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Eons

The Age of Mutant Plants

Season 9 Episode 10 | 11m 06s

Around 252 million years ago, as the Permian Period transitioned into the Triassic, there wasn't much life on Earth left. Landscapes had been torched an entire ecosystems had collapsed. But the fossil record is full of something else, too -- mutant plants -- found worldwide and spanning thousands of years. But what was it about the Great Dying that caused a global age of mutant plants?

Aired: 09/14/26
Extras
Watch • 7:54
Eons
When Sails Were All the Rage
Around 300 million years ago sails were all the rage, but we're still not sure what they were for.
Episode: S9 E9 | 7:54
Watch • 10:44
Eons
How Tetrapods Took to the Trees
During the Permian Period many tetrapods, or four-limbed vertebrates, took to life in the trees.
Episode: S9 E8 | 10:44
Watch • 9:29
Eons
How Earth’s Smallest Life Caused its Biggest Death
For millions of years after the Great Dying microbes ruled the Earth.
Episode: S9 E7 | 9:29
Watch • 0:30
Eons
Eons: Life and Death in Pangea Official Trailer
The Permian began with the formation of a supercontinent and ended in the biggest extinction ever.
Preview: S9 | 0:30
Watch • 0:30
Eons
Eons: Life and Death on Pangea Official Trailer
The Permian began with the formation of a supercontinent and ended in the biggest extinction ever.
Preview: 0:30
Watch • 9:11
Eons
How A Geological Event Created The Ultimate Cat
How did Homotherium evolve to be so successful? The answer may lie in the rise of the Tibetan plate.
Episode: S8 E21 | 9:11
Watch • 10:16
Eons
Did These Feathered Wings Evolve to Be Scary?
The mystery of what non-flying dinosaurs were doing with their feathered wings has a new hypothesis.
Episode: S8 E20 | 10:16
Watch • 11:45
Eons
We Can't Remember What Giant Sloths Were Like
What did ancient people once know about these bizarre megafauna that we’ve since forgotten?
Episode: S8 E19 | 11:45
Watch • 7:44
Eons
Did These Mammoths Dig Their Own Grave?
5,700 years ago, woolly mammoths crossed a remote tundra island off Alaska.
Episode: S8 E18 | 7:44
Watch • 9:48
Eons
When Fish (Finally) Conquered the Deep Sea
Why did vertebrates conquer both the land and the air before the depths of the sea?
Episode: S8 E17 | 9:48
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  • Eons Season 5
  • Eons Season 4
  • Eons Season 3
  • Eons Season 2
  • Eons Season 1
Watch • 7:54
Eons
When Sails Were All the Rage
Around 300 million years ago sails were all the rage, but we're still not sure what they were for.
Episode: S9 E9 | 7:54
Watch • 10:44
Eons
How Tetrapods Took to the Trees
During the Permian Period many tetrapods, or four-limbed vertebrates, took to life in the trees.
Episode: S9 E8 | 10:44
Watch • 26:06
Eons
Who Survived the Great Dying – and Why | Life and Death on Pangea
Life begins to rebound after the destruction of the mass extinction ending the Permian Period.
Episode: S9 E6 | 26:06
Watch • 25:37
Eons
That Time Almost Everything Died | Life and Death on Pangea
An apocalypse ended the Permian Period 252 million years ago, wiping out more than 80% of species.
Episode: S9 E5 | 25:37
Watch • 25:37
Eons
A Tale of Tusks and Saber Teeth | Life and Death on Pangea
The first saber-teeth and tusks evolve in the Late Permian and our ancestors, the cynodonts, appear.
Episode: S9 E4 | 25:37
Watch • 9:29
Eons
How Earth’s Smallest Life Caused its Biggest Death
For millions of years after the Great Dying microbes ruled the Earth.
Episode: S9 E7 | 9:29
Watch • 25:37
Eons
The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Reef | Life and Death on Pangea
An extinction in the Middle Permian decimates life, from a fossil reef to our ancient relatives.
Episode: S9 E3 | 25:37
Watch • 25:37
Eons
How Eating Plants Shaped Life on Land | Life and Death on Pangea
The first herbivorous vertebrates evolve on the side of the amniote family tree leading to mammals.
Episode: S9 E2 | 25:37
Watch • 25:37
Eons
How The Formation of Pangea Changed The World | Life and Death on Pangea
Seed plants and amniotes adapt to dry climates, helping them thrive on Pangea in the Permian Period.
Episode: S9 E1 | 25:37
Watch • 9:11
Eons
How A Geological Event Created The Ultimate Cat
How did Homotherium evolve to be so successful? The answer may lie in the rise of the Tibetan plate.
Episode: S8 E21 | 9:11