Eons & Ms. Kallie!...

[@lucasyang4178]

we’ve found them... the weirdest looking group of creatures humans have ever seen

[@psiphyre]

So, no mention from where Thrinaxodon fossils are found? (I mean, all previous episodes mention where the frontrunner/ focus taxon was discovered or where it had lived...) Weird. Otherwise, great episode!

[@ashleeknowlton5805]

Likely because Pangea was technically everywhere since it was a supercontinent.

[@niIIer1]

Chewing and Breathing at the same time is my favourite spare time hobby.

[@biteszadusto8854]

I really waited a long time to do this episode!! SOOO HAPPY. YAYA

[@RedStefan]

Anteosaurus looks like a baboon-bear-hyena

[@ScionStorm1]

Pokemon Company: I've got an idea!

[@jivejunior8753]

4:26 Are those birds I hear? Pretty sure those weren't around with cotylorhynchus.

[@Sara3346]

I don't see any birds in that shot just some dust particle effects.

[@jivejunior8753]

+Sara3346 I said "hear". As in listening. With your ears.

[@user-qy1up4bj1w]

Thank you for making a video about synapsids!!

[@matthewkehoe4015]

Great video, makes my day when I see a new Eons!

[@coquio]

Nobody: Palaeontologist: I think about Pokemon al lot.

[@jillianromick5353]

This comment made me literally laugh out loud! 😁😆

[@ned4465]

Nice I would like to see a video on the flora in fauna of different formations specifically the morrison and dinosaur provincial park formation :)

[@mdhebert]

This was one of the most interesting and different bits about old animals I have seen in a long while. Thanks. :) More on early synapsids would be welcome.

[@brandoncastillo3350]

Bless up dawg this stuff is so fun to watch, love it

[@Muskoxing]

Last time I was this early, I died in the end-Permian extinction.

[@istvansipos9940]

I don't know where I was. I heard only a big bang

[@Adahn99]

@@istvansipos9940 Probably sitting next to Lincoln in the theatre

[@suchomimustenerensis]

Wow, I was last early when “The sun is a deadly laser.”

[@dennisaur66]

is this thing related to my cat? she bites a lot

[@crunchychips8123]

You're both related to this thing.

[@thelaughinghyenas7962]

This is what I like from Eons! Great stuff.

[@RyanPHill77]

I absolutely love this channel. Another wonderful and interesting video!

[@Dreadkid08]

Permian - Rise of the Synapsids Mezosoic - the Sauropsids Strike Back Cenozoic - Revenge of the Synapsids Quite the trilogy

[@vermillion8249]

Maybe in the next era the Sauropsids will get their revenge.

[@bertrand00956]

I absolutely love all your videos. But just one note : the nasal "turbinates", which we commonly refer as "conchae", don't help getting oxygen more efficiently. Rather, they allow a turbulent precipitation of particles and help warming and humidify the inspired air before it reaches the lungs. It has a role in thermoregulation and immunization. It permits the organism to adapt more easily to varying weather conditions. So those nasal turbinates didn't really play a role in permitting gigantic animals to develop on Pangea : rather, the vast tropical forests did manage to elevate the dioxygen levels up to 30% more than today, which in turn, was absolutely compatible with development of bigger animal species, including therapsids.

[@burbclavefutur1527]

PBS Eons and Synapsids my two favorite things!

[@8cbr]

One of my favorite episodes so far 👏👏👏

[@cynopterusbrachyotis9919]

Another example is _Lisowicia,_ which can weigh up to 9 tons, one of the largest known Therapsids.

[@suchomimustenerensis]

Dang, T.Rex weighed 8.9 tons at the most..... Holy sh

[@travisphaser]

they are so cute!

[@mythology2467]

"So mammals evolved to chew their food instead of rip of meat and swallow it like reptiles and birds still do." Dogs:"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that"

[@carlyblack42]

Yay! Thanks for doing the ancestors of mammals. Awesome video. Can't wait for next week!