Of all the highly successful and capable flying insects in the world, few are as successful or capable as those in the order Diptera. This episode, we’re joined by special guest Brandon Strauss to discuss the distinctive anatomy and varied habits of flies, mosquitoes, and their many two-winged relatives. Then, we’ll peer into the past for a glimpse at the fossil record and dynamic evolutionary history of the group. In the news: long-nosed crocs, river mosasaurs, stampeding sea turtles, and giant snakes Find Brandon at punk_entomology on Instagram, Bluesky, and Twitch! Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:05:35 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:38:30 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:38:35 Patron question: 02:25:55 Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/ Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent 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 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0