Ancestor of All Placental Mammals Revealed 123
sciencehabit writes "The ancestor of all placental mammals—the diverse lineage that includes almost all species of mammals living today, including humans—was a tiny, furry-tailed creature that evolved shortly after the dinosaurs disappeared, a new study suggests. The hypothetical creature, not found in the fossil record but inferred from it, probably was a tree-climbing, insect-eating mammal that weighed between 6 and 245 grams—somewhere between a small shrew and a mid-sized rat. It was furry, had a long tail, gave birth to a single young, and had a complex brain with a large lobe for interpreting smells and a corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain. The period following the dinosaur die-offs could be considered a 'big bang' of mammalian diversification, with species representing as many as 10 major groups of placentals appearing within a 200,000-year interval."
Pics or it didn't happen (Score:1, Funny)
Just sayin'.
Re:More Info Please... (Score:5, Funny)
Here's what may have happened [youtube.com] to the little guy...
i feel a disney movie (Score:5, Funny)
The rough group of placentals from the wrong side of the tracks has a young placental who falls in love with a nice placental from the meadow.. but their parents disapprove...
Typical Redneck Response (Score:2, Funny)
Re:No intermediate steps to prove! (Score:0, Funny)
JJ Abrams To Direct "Placenta Matriarch" (Score:2, Funny)
1. Scientists describe new evolutionary theory to assembled dignitaries from across the universe
2. Leading Anti-Evolutionist looks really pissed.
3. Cut to scene of Anti-Evolutionist ships massing over a lush, green planet
4. Lens flare
5. Anti-Evolutionist soldiers shoot all sorts of ray gun zappers at the scientists below, shouting "Die, wasters of money!"
6. Lens flare
7. After wicked battle, scientists are rescued by Yoda-trained hero.
8. Lens flare
9. Leader of Anti-Evolutionist armies wails in frustration, shouting "That is NOT evidence!!!"
10. Lens flare
11. Anti-Evolutionist armies plot massive attack from Death Stars.
12. Lens fare.
13. Great place to end Part One so that everyone needs to see Part Two in a few years.