Mammals

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2005

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of the mammals. The Cenozoic Era of Earth's history began 65 million years ago and runs to this day. It began with the extraordinary 'KT event', a supposed asteroid impact that destroyed the dinosaurs, and incorporates the break up of Pangaea, the enormous landmass that eventually formed the continents we know today. It is known as the 'Age of the Mammals', and it is the period in which warm-blooded, lactating, often furry animals diversified rapidly and spread across the globe on land and in the sea. According to evolutionary theory, what conditions created the opportunity for mammals to thrive? What environmental factors lead to the characteristics they share - and the features they don't? And how did they become the most intelligent class of animals on the planet? With Richard Corfield, Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences at the Open University; Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London; Jane Francis, Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University of Leeds.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for learning the in-artime podcast. For more details about in-artime and for our terms of use
0:05.4	Please go to bbc.co.uk forward slash radio 4. I hope you enjoy the program
0:12.3	Hello, the Cennazoke era of Earth's history started about 65 million years ago and runs to this day
0:18.1	It began with the extraordinary KT event a supposed asteroid impact that said to have destroyed the dinosaurs and
0:25.0	Incorporates the breakup of Pangaea the enormous landmass that eventually formed the continents we know today
0:31.8	This is known as the age of mammals and it's a period in which warm blooded lactating often furry animals
0:38.0	diversified rapidly and spread across the globe on land and in the sea
0:42.2	According to evolutionary theory what conditions created the opportunity for mammals to thrive?
0:47.2	What environmental factors led to the characteristics they share and the features they don't and how did they become the most intelligent
0:53.5	Class of animals on the planet with me to discuss the rise of the mammals is Richard Corfield senior lecturer in earth sciences at the open university
1:01.7	Steve Jones professor of genetics in the Golden Laboratory at University College London and Jane Francis professor of paleoclamatology at the University of Leeds
1:10.6	Richard Corfield can you tell us when the first mammals started to emerge in Earth's history and what they were like?
1:17.3	Yes, I think the most extraordinary thing about the evolution of the mammals is
1:21.8	How very very ancient they are the Katie boundary took place
1:28.3	65 million years ago when the asteroid hit the earth, but the mammals actually date back
1:33.7	to 200 million years
1:35.8	Which is very close to the beginning of the second great era of visible life the mesozoic
1:42.2	So 200 million years ago puts us close to the base of the Jurassic and the interesting thing about the mammals is that they evolved almost
1:50.5	Contemporaneously with the dinosaurs and this immediately leads into interesting questions about what were the mammals doing for the
1:58.2	135 million years while the dinosaurs were stomping around before they got it in the neck at the Katie boundary
2:06.7	so
2:08.5	The mammals themselves evolved from mammal-like reptiles the so-called Therapsids who in their turn evolved from
	...

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