Early mammals weren't all loners-some may have lived in pairs alongside the dinosaurs
Researchers have analyzed over 15,000 scientific publications to determine that early placental mammals likely lived in pairs rather than as solitary creatures. This finding challenges long-held assumptions that early ancestors of modern mammals behaved like modern shrews.
Why it matters
This study provides new insights into the evolutionary social behavior of early mammals, correcting previous scientific misconceptions.
edited by Gaby Clark , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Illustration of early mammals and dinosaurs. Credit: Generated by ChatGPT. About 200 million years ago, furry, little egg-laying creatures evolved the ability to feed their offspring with a secretion from special glands: milk. Their evolutionary journey continued, and by about 160 million years ago, the first mammals with a real placenta had come into being. Instead of laying eggs, they gave birth to live young that had been connected directly to their mother via a placenta during pregnancy, allowing the exchange of oxygen, nutrients and waste products.
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