http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/early_mammals/ Prehistoric Mammal News. From the first swimming mammals to a banana-jawed fossil mammal, read about all the news in paleontology. Current science articles and images. en-us Fri, 16 May 2008 20:05:01 EDT Fri, 16 May 2008 20:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/early_mammals/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507131453.htm The duck-billed platypus: part bird, part reptile, part mammal -- and the genome to prove it. Scientists have decoded the genome of the platypus, showing that the animal's peculiar mix of features is reflected in its DNA. An analysis of the genome can help scientists piece together a more complete picture of the evolution of all mammals, including humans. Wed, 07 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507131453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171524.htm Scientists have discovered why birds, unlike mammals, lack a tissue that is specialized to generate heat. There is a surprising implication that the same lack of heat-generating tissue may have contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171524.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325203453.htm A new study has confirmed that a primitive mouse-like creature that lived 55 million years ago (called Djarthia) is also a primitive relative of the small marsupial known as the Monito del Monte -- or "little mountain monkey" -- from the dense humid forests of Chile and Argentina. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325203453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318214854.htm In 2004, the front part of a baby mammoth's body was found in Olchan mine in Russia. There remained only the head, part of the proboscis, the neck area and part of the breast of the baby mammoth's body. The baby mammoth's skin is well preserved, it is smooth, greyish-brown, the tawny hair fell out and froze into the ice near the body. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318214854.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304191213.htm When most of us think of Ancient Egypt, visions of pyramids and mummies fill our imaginations. For a team of paleontologists interested in fossil mammals, the Fayum district of Egypt summons an even older and equally impressive history that extends much further back in time than the Sphinx. Six new bat species dating to around 35 million years ago, which sheds new light on the early evolution of bats, have just been discovered Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304191213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080114173919.htm Dinosaurs had pregnancies as early as age 8, far before they reached their maximum adult size, a new study finds. Scientists have identified the fossil bones of three female dinosaurs, each a different species, and it has become clear that dinosaurs exhibited rapid growth and early maturity, probably because they had a high early mortality rate. Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080114173919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220220241.htm Scientists since Darwin have known that whales are mammals whose ancestors walked on land. But one critical step was missing: The identity of the land ancestors of whales. Researchers have now discovered the skeleton of a 48-million-year-old mammal called an Indohyus. It is a fox-sized mammal that looked something like a miniature deer and is the closest known fossil relative of whales. Because Indohyus itself is not a whale, but a close cousin, the discovery suggests that the first whales were themselves aquatic, rather than evolving aquatic habits after they took to the water. Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220220241.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071214002808.htm A paleontological dig in Chile at an altitude of more than 14,000 feet in the Andes has yielded fossils of an 18-million-year-old armored mammal. It appears to be one of the most primitive members of a family of extinct mammals known as "glyptodonts," a group closely related to the modern-day armadillo. Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071214002808.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071212103049.htm A team of US and Chilean scientists working high in the Andes have discovered the fossilized remains of an extinct, tank-like mammal they conclude was a primitive relative of today's armadillos. The results of their surprising new discovery are described in an upcoming issue of Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071212103049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071107074324.htm A theory explaining the evolution of giant rodents, miniature elephants, and even miniature humans on islands has been called into question by new research. The new study refutes the 'island rule' which says that in island environments small mammals such as rodents tend to evolve to be larger, and large mammals such as elephants tend to evolve to be smaller, with the original size of the species being the key determining factor in these changes. Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071107074324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071028122831.htm Next time you see a mole digging in tree-root-filled soil in search of supper, take a moment to ponder the mammal's humerus bones. When seen in the lab, they are nothing like the long upper arm bones of any other mammal, according to a paleontologist. Sun, 04 Nov 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071028122831.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071025143311.htm Ancient DNA retrieved from the bones of two Neanderthals suggests that at least some of them had red hair and pale skin, scientists report in Science. Neanderthals' pigmentation may even have been as varied as that of modern humans, and researchers say at least 1 percent of Neanderthals were likely redheads. Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071025143311.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009212545.htm An extraordinary advance in human origins research reveals evidence of the emergence of the upright human body plan over 15 million years earlier than most experts have believed. More dramatically, the study confirms preliminary evidence that many early hominoid apes were most likely upright bipedal walkers sharing the basic body form of modern humans. Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009212545.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070927141921.htm Scientists discovered that hair shafts provide an ideal source of ancient DNA -- a better source than bones and muscle for studying the genome sequences of extinct animals. They sequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes from 10 individual woolly mammoths. Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070927141921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070917202806.htm The Bering Sea provides critical habitat for many species of marine mammals, including seals, sea lions and whales. The predictable formation and movement of sea ice is a defining feature of this habitat, although new evidence suggests that only a few thousand years ago, during a period of cold climate known as the "Neoglacial," much more ice filled the Bering Sea and stayed around longer. Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070917202806.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070724114040.htm The first complete mitochondrial DNA genome for the mastodon extends the age range for genomic analyses by almost a complete glacial cycle, and resolves the relationships among African and Asian elephants and mammoths. The mastodon becomes only the third extinct taxon for which the complete mitochondrial genome is known. Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070724114040.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070722113641.htm Paleontologists are examining the frozen, nearly intact remains of a 4-month-old female woolly mammoth. "It's the best and most complete mammoth carcass--baby or adult--ever found," according to one of the researchers. Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070722113641.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709095315.htm A central eastern Queensland mine has turned up bat fossils which show climate change has had a negative impact on the state's bat population. Researchers are currently sifting through what is the largest and best record of the state's southern most bat population from the late Pleistocene Epoch, beginning two million years ago and ending approximately 10,000 years ago. Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709095315.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070704144900.htm The ancient gray wolves of Alaska became extinct some 12,000 years ago, and the wolves in Alaska today are not their descendents but a different subspecies, an international team of scientists reports. Thu, 05 Jul 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070704144900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070621123444.htm The extinction of many large mammals at the end of the Ice Age may have packed an even bigger punch than scientists have realized. To the list of victims such as woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats, scientists have added one more: a highly carnivorous form of wolf that lived in Alaska, north of the ice sheets. Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070621123444.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070621135213.htm An early mammal fossil discovered in Mongolia led to researchers asserting that the origins of placental mammals, which include humans, can be dated to approximately 65 million years ago in the Northern Hemisphere. This finding is considered the most comprehensive support to date for the traditional paleontological view that placental mammals originated after the Cretaceous--Tertiary (K/T) Boundary, when dinosaurs became extinct. Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070621135213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070607171134.htm Some ancient-DNA evidence has offered new clues to a very cold case: the disappearance of the last woolly mammoths, one of the most iconic of all Ice Age giants, according to a recent article. DNA lifted from the bones, teeth, and tusks of the extinct mammoths revealed a "genetic signature" of a range expansion after the last interglacial period. After the mammoths' migration, the population apparently leveled off, and one of two lineages died out. Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070607171134.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521171658.htm A team of researchers has documented major changes in the behavior, ecology and geographic range of the northern fur seal over the past 1,500 years using a combination of techniques from archaeology, biochemistry and ecology. Among their findings is evidence of reproductive behavior in the past that is not seen in modern populations of northern fur seals. Wed, 23 May 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521171658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070507090415.htm Geologists have put out a call for teeth tusks, femurs and any and all other parts of extinct mammoths left by massive Ice Age floods in southeastern Washington. The fossils of Mammathus columbi, the Columbian mammoth, were deposited in the hillsides of what are now the Yakima, Columbia and Walla Walla valleys in southeastern Washington, where the elephantine corpses came to rest as water receded from the temporary but repeatedly formed ancient Lake Lewis. Tue, 08 May 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070507090415.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417203151.htm Molecular studies have reported divergence times of modern placental orders long before the Cretaceous--Tertiary boundary and far older than paleontological data. By accounting for complex evolution of mitochondrial genome, scientists obtained a much younger time at the root of placental mammals, 84 million years ago instead of around 122 million years ago. Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417203151.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403112553.htm Scientists show that many insect groups like beetles and butterflies have fantastic numbers of species because these groups are so old. In contrast, less diverse groups, like mammals and birds, are evolutionarily younger. This is a surprisingly simple answer to a fundamental biological puzzle. Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403112553.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070328155632.htm A new, complete 'tree of life' tracing the history of all 4,500 mammals on Earth shows that they did not diversify as a result of the death of the dinosaurs, says new research published in Nature. Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070328155632.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070314195448.htm An international team of American and Chinese paleontologists has discovered a new species of mammal that lived 125 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era, in what is now the Hebei Province in China. Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070314195448.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070307152957.htm Humans acquired pubic lice from gorillas several million years ago, but this seemingly seedy connection does not mean that monkey business went on with the great apes, a new University of Florida study finds. Thu, 08 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070307152957.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218141435.htm Modern human mothers are probably happy that they typically have one, maybe two babies at a time, but for early hominids, low birth numbers combined with competition often spelled extinction. "The lineages of primates have some traits that make it hard for them to respond to rapid perturbations in the environment," says Dr. Nina G. Jablonski, professor of anthropology and department head at Penn State. "Through time we see a lot of lineages become extinct when environments where the species are found become highly seasonal or unpredictable." Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218141435.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070207171908.htm The largest climate change in central North America since the age of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, a temperature drop of nearly 15 degrees Fahrenheit, is documented within the fossilized teeth of horses and other plant-eating mammals, a new study reveals. Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070207171908.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070123105055.htm The earliest branches of primate evolution are more ancient by 10 million years than previous studies estimated, according to an article featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers reconstructed the base of the primate family tree by comparing skeletal and fossil specimens representing more than 85 modern and extinct species. The team also discovered two 56-million-year-old fossils, including the most primitive primate skeleton ever described. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070123105055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070116205139.htm Removing large herbivorous mammals from the African savanna can cause a dramatic shift in the relative abundance of species throughout the food chain, according to scientists from Stanford University, Princeton University and the University of California-Davis. Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070116205139.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070115215640.htm A simple theoretical model provides a framework to understand carnivore energy budgets and reveals insights into the evolution of body size in mammalian carnivores. Tue, 16 Jan 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070115215640.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061219180534.htm An international team led by University of Adelaide palaeontologist Trevor Worthy has discovered a unique, primitive type of land mammal that lived at least 16 million years ago on New Zealand. The discovery of tiny fossilised bones of a mouselike creature in the Central Otago region is the first hard evidence that New Zealand once had its own indigenous land mammals. The finding could prompt a major rewrite of prehistory textbooks, say scientists. Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061219180534.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061218094135.htm An American Museum of Natural History paleontologist and his colleagues have named a new order of mammals based on their description of a fossil of a bat- or squirrel-sized Mesozoic mammal, called Volaticotherium antiquus (meaning "ancient gliding beast"), which was capable of gliding flight. The rock beds that yielded the fossil date to at least 125 million years ago, so the new fossil extends the earliest record for gliding flight in mammals by 70 million years or more and indicates that mammals experimented with gliding flight and aerial life at about the same time that birds first took to the skies, possibly even earlier. Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061218094135.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061213104202.htm Small but remarkable fossils found in New Zealand will prompt a major rewrite of prehistory textbooks, showing for the first time that the so-called "land of birds" was once home to mammals as well. Thu, 14 Dec 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061213104202.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061017084321.htm The fossil of a newly described species of extinct, dwarf water buffalo was found in the Philippine island of Cebu. While large domestic water buffalo stand six feet at the shoulder and weigh 2,000 pounds, B. cebuensis would have stood only two-and-one-half feet and weighed about 350 pounds. 	 Bubalus cebuensis, which evolved from a large-sized continental ancestor to dwarf size, is the first well-supported example of 'island dwarfing' among cattle and their relatives. Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061017084321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061018094016.htm For the first time, researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, have been able to put a name and a description to an ancient mammal that still defies classification. Mon, 23 Oct 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061018094016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012184910.htm A gene that makes cells in the eye receptive to light is missing in humans, researchers have discovered. They say that whereas some animals like birds, fish and amphibians have two versions of this photoreceptor, mammals, including humans, only have one. Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012184910.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920191637.htm Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have discovered a unique evolutionary link between the immune systems of fish and mammals in the form of a primitive version of B cells, white blood cells of the immune system. Unlike mammalian B cells, which produce antibodies, these "killer" B cells actually ingest foreign particles and microbes. The finding represents a sizeable evolutionary step and offers a potential strategy for developing needed fish vaccines. Sat, 23 Sep 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920191637.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809233342.htm Fossils of a new hoofed mammal that resembles a cross between a dog and a hare which once roamed the Andes Mountains in southern Bolivia around 13 million years ago was discovered by Darin A. Croft, assistant professor of anatomy at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a research associate at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Thu, 10 Aug 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809233342.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060713233840.htm A massive dinosaur death bed in Alberta has helped map out the animal's life span and thrown doubt on long-held theories about how one species lived, says new research conducted in part at the University of Alberta. Thu, 13 Jul 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060713233840.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060712073816.htm If you think dinosaurs are hot today, just think back to about 110 million years ago when they really ran hot and heavy. Wed, 12 Jul 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060712073816.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060711091716.htm A model based on growth trajectories estimated from fossils provides evidence that dinosaurs were reptiles whose body temperatures increased systematically with increasing body size, according to a study. Tue, 11 Jul 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060711091716.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060614090123.htm The first images of a live specimen of a small, furry animal once believed to have gone extinct more than 11 million years ago have been captured during a Southeast Asian expedition led by a retired Florida State University researcher of Tallahassee, Fla. Wed, 14 Jun 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060614090123.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060523092737.htm When ancient whales finally parted company with the last remnants of their legs about 35 million years ago, a relatively sudden genetic event may have crowned an eons-long shrinking process. An international group of scientists led by Hans Thewissen, Ph.D., a professor of anatomy at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, has used developmental data from contemporary spotted dolphins and fossils of ancient whales to try to pinpoint the genetic changes that could have caused whales, dolphins and porpoises to lose their hind limbs. Tue, 23 May 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060523092737.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060505084954.htm New research shows that pre-historic horses in Alaska may have been hunted into extinction by man, rather than by climate change as previously thought. The discovery by Andrew Solow of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, US, David Roberts of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew and Karen Robbirt of the University of East Anglia (UEA) is published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Fri, 05 May 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060505084954.htm