Episode 126 - Mimicry

Evolution loves to plagiarize. You might be surprised at just how useful it can be for an organism to copy the signals, sights, sounds, and smells of others. Mimicry is all about making use of miscommunication. In this episode we’ll discuss the astounding diversity of modern mimics, the rare examples of fossil mimics, and the complex and confusing evolution patterns of mimicry. In the news: Cambrian bryozoans, early tusks, hermit worms, and parthenogenetic condors. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:05:00 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:35:30 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:20:30 Patron question: 01:59:00 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/ We're now taking questions for our End of the Year Q&A! Submit your question here: https://forms.gle/Q3jHtLSp5CdFuAuL9 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 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/