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 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 Listen to David talk about snake paleontology on Snake Talk! https://www.oriannesociety.org/snake-talk/ Listen to Will and David discuss the evolution of flight on Little Curiosities! https://listen.qcodemedia.com/littlecuriosities Learn more about Disability Pride Month! https://thearc.org/blog/why-and-how-to-celebrate-disability-pride-month-2023/ We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://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/ 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/