Transitional Seal, Bitches!
The BBC is reporting the discovery of a 23 million year old pinniped called Puijila in the Canadian Arctic. It’s around the same age as Enaliarctos, previously the most primitive fossil pinniped discovered, itself an important transitional form.
Here’s an important question that articles like this never answer: how do we know it’s a pinniped?
I’ll let you know when I find out.
UPDATE: Not Exactly Rocket Science has a post with more information about Puijila, including a partial answer to my question above: We know it’s a seal because of the shape of its skull and teeth.
Also check out this section of the Canadian Museum of Nature’s website, dedicated to Puijila, and linked to by NERS.
Stumble it!
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
This is OBVIOUSLY a trap. Now you have to find the transitional fossils on either side of this one to prove that it’s *actually* a transitional fossil. I’d just burn it and use it’s fire for fuel instead.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Darned Canadians! They’ve just created two new gaps in the fossil record.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Of all things!
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Transitional seal haz moahr BRAINS than Canada.