New fossils intensify mystery of short-lived, toothy mammal found in ancient North Pacific
Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - 10:20
in Paleontology & Archaeology
New fossils from the Aleutian Islands intensify the mystery surrounding a toothy, hippopotamus-sized mammal unique to the North Pacific. The oddball creature suction-fed shoreline vegetation, say paleontologists. The Unalaska Island animal is a new genus and species of Desmostylia. The only major order of marine mammals to go wholly extinct, Desmostylia survived a geologic blink -- only 23 million years, from 33 million to 10 million years ago.