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The Most Useful Fossils In The World

Season 1 Episode 35 | 5m 49s

For decades, one of the most abundant kinds of fossils on Earth, numbering in the millions of specimens, was a mystery to paleontologists. But geologists discovered that these mysterious fossils could basically be used to tell time in the deep past.

Aired: 03/25/18
Extras
Get ready for the all-new season, coming January 17, 2027 at 9/8c.
The cast play a game of "What's in the vet bag?" with sentimental props from the series.
Celebrate the legacy of Gene Wilder, the actor behind Willy Wonka and Young Frankenstein.
Explore the site of the Battle of Camden and its importance to the American Revolution.
The search for a sunken fort uncovers a powerful freedom story.
Tangier Island's lawns are turning into marshes. Can oyster reefs help?
Scientists race to save the historic island on the Chesapeake Bay from rising sea levels.
Sheléa performs "MacArthur Park" in this retrospective concert for Jimmy Webb.
Jimmy Webb, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett and Ashley Campbell perform "Highwayman."
Following tigers after dark reveals surprise encounters and a hidden world of family life.
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During the Permian Period many tetrapods, or four-limbed vertebrates, took to life in the trees.
Around 300 million years ago sails were all the rage, but we're still not sure what they were for.
What about the Great Dying caused a global age of mutant plants?
Life begins to rebound after the destruction of the mass extinction ending the Permian Period.
An apocalypse ended the Permian Period 252 million years ago, wiping out more than 80% of species.
The first saber-teeth and tusks evolve in the Late Permian and our ancestors, the cynodonts, appear.
For millions of years after the Great Dying microbes ruled the Earth.
An extinction in the Middle Permian decimates life, from a fossil reef to our ancient relatives.
Seed plants and amniotes adapt to dry climates, helping them thrive on Pangea in the Permian Period.
The first herbivorous vertebrates evolve on the side of the amniote family tree leading to mammals.