NOVA

Rise of the Mammals

Season 46 Episode 17 | 53m 27s

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs in a fiery global catastrophe. But we know little about how their successors, the mammals, recovered and took over the world. Now, hidden inside ordinary-looking rocks, an astonishing trove of fossils reveals a dramatic new picture of how rat-sized creatures ballooned in size and began to evolve into the vast array of species.

Aired: 10/30/19 | Expires: 10/29/22 | Rating: TV-PG

Major funding for NOVA is provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the NOVA Science Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.

Watch Preview

Extras From This Episode

• How Fossilized Plants Tell Us About the Evolution of Animals

  Clip: S46 Ep17 | 1m 34s

• Mammal Fossils Fill in Missing Piece of the Timeline of Life

  Clip: S46 Ep17 | 3m 35s

• Paleontologist Makes "Game-Changing" Fossil Discovery

  Clip: S46 Ep17 | 1m 34s

More Episodes

• Animal Espionage

  S46 Ep23 | 53m 29s | WETA Passport

• The Violence Paradox

  S46 Ep22 | 1h 53m 22s | WETA Passport

• Decoding da Vinci

  S46 Ep21 | 53m 31s

More Science and Nature Shows

• Nature

  Capturing the splendor of the natural world, from the African plains to the Antarctic ice.

• The Green Planet

  Sir David Attenborough travels the globe to reveal the secret, incredible world of plants.

• America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston

  Explore our passionate relationship with outdoor spaces.

• Expedition

  Join Steve Backshall in uncharted territory to uncover the world’s last unknown places.

• Changing Planet

  Join Dr. M. Sanjayan for an environmental health check of Earth’s vulnerable habitats.

• Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World

  Follow Greta Thunberg as she steps from behind the podium and onto the front lines.