Episode 32 – The Changing Face of Crocodiles INTRODUCTION TO GROWING UP –
Every living thing grows up, and this episode of “Past Time” explores the evolution of the growing process. Specifically, we explore the evolution of growth in crocodiles, and how changes to the growing process at the earliest stages of crocodile development help produce the wide array of crocodile snout shapes we see today and in the fossil record. Increase the rate of snout growth in an embryonic croc, and you can produce an adult with a narrow, tubular snout like an Indian gharial or an African slender-snouted crocodile. Slow that process down, and you can produce an adult with a short, rounded snout like a broad-snouted caiman or an African dwarf crocodile.
THE QUEST FOR CROCODILE SKULLS – Paleontologist/Developmental biologist Zachary Morris spritzes water over an incubator filled with Alligator eggs.Our guest this week is Zachary Morris, a Ph.D. student at Harvard University who studies growth in crocodylians. He wields both the fossil record and the skeletons of modern crocodylians—from tiny embryos to giant adults—to study that very topic. To examine the shape changes in the skull of crocodylians through the growth process, Zach has traveled the world to collect eggs, embryos, juveniles, and adults to build 3D models of skull anatomy. He delved into the collections of museums around the world to find nests and eggs of rare crocodiles that were collected by explorers hundreds of years ago. Zoos were also a critical resource for eggs of breeding species.
DIG DEEPER – Further reading and links –
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