The Miocene, the right teeth for the right job

Today we chat about the Miocene. During this epoch, kelp forest spread along the shoreline, creating habitat for otters and pinnipeds. The climate cooled and forest gave way to open grassland. Those grazing animals without the right kind of teeth died out, and the early apes diversified. Toward the end of the epoch, the branch of apes that would give rise to humans appeared.

Here's a roughly 16 minute video, showing a guy hunting for fossil shark teeth.

The Best Megalodon Tooth Hunting Site I Ever Found

Here’s a 4-minute 24-second video about the Livyatan, a large relative of the modern sperm whale, that had some of the biggest teeth in the animal kingdom.

5 Amazing Facts About Livyatan Melvillei

Here’s an article about the relatively slow progress of whales toward the large size they enjoy today.

When Did Today’s Whales Get So Big?

And here are a couple of articles about some early apes.

Oldest Fossil of Ape Discovered

Earliest Great Ape Had Posture Like Humans, Fossils Suggest