Frameshift

Sometimes when we tell stories we leave out important details, giving people false impressions about what happened. Even our stories about science are prone to this type of narrative bias. Everyone knows the dinosaurs dominated the Earth for millions of years. Few people, though, realize that prior to the dinosaurs, another group of animals achieved a similar supremacy. They belonged to a separate group called the synapsids. The synapsids grew to great sizes and filled all the top niches on the planet in their day. Their descendants are the mammals - including us. Today we take a trip back in time to visit our long-lost relatives during their prime.