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GeeMack
SFN Regular
USA
1093 Posts |
 Posted - 01/10/2006 : 15:21:01
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Here's an interesting short article about the evolution of cats. I haven't read the reference piece in Science, but I expect it's fairly good material. The current use of DNA testing for finding those "transitional fossils" will probably result in many more interesting discoveries in the near future.quote:
From Roar to Purr, Researchers Trace Cats' Path to Domestication...
By studying DNA from blood samples of 37 cats, representing every species, scientists with the National Cancer Institute reconstructed feline migration from its ancestral home in Asia to distant new lands in North America and elsewhere. Their results are published in today's [January 5, 2006] online issue of the journal Science.
"Through this work, we were able to retrace 10 historic continental migrations," said Warren E. Johnson, who helped lead an international team of scientists.
The first ancestral cat-like creature appeared about 35 million years ago. By 11 million years ago, his various descendants, including multiple species of the saber-toothed tiger, had all disappeared -- except for the common progenitor of today's modern cats.
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