Episode 227 - Beaks

The faces of vertebrate animals are often soft and full of teeth, but there is a common alternative. Birds, turtles, and many more groups have developed toothless snouts covered in a tough sheath. This episode, we’ll explore the defining features of beaks and their various functions. And we’ll take a tour through animal life past and present to investigate the reasons behind the repeated evolution of beaks among dinosaurs and beyond.

In the news: Life on Mars, ancient sharks, mammoth microbes, and ant-eaters.

Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:07:00 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:42:40 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:38:25 Patron question: 02:21:50

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Subscribe to Curiosity Box using our Affiliate Link: https://www.curiositybox.com/CommonDescent And get 25% off the first box with code descent25

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0