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Who Survived the Great Dying – and Why | Life and Death on Pangea

Season 9 Episode 6 | 26m 06s

Around 250 million years ago, at the dawn of the Triassic Period, life on Earth was devastated. Eventually, the survivors of the Permian would be replaced by new ecosystems unlike anything the world had ever seen. The age of reptiles was beginning.

Aired: 08/25/26
Extras
The cast play a game of "What's in the vet bag?" with sentimental props from the series.
Get ready for the all-new season, coming January 17, 2027 at 9/8c.
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.
Formerly enslaved Americans formed Britain's Colonial Marines unit and marched on Washington, D.C.
Scientists race to save the historic island on the Chesapeake Bay from rising sea levels.
The search for a sunken fort uncovers a powerful freedom story.
Tangier Island's lawns are turning into marshes. Can oyster reefs help?
Jimmy Webb, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett and Ashley Campbell perform "Highwayman."
Sheléa performs "MacArthur Park" in this retrospective concert for Jimmy Webb.
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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?
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.
How did Homotherium evolve to be so successful? The answer may lie in the rise of the Tibetan plate.