Archive for the ‘ Paleontology ’ Category

The evolution of koalas revealed

Continuing on with the “fossil skull revealing new insights into X’s evolution” line of news stories, skulls of two koala ancestors, Litokoala and Nimiokoala, have been analysed by Dr. Julien Louys from the University of New South Wales.

The analysis revealed that the mastication (chewing) apparatus of modern koalas, who subsist on a diet solely comprised of eucalyptus leaves, is much more specialised than the same apparatus in the ancestral species when compared with the distinction between the middle ears of both modern and ancestral koalas – in other words, there was more difference between the chewing mechanisms than the middle ears, suggesting that they evolved separately at different times.

You gotta love those Australian animals.

2009
12/19
CATEGORY
Evolutionary Biology
Paleontology
Science
TAGS


Write comment

Fossil of seacow ancestor discovered

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.”

2009
12/18
CATEGORY
Evolutionary Biology
Paleontology
Science
TAGS


Write comment