Tag Archives: Mammals
Did early mammals turn to night life to protect their sperm?
Humans are diurnal — we are active in the day and sleep at night. But diurnalism is by far the exception rather the rule in mammals. About 250-230 million years ago, the mammalian ancestors, called the therapsids, became exclusively nocturnal, … Continue reading
Posted in Paleontology
Tagged early, life, Mammals, night, protect, sperm, their, turn
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Jurassic fossil shows how early mammals could swallow like their modern descendants
The 165-million-year-old fossil of Microdocodon gracilis, a tiny, shrew-like animal, shows the earliest example of modern hyoid bones in mammal evolution. Paleontology News — ScienceDaily
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Tagged could, Descendants, early, fossil, Jurassic, like, Mammals, modern, shows, swallow, their
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Dolphin ancestor’s hearing was more like hoofed mammals than today’s sea creatures
Paleontologists are looking into the evolutionary origins of the whistles and squeaks that dolphins and porpoises make — part of the rare echolocation ability that allows them to effectively navigate their dark environment. Paleontology News — ScienceDaily
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Tagged ancestor's, creatures, dolphin, Hearing, hoofed, like, Mammals, more, than, today's
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Climate, grasses and teeth: The evolution of South America mammals
Atmospheric circulation changes about 6 million years ago dried the South American climate and fueled the expansion of grasslands and grass-eating mammals, according to new research. Paleontology News — ScienceDaily
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Tagged America, climate, Evolution, grasses, Mammals, south, Teeth
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Flowering plants, new teeth and no dinosaurs: New study sheds light on the rise of mammals
A new study has identified three factors critical in the rise of mammal communities since they first emerged during the Age of Dinosaurs: the rise of flowering plants; the evolution of tribosphenic molars in mammals; and the extinction of non-avian … Continue reading
Mammals’ unique arms started evolving before the dinosaurs existed
One of the things that makes mammals special is our diverse forelimbs — bat wings, whale flippers, gibbon arms, and cheetah legs have evolved to do different, specialized tasks. Scientists wanted to see where this mammalian trait started evolving, so … Continue reading
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Tagged arms, Before, Dinosaurs, evolving, existed, Mammals, started, unique
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Homo sapiens colonized South Asian rainforest by hunting small mammals 45,000 years ago
A new study provides direct evidence for the hunting of tree-dwelling monkeys and other small mammals by Homo sapiens 45,000 years ago in the rainforest of Sri Lanka. Paleontology News — ScienceDaily
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Tagged 45000, Asian, colonized, Homo, hunting, Mammals, rainforest, sapiens, Small, south, years
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For the first time, scientists are putting extinct mammals on the map
Researchers have produced the most comprehensive family tree and atlas of mammals to date, connecting all living and recently extinct mammal species (nearly 6,000 in total) and overturning many previous ideas about global patterns of biodiversity. The atlas shows where … Continue reading
Paleontologists ID two new Miocene mammals in Bolivia
Researchers have discovered the 13-million-year-old fossils of a pair of new species of extinct hoofed mammals known as ‘litopterns’ from a site in Bolivia. Paleontology News — ScienceDaily