We think of the history of life on this planet as basically being, microbes, fish, dinosaurs and then us.

But this does a huge disservice to the extraordinary diversity of life that has called the Earth home and indeed to the work of those who study it.

So we’re going to take a bit of a guided tour through life, minus the dinosaurs because they always hog the limelight anyway.

Lauren Sallan is a Paleobiologist and Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She will be our guide