Episode 169 - Sea Snakes

Snakes are surprisingly good at adapting to life in saltwater. Today’s seafaring serpents include a wide diversity of semi-marine species as well as a fascinating assortment of fully oceanic snakes, and this is a tradition that extends well into the past, with numerous radiations of ancient sea snakes. This episode, we explore the repeated evolution of marine lifestyles in snakes, and the array of adaptations that have allowed them to take to the sea. Happy Snake Month!
In the news: dinosaur hands, snake genetics, decapitated reptiles, and cartwheeling snakes.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:06:10
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:35:15
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:19:35
Patron question: 01:54:30
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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.
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Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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