In our modern world, there are three major groups of mammals: placentals (that’s most of us), marsupials, and the rare and bizarre monotremes. Today’s monotremes – that’s echidnas and platypuses – are famous for their seemingly “un-mammalian” features: they lack external ears, they deliver milk without nipples, and they even lay eggs! This episode, we discuss what makes monotremes unique, the many questions still unanswered about their ancient history, and whether or not they are truly good representatives of early mammal evolution. In the news: weird mosasaur teeth, Tibetan sabertooths, marsupial growth, and giant pliosaurs. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:07:50 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:38:00 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:11:40 Patron question: 02:01:10 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent 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: https://www.instagram.com/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/

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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