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Oldest fossil 'rabbit' unearthed (55 million years ago)
BBC ^ | Thursday, 17 February, 2005

Posted on 02/17/2005 7:46:34 PM PST by nickcarraway

Gomphos had long hindlimbs, just like a modern rabbit The fossilised skeleton of a rabbit-like creature that lived 55 million years ago has been found in Mongolia, Science magazine reports. Gomphos elkema, as it is known, is the oldest member of the rabbit family ever to be found.

Gomphos was surprisingly similar to modern rabbits - and probably hopped around on its elongated hindlimbs.

The fossil adds weight to the idea that rabbit-like creatures first evolved no earlier than 65 million years ago.

"This skeleton is very complete," co-author Robert Asher, of Humboldt Universität, Berlin, Germany, told the BBC News website.

"Gomphos gives us valuable information about the anatomy of early rabbits - it tells us what they looked like.

"Gomphos had a true 'rabbit's foot'; that is, a foot more than twice as long as the hand that could be used for hopping."

But the ancient creature did have some traits that were unlike its modern relative. For example, Gomphos had quite a big tail and some of its teeth were more squirrel-like than rabbit-like.

Scanty evidence

Prior to this discovery, the oldest, most complete fossil lagomorphs (the family which includes rabbits, pikas and hares) were about 35 million years old.

Scanty fossil evidence has led to some uncertainty about when modern placental mammals first appeared Scanty fossil evidence has led to some uncertainty about when modern placental mammals first appeared in evolutionary time.

One camp believes that modern placental mammals (which include elephants, bats, rabbits, lions etc, but not kangaroos, opossums or echidnas) existed long before the famed "KT" boundary 65 million years ago, which marked the demise of the dinosaurs.

The other camp disagrees with this view, and instead claims that modern placentals did not originate until close to, or shortly after, this event.

Great extinction

Gomphos has waded - or hopped - into the debate, adding evidence to the latter theory.

Hitherto, there was a strong school of thought that suggested lagomorphs are more closely related to an extinct group of Cretaceous animals called the "zalambdalestids", than they are to other, modern mammal groups.

Zalambdalestids lived before the great mass extinction event 65 million years ago. So, if they were close relatives of the lagomorphs, it would suggest modern placental groups were diverging during the Cretaceous period.

But an analysis of Gomphos suggests this is not the case, Dr Asher and his colleagues believe. This makes it more likely that modern lagomorphs - and other placental mammals - originated after the dinosaurs went extinct.

"This skeleton gives us more data to throw into the analysis," he told the BBC News website. "And using this new information we favour the second idea."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: archaeology; eocene; ggg; globalwarminghoax; godsgravesglyphs; history; mongolia; paleocene; petm; rabbit
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1 posted on 02/17/2005 7:46:35 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

55 million? I highly doubt it.


2 posted on 02/17/2005 7:47:34 PM PST by balch3
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To: nickcarraway

Was there a large, baldheaded skeleton of a man with a shotgun unearthed nearby?


3 posted on 02/17/2005 7:47:40 PM PST by Darkwolf377 ("Drowning someone...I wouldn't have a part in that."--Teddy K)
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To: nickcarraway

What a rotten sentence, but you're smart, you get the joke.


4 posted on 02/17/2005 7:48:10 PM PST by Darkwolf377 ("Drowning someone...I wouldn't have a part in that."--Teddy K)
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To: Darkwolf377

They even found his hunting cap. There was another thread yesterday about the new, futuristic Bugs Bunny.


5 posted on 02/17/2005 7:49:52 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Sounds to me like one of those modern, deformed rabbit that atheist scientists aged scientifically because their theory of evolution is being disproved by leaps and bounds in the scientific community who are honestly looking for the truth about our origin.


6 posted on 02/17/2005 7:50:39 PM PST by Iam1ru1-2
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To: Darkwolf377
Was there a large, baldheaded skeleton of a man with a shotgun unearthed nearby?

No, but they unearthed the skeleton of a goofy-looking man with big teeth. The scientific name for the discovery is Peanut Man, but the archaeologists have nicknamed him "Jimmy".

7 posted on 02/17/2005 7:50:59 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (The people previously responsible for this tagline have been sacked.)
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To: Darkwolf377

Fossil rabbit just found? The SSN Jimmy Carter (Submarine) being commissioned this week end? Coincidence? I think not.


8 posted on 02/17/2005 7:51:09 PM PST by llevrok (Don't blame me, I voted for Pedro!)
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To: SunkenCiv

GGG


9 posted on 02/17/2005 7:51:33 PM PST by freedom44
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To: balch3

I was hoping these were going to be giant super-intelligent killer bunnies


10 posted on 02/17/2005 7:52:40 PM PST by gnosys ("Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return...")
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To: nickcarraway

11 posted on 02/17/2005 7:53:43 PM PST by Plutarch
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To: nickcarraway

"Gomphos gives us valuable information about the anatomy of early rabbits - it tells us what they looked like.

Ah, they looked like rabbits? Is there more than one way to envision a rabbit? I think not.


12 posted on 02/17/2005 7:58:49 PM PST by taxesareforever
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To: nickcarraway
Dr. Asher refused to confirm whether the most-asked question at the press conference was:

"What's up, Doc?"

13 posted on 02/17/2005 7:58:59 PM PST by Jonah Hex (Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls.)
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To: nickcarraway

I saw that. Bugs looked like he'd been through The Matrix. "Red carrot...blue carrot.."


14 posted on 02/17/2005 8:02:16 PM PST by Darkwolf377 ("Drowning someone...I wouldn't have a part in that."--Teddy K)
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To: Darkwolf377

Damn. I can't find a picture of a giant, prehistoric bugs bunny.


15 posted on 02/17/2005 8:02:22 PM PST by dangus
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To: Darkwolf377

Damn. I can't find a picture of a giant, prehistoric bugs bunny.


16 posted on 02/17/2005 8:02:22 PM PST by dangus
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To: Iam1ru1-2

It doesn't sound like in all those millions of years there has been much 'evolving' going on here.

But for the record....any prehistoric black ducks found?


17 posted on 02/17/2005 8:15:10 PM PST by Beowulf9
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To: dangus
Damn. I can't find a picture of a giant, prehistoric bugs bunny.

Prehistoric Bugs Bunny

Just in case Tripod doesn't let everyone else see the image, its on this page: http://virtualmarvinmartian.tripod.com/index/id4.html

18 posted on 02/17/2005 8:17:45 PM PST by KarlInOhio (Blackwell for Governor 2006: hated by the 'Rats, feared by the RINOs.)
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To: SunkenCiv

"Gomphos had long hindlimbs, just like a modern rabbit The fossilised skeleton of a rabbit-like creature that lived 55 million years ago has been found in Mongolia, Science magazine reports. Gomphos elkema, as it is known, is the oldest member of the rabbit family ever to be found. "



Does this qualify for GGG ping or maybe just the digest?


19 posted on 02/17/2005 8:19:06 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: nickcarraway
"Oldest fossil 'rabbit' unearthed (55 million years ago)"

Forget the stupid 'rabbit' - I want to know who the guy is that dug up this 'rabbit' over 55 million years ago and is just now getting around to telling us about it. Talk about being slow, or else REALLY good at keeping a secret.

Maybe we could get him to go to work for the Los Alamos labs or CIA.

;^D

20 posted on 02/17/2005 8:26:48 PM PST by RebelTex (Freedom is everyone's right - and everyone's responsibility!)
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