100 WVIA Way
Pittston, PA 18640

Phone: 570-826-6144
Fax: 570-655-1180

Copyright © 2025 WVIA, all rights reserved. WVIA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Why Did These Ancient Gophers Have Horns?

Season 3 Episode 20 | 8m 23s

These odd rodents belong to a genus known as Ceratogaulus, but they’re more commonly called horned gophers, because, you guessed it, they had horns. And it turns out the horns probably had a purpose - one that rodents would likely benefit from today.

Aired: 09/14/20
Extras
Why are our teeth so sensitive? The answer originates in the armored skin of ancient fish.
For flowering plants to take over, they first helped burn the old world—and then put the fires out.
Ancient weeds mimicked crops, tricking farmers into domesticating friends—and enemies—by mistake.
Brains and brawn aren’t opposites—they’ve been linked far longer than we might think.
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.
Tiny mammals and a group of lizard-like reptiles shared a trait that helped them survive extinction.
Where the space rock came from 66 million years ago that crashed and killed the dinosaurs.
Fish evolved terrestrial traits to...stay fish?
We're the only ones with chins, and we don't know why.
Latest Episodes
All
  • All
  • Eons Season 8
  • Eons Season 7
  • Eons Season 6
  • Eons Season 5
  • Eons Season 4
  • Eons Season 3
  • Eons Season 2
  • Eons Season 1
Why are our teeth so sensitive? The answer originates in the armored skin of ancient fish.
For flowering plants to take over, they first helped burn the old world—and then put the fires out.
Ancient weeds mimicked crops, tricking farmers into domesticating friends—and enemies—by mistake.
Brains and brawn aren’t opposites—they’ve been linked far longer than we might think.
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.
Tiny mammals and a group of lizard-like reptiles shared a trait that helped them survive extinction.
Where the space rock came from 66 million years ago that crashed and killed the dinosaurs.
Fish evolved terrestrial traits to...stay fish?
We're the only ones with chins, and we don't know why.