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When Mammals Were Reptiles - The Synapsid Story ~ with JULIEN BENOIT

Evolution Soup

102,615 views

Were mammals once reptile-like? When did 'mammalness' begin? What are the origins of hair, lactation and warm-bloodedness?

It all began with a group of animals called the SYNAPSIDS.

JULIEN BENOIT is a paleontologist based at the Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand. His research explores the origins of mammals, going right back to the Permian, over three hundred million years ago.

MARK from Evolution Soup takes a deep dive with Julien into the world of pelycosaurs, therapsids, and cynodonts - the ancient cousins of all mammals (including ourselves).

Any reference to early synapsids being 'reptiles' in this presentation is basically shorthand for reptile-like. This is a complex story and we want it to be accessible to the curious as well as to academics. 🙂

#evolution #synapsids #mammals

00:00 START
01:28 Julien's Background
06:44 Synapsids
19:17 When Do Mammals Appear?
28:30 Cold- to Warm-Blooded
36:55 Origin of Hair
47:14 Origin of Lactation
1:10:14 Upcoming Projects

LINKS FOR JULIEN BENOIT

Twitter: Twitter: PaleonewsFrance

Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/...

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3CpatwY

French language: stopscience

University of the Witwatersrand

SITE: https://www.wits.ac.za/
TWITTER: Twitter: WitsUniversity

Animatronic synapsids shown are from 'Permian Monsters: Life Before the Dinosaurs' travelling exhibition produced by Gondwana Studios. Filmed by Evolution Soup at the Horniman Museum, London, UK. https://www.horniman.ac.uk

ARTWORK

Inostrancevia thumbnail art by PALEOREX @paleorex (Instagram)
Instagram: paleorex

Synapsid depictions by JULIO LACERDA:

Twitter Twitter: juliotheartist
@JuliotheArtist

https://www.deviantart.com/julio-lace...

Facebook: art.julio.lacerda

Insta: @lacerda.julio

Huge thank you to these titans of paleo art for their kind permission to use their work!

Music from #InAudio: Epic Action Trailer by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Battle

Interviews powered by https://streamyard.com/

#evolutionsoup #evolution #paleo #paleontology #paleoartist #Homosapiens #hominid #artwork #Darwin #cave #bone #fossils #Neanderthal #australopithecus #hominin #extinct #animals #science #anthropology #paleoanthropology #genus #species #africa #skull #skulls #naturalselection #lucy #paleontology
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19 Comments

@CookaSoupNieceEH 4 years ago

It's sad that humanity's (and most researchers) obsession with Dinosauria overshadows the utterly fascinating Permian. I still haven't found a decent documentary about gorgonopsian or a book dedicated to it. Thank you for this episode!

@lukaszmizera 4 years ago

Speaking about something very complex in a simple way requires deep knowledge about the topic - Julien shows he has truly this ability. Thank you for your great lecture!

@e.a.hallucigenia1128 4 years ago

This was the best lecture I've heard in ages! Julien was fantastic! His explanations were so clear and understandable. I've studied the Therapsids and know a fair amount about them. Thanks for filling in the gaps.

@LDrosophila 4 years ago (edited)

I need more synapsid content in my life

@post-leftluddite 4 years ago

I love learning about gorgonopsids

@Supervenoma7 4 years ago

If I had a time machine and could only check out one era of prehistory I would choose the Permian. Land animals were just so bizarrely different back then and I have a feeling they looked a lot weirder than artist reconstruction. There are some scientists that believe dimetrodon actually had whiskers!

@Riazor1370 3 years ago (edited)

When Wikipedia is your e-book and Doctor Benoit is your lecturer, all this give good understanding of synapsid which is very amazing.

@BurntWeeny435 3 years ago

THIS BLEW MY MIND SO MANY TIMES!!!
This has been one of the most interesting and exciting videos I have seen in a long time, (and that's saying something, because this channel has so many fascinating talks)
Jillian's enthusiasm for this is infectious!
Please Please Please ask him to give us another talk, and thank you for another great video.

@gnappibr 4 years ago

The history of mammals is really incredible. I hope fossils of the first hairy synapsids are found so that the evolution of this group of animals can be better understood.

@latheofheaven1017 4 years ago

I'm fascinated by this part of our lineage and the Permian-Triassic times, and it seems like a very productive part of palaeontology in recent years. Thanks for the great talk Julien.

@nyeti7759 4 years ago

I first heard of Julien's work from Ben Thomas, and seeing him speak about his field of expertise he's more than lived up to my expectations. Superb video!

@teaburg 4 years ago

My favorite part is when Mr. Benoit said 'there are too many transitional fossils' to tell the difference between reptile to mammal.
There is a book dealing with this subject, called Evolution Slam Dunk by R. J. Downard.

@wendydomino 4 years ago

Gorgonopsids and Dimetrodon are two of my favorite ancient types of animals.

@JustClaude13 4 years ago

Although birds and insects would probably agree that mammals are all color blind, being sensitive to no more than three wavelengths, while the birds and insects can frequently see into the ultraviolet frequencies.

@Video2Webb 3 years ago

What an incredible video this is! Being able to cover that much ground about evolution in a single show really brings it all to life. I gasped when I heard that all mammals derive from a single species that somehow managed to survive extinction - WOW! What good luck for us that was! I thank Julien Benoit for his excellent presentation and look forward to hearing him talk about his knowledge again.

@Rolling_Stoned_420 4 years ago

Its crazy how long life has been around and that humans have only been here a very short time in comparison

@IngerMaaike2 4 years ago

Fantastic speaker, so clear and easy to follow.

@TheSharingan32 4 years ago

I’m a great fan of Julien Benoit, and i discovered your Channel with his post on youtube. I’m subcribin right now ! 😁

@yannschonfeld5847 4 years ago

Having taught in French schools for almost 30 years in France, I remember that the scientific branches in the lycées were better than most secondary schools elsewhere in his day. English was/is not taught so well but Julien's magnificent mind and wonderful, cheerful and engaging character not only underline his brilliant mind and personality but his spontaneous sharing of his knowledge is so, so enthralling. I think we can expect many more great things from Julien in the years to come. Merci!