Episode 229 - Myrmecophagy (Ant-Eating)

Generally speaking, it’s not a good idea to mess with ants. But several lineages of animals have evolved to be ant-eating specialists. This episode, we discuss anteaters, the suite of adaptations that allow them to focus on ant-eating, and the variety of other species that have evolved similar adaptations for the same purpose. We explore the evolutionary history of ant-eating mammals and even dinosaurs through the fossil record and genetic evidence.

In the news: butt-drags, ancient leeches, Neanderthal tracks, and spider genomes.

Time markers:

Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00

News: 00:06:00

Main discussion, Part 1: 00:40:10

Main discussion, Part 2: 01:40:15

Patron question: 02:08:30

Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: commondescentpodcast.com

Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic

Lots more ways to connect with us: linktr.ee/common_descent

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at ocremix.org

Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0