Reptilian Mammal Fossil Found!
Evolution is perhaps coolest when we can discover examples of its transitional phases, and this little guy whose cranium was discovered nearly intact in Utah fits that bill. Small but mighty, he weighed in at under three pounds and stood only about three inches tall. He could probably give you a nasty bite on your ankle…
Resembling fossils previously found only in Eurasia and North Africa, the 130-million year old remains indicate that the supercontinent Pangea held together for about 15 million years, considerably longer than previously suspected, allowing for the spread of early mammals such as these and for their exploration of ecological niches. Cifelliodon wahkarmoosuch here was fur covered and suckled their young but laid eggs, similar to the modern-day platypus.
Described as snout-bearing and catlike with buck teeth, the critter was discovered by accident amidst a cluster of larger dinosaur bones as they were being extracted, under the foot of one of them…ouch! Just don’t dig up your basement looking for another one…
Explore posts in the same categories: animals, discoveries, evolution, extinct species, furry, scienceTags: reptilian mammal, scientific findings
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
FOXSYLVANIA 
June 3, 2018 at 3:28 pm
You know, I long ago came to the conclusion that if a day on Earth is like the blink of an eye in Heaven, why couldn’t millions of years on Earth seem less than a week to God?
Of course, such a sensible middle ground is bound to be hated by the narrow-minded extremists who have too much invested in the respective Schools of Thought they headmaster (Strict Creationism vs. Purely Random Evolution).*
*And I apologize in advance if this attracts too many hostile rebuttals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2018 at 10:46 am
It’s easy enough for people to get so drawn into themselves that they get an exaggerated idea of their own importance and permanence. The seventy plus years or so of time that constitute an individual human life is as a fleeting moment in geologic time, and planets and solar systems too have their span. The mind gets boggled, but it’s a humbling consideration. “All we are is dust in the wind,” as Kansas (I think) sang…
LikeLike
June 5, 2018 at 7:08 pm
They did. Unfortunately, Walsh and Livgren aren’t in Kansas, anymore.
LikeLike
June 5, 2018 at 8:43 pm
Dorothy wasn’t for a time, either… (goes off to see the Wizard)
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2018 at 12:46 pm
GOOD ONE! 🙂
LikeLike