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Eons

How Plants Caused the First Mass Extinction

Season 3 Episode 6 | 9m 31s

In the middle of the Cambrian, life on land was about to get a little more crowded. And those newcomers would end up changing the world. The arrival of plants on land would make the world colder, drain much of the oxygen out of the oceans and eventually, it would help cause a massive extinction event.

Aired: 05/27/20
Extras
Watch • 10:45
Eons
The Fiery Rise of Flowering Plants
For flowering plants to take over, they first helped burn the old world—and then put the fires out.
Episode: S8 E11 | 10:45
Watch • 11:37
Eons
When Ancient Weeds Fooled Us
Ancient weeds mimicked crops, tricking farmers into domesticating friends—and enemies—by mistake.
Episode: S8 E10 | 11:37
Watch • 12:14
Eons
How Brawn Led to Brains
Brains and brawn aren’t opposites—they’ve been linked far longer than we might think.
Episode: S8 E9 | 12:14
Watch • 10:27
Eons
When a Tiny Land Bridge Triggered an Ice Age
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
Episode: S8 E8 | 10:27
Watch • 9:07
Eons
What Was Greenland Like When it Was Green
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.
Episode: S8 E7 | 9:07
Watch • 9:35
Eons
How Chewing May Have Beat Extinction
Tiny mammals and a group of lizard-like reptiles shared a trait that helped them survive extinction.
Episode: S8 E6 | 9:35
Watch • 10:43
Eons
How We Figured Out an Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs
Where the space rock came from 66 million years ago that crashed and killed the dinosaurs.
Episode: S8 E5 | 10:43
Watch • 8:19
Eons
Crawling Out Of The Water Was An Evolutionary Accident
Fish evolved terrestrial traits to...stay fish?
Episode: S8 E4 | 8:19
Watch • 12:07
Eons
Do Chins Make Us Human?
We're the only ones with chins, and we don't know why.
Episode: S8 E3 | 12:07
Watch • 12:40
Eons
The Golden Age of Sharks
Why did sharks get so incredibly diverse and odd during the Golden Age?
Episode: S8 E2 | 12:40
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  • Eons Season 2
  • Eons Season 1
Watch • 10:45
Eons
The Fiery Rise of Flowering Plants
For flowering plants to take over, they first helped burn the old world—and then put the fires out.
Episode: S8 E11 | 10:45
Watch • 11:37
Eons
When Ancient Weeds Fooled Us
Ancient weeds mimicked crops, tricking farmers into domesticating friends—and enemies—by mistake.
Episode: S8 E10 | 11:37
Watch • 12:14
Eons
How Brawn Led to Brains
Brains and brawn aren’t opposites—they’ve been linked far longer than we might think.
Episode: S8 E9 | 12:14
Watch • 10:27
Eons
When a Tiny Land Bridge Triggered an Ice Age
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
Episode: S8 E8 | 10:27
Watch • 9:07
Eons
What Was Greenland Like When it Was Green
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.
Episode: S8 E7 | 9:07
Watch • 9:35
Eons
How Chewing May Have Beat Extinction
Tiny mammals and a group of lizard-like reptiles shared a trait that helped them survive extinction.
Episode: S8 E6 | 9:35
Watch • 10:43
Eons
How We Figured Out an Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs
Where the space rock came from 66 million years ago that crashed and killed the dinosaurs.
Episode: S8 E5 | 10:43
Watch • 8:19
Eons
Crawling Out Of The Water Was An Evolutionary Accident
Fish evolved terrestrial traits to...stay fish?
Episode: S8 E4 | 8:19
Watch • 12:07
Eons
Do Chins Make Us Human?
We're the only ones with chins, and we don't know why.
Episode: S8 E3 | 12:07
Watch • 12:40
Eons
The Golden Age of Sharks
Why did sharks get so incredibly diverse and odd during the Golden Age?
Episode: S8 E2 | 12:40