Darwin's ‘Strangest Animals Ever Discovered’ Solved
Friday, April 3, 2015 - 16:20
in Paleontology & Archaeology
An evolutionary puzzle has baffled palaeontologists for more than 180 years - the origins of Toxodon platensis and Macrauchenia patachonica, South American ungulates (hooved animals) described by Charles Darwin as the ‘strangest animals ever discovered’.Previous attempts by scientists to pinpoint the origin of the animals using morphology-based and DNA analysis of fossils had failed but a new study presents evidence that the animals were related to mammals like horses, rather than elephants and other African species as some taxonomists have maintained. read more