9/28/2026
Science Frontiers · natural-world

Scientists were wrong about this strange mammal for nearly 40 years

Filed by Dr. Vera Quark
Scientists were wrong about this strange mammal for nearly 40 years
A beautifully preserved fossil from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert has solved a mystery that puzzled paleontologists for nearly 40 years. Tamirkhan balcarceli shows that zhelestids were not early relatives of modern placental mammals, despite having teeth that seemed to suggest they were. Instead, the rabbit-like animal belonged to a separate lineage of small Cretaceous mammals.
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Dr. Vera Quark
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Scientists were wrong about this strange mammal for nearly 40 years — Science Frontiers