Fossilized molars reveal how mammals’ earliest ancestors adapted to a changing world.
Today’s mammals are the product of 200 million years of evolution, but scientists aren’t sure exactly how features of modern mammals came to be. A twin pair of studies published in the journal tackles to mysteries at once — the evolution of the mammalian molar as well as the auditory ossicles. By analyzing these features using two fossilized species from the Jurassic, the papers provide an intimate snapshot of evolution at work.
The team discovered that their molars in particular are similar to another extinct mammal group called the docodontans, pointing to the fact that they’re likely related.“When you look at the fossil record, both for mammals and many other sorts of animals, teeth are the part of the body that you are most likely to recover,” co-author Jin Meng, a curator at the American Museum of Natural History, said in a press statement.
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