By Mike Cummings
November 2, 2020
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Filikomys primaevus’ powerful shoulders and elbows suggest it was a burrowing mammal. Art by Misaki Ouchida.
The fossil remains of several small mammals discovered in tightly packed clusters in western Montana provide the earliest evidence of social behavior in mammals, according to a new study co-authored by a Yale scientist.
The fossils, which are about 75.5 million years old but exquisitely preserved, offer a rare glimpse into mammalian behavior during the Late Cretaceous Period when dinosaurs dominated, and indicate that mammals developed sociality much earlier than previously thought, said Eric Sargis, professor of anthropology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and a co-author of the study.
CT Audubon is sponsoring the fourth annual Migration Madness bird-watching contest. Bird watching has boomed during the coronavirus pandemic, as people sought outdoor activities close to their homes.
This tiny dinosaur hunted in the dark and heard better than an owl
With unusually large eyes and hair-trigger hearing, the tiny desert-dwelling dinosaur hunted its prey at night, offering more definitive evidence that dinosaurs weren’t only active in the daytime.
It’s one of the findings of two groundbreaking studies published Thursday that examined and reconstructed the inner ears of ancient fossilized beasts and compared them with the ear canals of living animals.
The results offer intriguing insights into how dinosaurs may have experienced their world, including whether they were nocturnal hunters, attentive parents, clumsy flyers or land lubbers.