Reconstructing extinct species' sense of smell

Reconstructing extinct species' sense of smell

From PNAS Science Sessions by PNAS

March 23, 2026 · 11 min

About this episode

Quentin Martinez discusses the reconstruction of olfactory capabilities in extinct mammals.

Determining how well extinct animals could smell Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, Quentin Martinez describes a reconstruction of olfactory capabilities in extinct mammals. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:14] Evolutionary biologist Quentin Martinez tell why we want to reconstruct olfaction in extinct animals. •[02:35] He introduces the olfactory bulb endocast, or space within the skull that contained the olfactory bulb, and explains why it's important in evaluating olfaction in extinct animals. •[04:24] Martinez talks about studying the genomics of chemoreceptor genes, in addition to the bony structure of the olfactory bulb endocast. •[05:23] He tells about the results of the study. •[07:46] Martinez lists possible insights from reconstructing extinct animals' olfaction. •[08:53] He lists the…

People in this episode

Guest: Quentin Martinez

Topics covered

  • extinct species
  • olfaction
  • evolutionary biology
  • genomics
  • chemoreceptor genes
  • research findings

Keywords

  • extinct animals
  • olfactory bulb endocast
  • evolution
  • research
  • scientific discoveries

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Natural History Museum, Stuttgart, Germany, PNAS

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