A UNIQUE fossil skeleton found in Jamaica could represent a transitional stage in the evolution of an aquatic mammal as it changed habitat from land to water, a scientist reports this week.
Daryl Domning of Howard University in Washington DC says the new 鈥渟irenian鈥� was about the size of a pig. The animal鈥檚 anatomy suggests that although it probably spent most of its time in the water, its back and legs would have supported its weight so that it could walk on land ().
Living around 50 million years ago, the mammal is thought to be an ancient relative of modern sea cows, including manatees and dugongs, which are entirely aquatic.
Advertisement