Micro-evolutionary bursts of change

The skull of an ancestor of the modern-day seacow, which lived 48.6-372 million years ago, has been discovered in Madagascar. The location of the discovery may be a new fossil bed, one which may help unlock some of the evolutionary history of the country.

Professor Karen Samonds, the scientist who unearthed the find:

“The fossils of this ancient sea cow are unique in that it has a full set of relatively unspecialized teeth whereas modern sea cows have a reduced dentition specialized for eating sea grass, and most fossil species already show some degree of reduction. It may also be the first fully aquatic sea cow; confirmation will depend on recovering more of the skeleton, especially its limbs.”