Newly Discovered: Animal Fossils

[Comfortably Numb]

A squid fossil offers a rare record of pterosaur feeding behavior

A tooth embedded in a squid fossil tells a story of a battle at sea with the flying reptile

Source: Science News
Date: 27 January, 2020

A fossil of a squid with a pterosaur tooth embedded in it offers extraordinary evidence of a 150-million-year-old battle at sea. While many pterosaur fossils containing fish scales and bones in their stomachs have revealed that some of these flying reptiles included fish in their diet, the new find from Germany is the first proof that pterosaurs also hunted squid.

The fossil was excavated in 2012 in the Solnhofen Limestone, near Eichstätt in Bavaria, where many Jurassic Period fossils of pterosaurs, small dinosaurs and the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx, have been found. The region’s environment at the time was something like the Bahamas today, with low-lying islands dotting shallow tropical seas.

The embedded tooth fits the right size and shape for the pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus, paleontologists report online January 27 in Scientific Reports. They argue that the tooth was left by a pterosaur that swooped to the ocean surface to snap up the 30-centimeter-long squid from the extinct Plesioteuthis genus, but was unsuccessful, possibly because the squid was too large or too far down in the water column for the predator to manage.

https://www-sciencenews-org.cdn.amp...3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

 

[Comfortably Numb]

New thalattosaur species discovered in Southeast Alaska

Source: heritagedaily.com/University of Alaska Fairbanks
Date: 4 February, 2020

Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have identified a new species of thalattosaur, a marine reptile that lived more than 200 million years ago.

The new species, Gunakadeit joseeae, is the most complete thalattosaur ever found in North America and has given paleontologists new insights about the thalattosaurs’ family tree, according to a paper published today in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientists found the fossil in Southeast Alaska in 2011.

Thalattosaurs were marine reptiles that lived more than 200 million years ago, during the mid to late Triassic Period, when their distant relatives — dinosaurs — were first emerging. They grew to lengths of up to 3-4 meters and lived in equatorial oceans worldwide until they died out near the end of the Triassic.

“When you find a new species, one of the things you want to do is tell people where you think it fits in the family tree,” said Patrick Druckenmiller, the paper’s lead author and director and earth sciences curator at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. “We decided to start from scratch on the family tree.”

Prior to the discovery of Gunakadeit joseeae, it had been two decades since scientists had thoroughly updated thalattosaur interrelationships, Druckenmiller said. The process of re-examining a prehistoric animal’s family tree involves analyzing dozens and dozens of detailed anatomical features from fossil specimens worldwide, then using computers to analyze the information to see how the different species could be related.

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/02/new-thalattosaur-species-discovered-in-southeast-alaska/125653

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Rare fossil of bone-crushing crocodile cousin found in Brazil

The prehistoric reptile likely played a surprising but vital role in its Triassic ecosystem.

Source: National Geographic
Date: 5 February, 2020

This newly discovered species of prehistoric reptile, called Dynamosuchus collisensi, lived 230 million years ago during the Triassic period. Its back was protected by two rows of dermal bones.

Rodrigo Müller was working a block of rock and dirt at the base of Agudo Hill, an hour from Porto Alegre, when he first saw an unusual set of osteoderms, bony deposits that form plates on the skin of a reptile or amphibian.

“It was a surprise, because we had never seen anything like this in Brazil before,” Müller, a paleontologist at the Federal University of Santa Maria, says of what was otherwise an ordinary visit to the Janner dig site, once home to some of the earliest dinosaurs to roam Earth.

As he continued his delicate work, he brushed dirt from an intact cranium and several other fossilized bones. Together, the collection formed a well-preserved and almost complete skeleton of a rare Ornithosuchidae reptile, a family considered cousins to today’s crocodiles and alligators that had been previously recorded only in Argentina and Scotland.

https://api-nationalgeographic-com....ferrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$

 

[Comfortably Numb]

THIS 99-MILLION-YEAR-OLD DINOSAUR TAIL TRAPPED IN AMBER HINTS AT FEATHER EVOLUTION

Source: archaeology-world.com
Date: 5 February, 2020

A feathered dinosaur’s tail has been found in Myanmar amber perfectly preserved. The one-of – a-kind breakthrough helps to put a new perspective on the evolution of a group that dominant in the world for more than 160 million years.

The examination of the specimen suggests the tail was chestnut brown on top and white on its underside. The tail is described in the journal Current Biology.

“This is the first time we’ve found dinosaur material preserved in amber,” co-author Ryan McKellar, of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada, told the BBC News website. The study’s first author, Lida Xing from the China University of Geosciences in Beijing, discovered the remarkable fossil at an amber market in Myitkina, Myanmar.

The 99-million-year-old amber had already been polished for jewellery and the seller had thought it was plant material. On closer inspection, however, it turned out to be the tail of a feathered dinosaur about the size of a sparrow.

Lida Xing was able to establish where it had come from by tracking down the amber miner who had originally dug out the specimen. Dr. McKellar said examination of the tail’s anatomy showed it definitely belonged to a feathered dinosaur and not an ancient bird.

https://www.archaeology-world.com/t...-trapped-in-amber-hints-at-feather-evolution/

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Bizarre' turtle managed to survive asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs

Source: Fox News / Scientific Reports
Date: 6 February, 2020

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago also caused nearly 75 percent of all species on the planet to go extinct. However, a new study suggests one "bizarre" form of life managed to survive — a land turtle.

Fossils of the turtle, known as Laurasichersis relicta, were recently discovered in northern France. The fossils date to around 56 million years ago, 10 million years after the asteroid hit Earth in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The asteroid may have also acidified Earth's oceans, according to a study published in October 2019.

At this point, it's unclear why or how L. relicta survived the impact blast, according to the study's lead author, palaeontologist Adán Pérez García. "The reason why Laurasichersis survived the great extinction, while none of the other primitive North American, European or Asian land turtles managed to do so, remains a mystery," Pérez García said in a statement.

https://www-foxnews-com.cdn.ampproj...-turtle-survived-asteroid-wiped-out-dinosaurs

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Although not an arthropod, OK to tag-on here?

Rare lizard fossil preserved in amber

Source: heritagedaily.com
Date: 27 February, 2020

Researchers at the University of Bonn are investigating the conservation status of the reptile, which is up to 20 million years old.

The tiny forefoot of a lizard of the genus Anolis was trapped in amber about 15 to 20 million years ago. Every detail of this rare fossil is visible under the microscope. But the seemingly very good condition is deceptive: The bone is largely decomposed and chemically transformed, very little of the original structure remains.

How do fossils stay preserved for millions of years? Rapid embedding is an important prerequisite for protecting the organisms from access by scavengers, for example. Decomposition by microorganisms can for instance be prevented by extreme aridity. In addition, the original substance is gradually replaced by minerals.

The pressure from the sediment on top of the fossil ensures that the fossil is solidified. “That’s the theory,” says Jonas Barthel, a doctoral student at the Institute for Geosciences at the University of Bonn. “How exactly fossilization proceeds is currently the subject of intensive scientific investigation.”

Amber is considered an excellent preservative. Small animals can be enclosed in a drop of tree resin that hardens over time. A team of geoscientists from the University of Bonn has now examined an unusual find from the Dominican Republic: The tiny forefoot of a lizard of the genus Anolis is enclosed in a piece of amber only about two cubic centimeters in size. Anolis species still exist today.

Vertebrate inclusions in amber are very rare.

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/02/rare-lizard-fossil-preserved-in-amber/125916

 

[Lord Lucan]

New Australian Lion found, thought to be 23 million years old. Handsome looking creatures...

New genus of Australian lion discovered in Queensland's Riversleigh World Heritage fossil site

A marsupial lion that, in its heyday, would have had some animals "shaking in their boots", has been confirmed as a new genus.

Key points:

• The new genus of marsupial lion was previously believed to be part of Priscileo roskellyae (Thylacoleonidae) but has been found to be a different supremely specialised carnivore
• All of Riversleigh's lions are characterised by the same impressive teeth capable of slicing straight through bones
• Researchers say climate variation in the fossil record at Riversleigh was "the best way to predict the future"

Lekaneleo, nicknamed Leo, was at home to Adels Grove and the Riversleigh World Heritage area, a short 23 million years ago.

The area is a significant fossil site, once visited by Sir David Attenborough.

The cat was about the size of today's domestic cats, and it was previously believed to be part of the Priscileo roskellyae (Thylacoleonidae) genus because of its teeth — with three premolars and four molars — and because of its relatively small size.

A research paper authored by University of New South Wales' Anna Gillespie, Michael Archer, and Suzanne Hand has detailed the reclassification which Dr Archer said was one of "the exciting ones".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-28/australian-lion-discovered-in-outback-queensland/12007324

 

[Jim]

New Australian Lion found, thought to be 23 million years old. Handsome looking creatures...

View attachment 23823

New genus of Australian lion discovered in Queensland's Riversleigh World Heritage fossil site

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-28/australian-lion-discovered-in-outback-queensland/12007324

Interesting display of how similar (yet completely unrelated) animals evolve and converge to fill similar niches. The Australian lion outworldly looks like just another big cat i.e.: lions, tigers, pumas, etc. Wonder if the lion ever had it out with megalania.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

This 500 million-year-old 'social network' may have helped sea monsters clone themselves

Source: livescience.com
Date: 5 March, 2020

Rangeomorphs dominated the seafloor for millions of years, despite having no mouths, guts or way to move around. Part of their success may have been owed to a "social network" of string-like filaments connecting individual members, a new study suggests. (Image credit: Sarah Collins (Cambridge University))

Some of the earliest animals on Earth may have used social networks to chat with each other, review food — and yes — maybe even sext. (See: communicate with each other, share nutrients and possibly reproduce.)

In a study published Thursday (March 5) in the journal Current Biology, researchers looked at hundreds of rangeomorphs — bizarre, fern-like animals that lived in large colonies on the bottom of the ocean from about 571 million to 541 million years ago — fossilized along the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. To the team's surprise, many of the fossil specimens appeared to be connected to each other by long, string-like filaments never seen among animals this old. Individual filaments spanned anywhere from a few inches to 13 feet (4 meters) in length and connected rangeomorphs from seven different species, forming what lead study author Alexander Liu called a primitive "social network" of deep-sea dwellers.

https://www.livescience.com/amp/rangeomorph-fossils-social-network-filaments.html

 

[Swifty]

This is awesome.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Baby bird discovered in 99-million-year-old amber with feathers, colour intact
Updated 15 minutes ago - source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-09/baby-bird-discovered-in-99-million-year-old-amber/8603798

Scientists in Myanmar have discovered what they describe as the "most complete" fossil of a baby bird ever recovered from the Cretaceous period, trapped in 99-million-year-old amber.

The hatchling, complete with feathers, claws, skin and soft tissue around the eyelid and external opening of the ear, is believed to be a species from a group of birds called enantiornitheans that went extinct about 65 million years ago.

Almost all enantiornitheans had teeth, and each finger within the wing contained a claw.

In a paper published in Gondwana Research the scientists said the find offered new insight into "the most species-rich clade of pre-modern birds" to have ever existed.

"The new amber specimen yields the most complete view of hatchling plumage and integument yet to be recovered from the Cretaceous," the paper said.

Based on the presence of "flight feathers" ranging in colour from white to brown and dark grey, the bird is thought to have been capable of flight at or very soon after birth, but became trapped in amber at just a few days old.

"The plumage preserves an unusual combination of [developed] and [undeveloped] features unlike any living hatchling bird," the paper said.

Researchers believed the early ability to fly would have helped the birds flee predators, but the high number of young enantiornitheans in the fossil record suggested their independence came at a cost.

The Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar where the specimen was found is known for its rich amber deposits and is believed to contain the largest variety of animal and plant fossils from the Cretaceous period, 145.5 to 65.5 million years ago.

In 2016, a feathered dinosaur tail was discovered in a piece of amber that had been purchased in 2014 from a market in Myanmar, where it was being sold as jewellery.

"[I thought we had] just a pair of feet and some feathers before it underwent CT imaging. It was a big, big, big surprise after that," research team co-leader Lida Xing said of that discovery.

Dr Xing is one of five scientists credited with discovering the dinosaur tail in 2016, involved with the latest discovery of the enantiornithean fossil.

Not a fossil but the head of a tiny bird/dinosaur discovered in amber ..

 

[Lord Lucan]

Not one but three new species found in Morocco...

Scientists discover three new species of pterosaurs in the Sahara

Scientists have discovered three new species of flying reptiles that lived in the Sahara 100m years ago.

Prof David Martill, a palaeontologist at the University of Portsmouth, made the discovery with a team of researchers from Morocco and the US.

The study, published in the Cretaceous Research journal, has revealed a community of pterosaurs that inhabited prehistoric Morocco.

A university spokeswoman said: “The new finds show that African pterosaurs were quite similar to those found on other continents.

“These flying predators soared above a world dominated by predators, including crocodile-like hunters and carnivorous dinosaurs. Interestingly, herbivores such as sauropods and ornithischian dinosaurs are rare.

https://www.theguardian.com/science...three-new-species-of-pterosaurs-in-the-sahara

 

[ramonmercado]

Not having ears made it easier for them to go clubbing.

An ancient seal tooth found at a beach in Australia suggests earless seals rolled around on sandy beaches three million years ago, scientists have said.

Researchers believe the fossil belongs to a monachine seal, an extinct sea mammal.
The specimen is thought to be only the second earless seal fossil ever discovered in the country. The researchers said their study, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, indicates falling sea levels were likely to have played a role in the extinction of these ancient mammal

James Rule, a PhD candidate from Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences and study leader, said:

“This tooth, roughly three million years old, tells a story similar to what occurred in South Africa and South America in the past. Earless monachine seals used to dominate southern beaches and waters, and then suddenly disappeared, with eared seals replacing them. Since seal fossils are rare globally, this discovery makes a vital contribution to our understanding of this iconic group of sea mammals.”

https://www.irishexaminer.com/break...ess-seals-three-million-years-ago-992134.html

​

 

[Jim]

Although not a new find, I found this article on what may be the largest arthropod in history an interesting read.
https://www.realclearscience.com/jo...thropod_rivals_largest_in_history_109127.html

 

[Nemo]

Ancient ocean-going crocodiles mimicked whales and dolphins

Deadly prehistoric crocodiles mimicked the shape and senses of whales and dolphins to dominate Jurassic seas, new research has found.

The extinct crocodiles, thalattosuchia, evolved from their land-living ancestors to become fast swimming predators.

They adapted their limbs into flippers, streamlined their bodies and formed fluked tails to help them move powerfully through the water.

Experts from the University of Edinburgh have also found they adapted a part of the inner ear, responsible for balance and equilibrium, as they gradually adjusted to their new ocean home 170m years ago.

(C) The Guardian '20

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Ancient 'crazy beast' from Madagascar had mismatched body and teeth from 'outer space'

Scientists can't even figure out how this weirdo walked.

Source: livescience.com
Date: 29 April, 2020

The oldest complete mammal fossil from the Southern Hemisphere is puzzling scientists with its mismatched body, strange skull holes and teeth that look like they're "from outer space."

The new fossil, reported today (April 29) in the journal Nature, is the oldest (and only) nearly complete skeleton from an extinct group of mammals known as Gondwanatherians. This mysterious bunch lived alongside the dinosaurs on the southern supercontinent of Gondwana. They're known from a smattering of teeth and bone fragments, a single skull and the new, remarkable skeleton of an animal whose discoverers have dubbed the "crazy beast."

The fossil is from northwestern Madagascar and dates back 66 million years, to the end of the Cretaceous period. Madagascar was already an island at the time, having drifted away from Africa by 88 million years ago, and the animals that lived there were completely bizarre, said David Krause, the senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, who led the new research.

https://www.livescience.com/amp/ancient-bizarre-mammal-madagascar.html

 

[Nemo]

Heres its direct desendent

 

[Jim]

Ancient 'crazy beast' from Madagascar had mismatched body and teeth from 'outer space'

Scientists can't even figure out how this weirdo walked.

Source: livescience.com
Date: 29 April, 2020

The oldest complete mammal fossil from the Southern Hemisphere is puzzling scientists with its mismatched body, strange skull holes and teeth that look like they're "from outer space."

The new fossil, reported today (April 29) in the journal Nature, is the oldest (and only) nearly complete skeleton from an extinct group of mammals known as Gondwanatherians. This mysterious bunch lived alongside the dinosaurs on the southern supercontinent of Gondwana. They're known from a smattering of teeth and bone fragments, a single skull and the new, remarkable skeleton of an animal whose discoverers have dubbed the "crazy beast."

The fossil is from northwestern Madagascar and dates back 66 million years, to the end of the Cretaceous period. Madagascar was already an island at the time, having drifted away from Africa by 88 million years ago, and the animals that lived there were completely bizarre, said David Krause, the senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, who led the new research.

https://www.livescience.com/amp/ancient-bizarre-mammal-madagascar.html

Looks a bit like a badger (from the outside anyways). Interesting point, islands can form very unique ecosystems.
Not to differ from the above but small land dwelling crocodiles existed on certain Pacific island's (New Caledonia and Valu) until relatively recently when they were hunted to extinction by humans only a few thpusand years ago..
https://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/05/13/mekosuchines-2009

 

[Comfortably Numb]

A squid attack that went awry

Rare fossil captures an ancient confrontation

Source: cosmosmagazine.com
Date: 07 May, 2020

MALCOLM HART, PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION

These seemingly benign images may in fact show the oldest known example of a squid-like creature attacking its prey – unsuccessfully.

The fossil, which dates back almost 200 million years, was found on the coast of southern England in the 19th century and is currently housed by the British Geological Survey in Nottingham.

In a new analysis, researchers say it appears to show a creature – which they have identified as Clarkeiteuthis montefiorei – with a herring-like fish (Dorsetichthys bechei) in its jaws.

The position of the arms, alongside the body of the fish, suggests this is not a fortuitous quirk of fossilisation, they say, but a rare recording of an actual palaeobiological event.

“It points to a particularly violent attack which ultimately appears to have caused the death, and subsequent preservation, of both animals," says Malcolm Hart from the University of Plymouth, UK, lead author of a paper scheduled for publication in the journal Proceedings of the Geologists' Association.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/a-squid-attack-that-went-awry

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Giant Sloth Death Pit Reveals Death By Feces Ingestion

Source: ancient-origins.net
Date: 6 May, 2020

The fossilized remains of 22 Ice Age, elephant sized sloths have been found preserved in 20,000-year-old asphalt in Ecuador. The discovery of this giant sloth death pit is revealing a virtual Bible of new evolutionary facts.

The ancient remains were found in Tanque Loma paleontological site, also known as Arroyo Seco, on the northern side of the Santa Elena Peninsula (SEP) in southwest Ecuador. 20,000 years ago this region was a dense marshland and the team of researchers found that the 22 giant sloths had died after “consuming their own feces”, before being preserved in the death pit by encroaching asphalt seeping up from the ground.

[...]

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/giant-sloth-death-pit-0013675

 

[Jim]

Giant Sloth Death Pit Reveals Death By Feces Ingestion

Source: ancient-origins.net
Date: 6 May, 2020

The fossilized remains of 22 Ice Age, elephant sized sloths have been found preserved in 20,000-year-old asphalt in Ecuador. The discovery of this giant sloth death pit is revealing a virtual Bible of new evolutionary facts.

The ancient remains were found in Tanque Loma paleontological site, also known as Arroyo Seco, on the northern side of the Santa Elena Peninsula (SEP) in southwest Ecuador. 20,000 years ago this region was a dense marshland and the team of researchers found that the 22 giant sloths had died after “consuming their own feces”, before being preserved in the death pit by encroaching asphalt seeping up from the ground.

[...]

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/giant-sloth-death-pit-0013675

What a way to go! But come to think of it when young my dog would do this. My son actually got it on video (instead of letting her know this is not preferred behavior). He just laughed his head off and so did I once he showed my the video. As soon as the dog would poop it immediately spun around and ate it.

 

[Mythopoeika]

What a way to go! But come to think of it when young my dog would do this. My son actually got it on video (instead of letting her know this is not preferred behavior). He just laughed his head off and so did I once he showed my the video. As soon as the dog would poop it immediately spun around and ate it.

 

[ramonmercado]

Sabre-toothed Anchovies! I can see it as a horror film.

When dinosaurs and other large predators went extinct some 66 million years ago, lots of creatures evolved to take their place. But unlike the plankton-hunting anchovies we eat in Caesar salads today, some ancient anchovies evolved into fish-eating predators, according to a new study.

Researchers examined a 30-centimeter-long fossil embedded in a rock formation near Chièvres, Belgium, and another partial fossil from Pakistan’s Punjab province. They were between 41 million and 54 million years old, and both shared a peculiar feature: a single saber tooth on the upper jaw.

To get high-resolution images of the fish skulls, the researchers used micro–computed tomography—a scaled-down version of the technique doctors use to scan your body in the hospital. The images revealed rows of fangs on the fishes’ lower jaws and a pointy saber tooth on the upper jaw. The fossil from Pakistan was a new species, and researchers named it Monosmilus chureloides after the churel—a shapeshifting creature with sharp fangs that features in many South Asian legends.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/saber-toothed-anchovies-roamed-oceans-45-million-years-ago

 

[Lord Lucan]

Hop to it, there's another record breaker in town!

Aus university team discovers nearly 300kg kangaroo fossil

A joint effort between the University of Melbourne and Queensland Museum, the palaeontological dig has unearthed fossils of two new extinct Australian megafaunas. The two species, a 2.5- metre, 274kg kangaroo and 6-metre lizard, are estimated to have lived in the northern parts of Australia 40 000 years ago.

The mammoth marsupial is officially the largest kangaroo of all time, says Scott Hocknull, paleontologist with the Queensland Museum and honorary faculty member at the University of Melbourne.


“While the rest of the world had giant carnivores like sabre-toothed cats, bears, and hyenas, Australia’s predators were mostly giant reptiles, including an extinct freshwater croc around seven meters long, a relation to the modern saltwater crocodile, and a land-dwelling crocodile,” he said on the university website.

https://www.australiantimes.co.uk/news/aus-university-team-discovers-nearly-300kg-kangaroo-fossil/

 

[ramonmercado]

Now it's a black bear sized wombat.

A new wombat-like species that lived around 25 million years ago has been discovered in Australia.

Named Mukupirna nambensis, the “powerful beast” was at least five times larger than living wombats, about the size of a black bear, and weighed around 150kg (330lbs).

The fossil, consisting of a partial skull and most of the skeleton, was unearthed from Lake Eyre Basin of South Australia and is thought to be to one of the oldest known marsupials discovered in the country to date.

Researchers say their findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, adds to the understanding of modern wombats and the evolution of their characteristic burrowing behaviour.

Pip Brewer, who is the Natural History Museum’s interim collections task force manager and one of the study authors, said: “Mukupirna reveals a fascinating mix of characteristics and provides evidence of a close link between wombats and an extinct group of marsupials called wynyardiids.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/break...-that-lived-25-million-years-ago-1007405.html

 

[ramonmercado]

Funky Gibbon ancestor.

While searching for primate fossils in northern India, paleontologist Christopher Gilbert noticed something small and shiny poking out of the dirt. It turned out to be a roughly 13-million-year-old molar from a small-bodied ape related to modern gibbons.

The tooth is the oldest known fossil from a gibbon ancestor, says Gilbert, of Hunter College at the City University of New York. He and colleagues assigned the fossil, which was eroding out of previously dated sediment at a site called Ramnagar, to a new genus and species, Kapi ramnagarensis.

This roughly 13-million-year-old molar tooth (shown from above) was found in India and is the oldest known fossil from a gibbon ancestor.C. GILBERT

Until now, the oldest remains of an ancient gibbon species consisted of a small number of teeth found in China, which date from around 7 million to 9 million years ago. Possibly older fossils of a gibbonlike creature are controversial (SN: 10/29/15). Genetic studies of living primates have suggested that gibbon ancestors emerged by at least 20 million years ago in Africa.

After finding the Ramnagar molar in 2015, Gilbert’s team compared it with corresponding teeth of living and extinct apes and monkeys. Features including low, rounded cusps on the edges of the chewing surface link the ancient tooth to modern gibbons and the gibbon predecessor in China, the scientists report September 9 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. ...

https://www.sciencenews.org/article...tm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest_Headlines

 

[Jim]

Not sure about using this tread but I couldn't find a tread for pre-dinosaurs findings? Anyways a relatively new find a giant amphibian lived in what's now modern day Portugal.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/tec...ed-in-portuguese-fossil-find/article23589908/

 

[EnolaGaia]

... I couldn't find a tread for pre-dinosaurs findings?

You're there now ...
The current catch-all location for animal fossil discoveries is this thread, to which your post has been moved.

 

[Jim]

Size comparison of humans vs. prehistoric terapod amphibians.

 

[EnolaGaia]

This prehistoric creature was originally thought to have been a burrowing reptile. New research and evidence has led to a new interpretation as an arboreal amphibian - and the earliest known vertebrate to catch prey with a long tongue (like, e.g., a chameleon).

An ancient amphibian is the oldest known animal with a slingshot tongue

A tiny amphibian that lived 99 million years ago had a secret weapon: A tongue that shot out of its mouth like a bullet to snatch its prey. It’s the earliest known example of this “ballistic tongue” style of predation, researchers say.

The amphibian is a new species, represented by a few tiny bits of skeleton and soft tissue discovered in chunks of Myanmar amber. The centerpiece of these finds is a newly discovered complete skull, exquisitely preserved in 3-D, that includes a long thin bone connected to the creature’s neck, with some remnants of tongue attached to the end.

The creature, which measured just 52 millimeters long from snout to pelvis (not including a tail), used this bone to shoot its tongue out of its mouth and catch prey. This “sit-and-wait” style of predation is similar to that of a modern chameleon, researchers report in the Nov. 6 Science.

Led by paleontologist Juan Daza of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, the team dubbed the creature Yaksha perettii. “Yaksha” is a type of nature spirit in Myanmar folklore, thought to protect the roots of trees, and “perettii” is in honor of Swiss mineralogist Adolf Peretti, who discovered the fossil. ...

FULL STORY:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-amphibian-oldest-known-animal-slingshot-tongue

PUBLISHED REPORT:
A surprising fossil vertebrate
David B. Wake
Science 06 Nov 2020:
Vol. 370, Issue 6517, pp. 654-655

DOI: 10.1126/science.abe7826

ABSTRACT Accessible At:
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6517/654

 

[EnolaGaia]

Newly published research based on extensive finds in India supports the hypothesis that the ancestors of hoofed horses, rhinos and tapirs evolved in what is now India at or around the time when the subcontinent was an isolated island drifting northward toward collision and merger with the Asian land mass.

Indian Fossils Support New Hypothesis for Origin of the Horse, Rhino, and Tapir

New research published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology describes a fossil family that illuminates the origin of perissodactyls — the group of mammals that includes horses, rhinos, and tapirs. It provides insights on the controversial question of where these hoofed animals evolved, concluding that they arose in or near present-day India.

With more than 350 new fossils, the 15-year study pieces together a nearly complete picture of the skeletal anatomy of the Cambaytherium — an extinct cousin of perissodactyls that lived on the Indian subcontinent almost 55 million years ago.

Among the findings includes a sheep-sized animal with moderate running ability and features that were intermediate between specialized perissodactyls and their more generalized mammal forerunners. Comparing its bones with many other living and extinct mammals, revealed that Cambaytherium represents an evolutionary stage more primitive than any known perissodactyl, supporting origin for the group in or near India — before they dispersed to other continents when the land connection with Asia formed. ...

“The modern orders Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates), Perissodactyla, and Primates appeared abruptly at the beginning of the Eocene around 56 million years ago across the Northern Hemisphere, but their geographic source has remained a mystery,” explained Ken Rose, emeritus professor at Johns Hopkins University and lead author of the study.

Prof. Rose became intrigued by a new hypothesis suggesting that perissodactyls may have evolved in isolation in India. Then India was an island continent drifting northwards, but it later collided with the continent of Asia to form a continuous landmass. ...

FULL STORY:
https://scitechdaily.com/indian-fos...esis-for-origin-of-the-horse-rhino-and-tapir/

PUBLISHED REPORT (Complete):
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2020.1761370