Liaoconodon Hui: Transitional Middle Ear Fossil Found

Liaoconodon hui, a complete fossil mammal from the Mesozoic, has been found in China and includes a long-sought transitional middle ear. The specimen shows the bones associated with hearing in mammals (the malleus, incus, and ectotympanic) decoupled from the lower jaw, as had been predicted, but were held in place by an ossified cartilage that rested in a groove on the lower jaw.  The paper in Nature also suggests that the middle ear evolved at least twice in mammals, for monotremes and for the marsupial-placental group. read more

Read the whole article on

More from