A tiny, furry-tailed creature is the most complete picture yet as to what the ancestor of humans once looked like.

These new findings also suggest this forerunner appeared shortly after the catastrophe that ended the age of dinosaurs, scientists added.

http://news.yahoo.com/meet-mama-first-ancestor-placental-mammals-revealed-191137721.html

Not an entirely accurate description of the article huh?

 

A tiny, furry-tailed creature is the most complete picture yet as to what the ancestor of mice, elephants, lions, tigers, bears, whales, bats and humans once looked like, researchers say.

These new findings also suggest this forerunner of most mammals appeared shortly after the catastrophe that ended the age of dinosaurs, scientists added.

"Species like rodents and primates did not share the Earth with nonavian dinosaurs, but arose from a common ancestor — a small, insect-eating, scampering animal — shortly after the dinosaurs' demise," said researcher Maureen O'Leary at Stony Brook University in New York.

Edited February 12, 201312 yr by Moontanman

thats what i was thinking wouldnt taxonomy be involve?

thats what i was thinking wouldnt taxonomy be involve?

 

The correct quote was the one I highlighted, the animal is the artists conception of the ancestor of all placental mammals, not just humans... shrews to house cats, mice to whales... all of them...

Going only by looks, it seems gerbils have changed very little over the years.

Going only by looks, it seems gerbils have changed very little over the years.

 

 

I was thinking squirrel but the head is wrong for squirrel or gerbil... the most basal form should resemble relatively undifferentiated members of many mammalian lines. The tail is wrong for shrews, the legs are wrong for a gerbil as well, gives some real insight into early mammals i think....