In our modern world, ants are so ubiquitous that it’s difficult to image our planet without them, so successful that they shape the environments around them despite their tiny size, and so diverse that we couldn’t possibly discuss even a small fraction of their diversity in this one podcast episode. We’ll touch on some of what makes ants unique, list a few of our favorite examples of modern ant lifestyles, and dive into what is known about their ancient history and evolution. Get ready for fire ants, bullet ants, dinosaur ants, hell ants, and more.
In the news: mysterious maybe-molluscs, giant otters, tuatara cousins, and fossil fish organs.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:31:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:16:30
Patron question: 01:54:00
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/
Follow this link for a 30 day free trial to Audible!
www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast 
Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp
Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev
Follow and Support us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2
You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604
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/