Dogs are among the most diverse and successful mammalian predators on the planet, from widespread wild predators like wolves to the most iconic domestic species of all time in our own homes. This episode, we look at what makes dogs unique, where they got their start, what their fossil history has looked like, and finally how one species ended up being among the most widespread species on Earth. In the news: hell ants, weird reptiles, dinosaur cancer, and “super-crocs” Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:05:30Main discussion, Part 1: 00:37:00Main discussion, Part 2: 01:05:30Patron question: 01:51:30 Listen to our guest appearance on Ask a Scientist! Thanks to Victoria for inviting us! https://askascientistpod.com/ Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/ New merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descentFeaturing art by Rob Soto! https://www.rob-soto.com/ Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPCFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcastInstagram: @commondescentpodcast PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw 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 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/