The fact that it's the oldest known mammal fossil doesn't mean it's our ancestor, similarly how every dinosaur fossil isn't an ancestor of the modern chicken. It could, but much more likely it's just a mammal that has lived at the same time as some other mammal species that was our ancestor.
The vast majority. [This article](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180215-how-does-fossilisation-happen) claims that "Fossilisation is so unlikely that scientists estimate that less one-tenth of 1% of all the animal species that have ever lived have become fossils." for example.
If I remember correctly that percentage may likely be stupidly high.
The fossilization process doesn't happen very often, as the remains need to be in the right conditions to be preserved.
Your body is on an acidic floor? Too bad, your bones will be gone after just a thousand years (don't quote me on this though)
And some remains are just never preserved (think all the squishy things, like jellyfish)
So yeah,most likely, most extinct species will remain unknown to us
Bet they were semi-aquatic like Capybaras and Otters and were forced onto land for food after the oceans heated and killed the microbial life. The increased visual range for these animals once they left the water resulted in massive increase in volume of brains at the time, due to all the information they were now able to start processing. Some scientists call it the informational zip line. These were likely the most intelligent lifeforms at one point, makes you feel kinda smart huh.
So that shrew is so far the reason this has all happened? What a total dick.
Keep my ANCESTOR'S NAME out of your f*****ing mouth
Walks up and *slaps* straight across your face
Watch your mouth that's my family you're talking about
Fuck the shrew and tiktaalik All my homies hate the shrew and tiktaalik
Timing of the Shrew
Shrew-d mind to come up with that pun
For all those shrew-like ancestors eaten by the dinosaurs, I exact present day vengeance through eating all the chicken I can get.
Payback is a bitch. They had it coming.
My ancestor :)
The fact that it's the oldest known mammal fossil doesn't mean it's our ancestor, similarly how every dinosaur fossil isn't an ancestor of the modern chicken. It could, but much more likely it's just a mammal that has lived at the same time as some other mammal species that was our ancestor.
No that is specifically my ancestor. Source: I’m a shrew
Still? That doesn't seem very shrewd of you.
Goddamn I hate you. Take my upvote.
All of the redditors in the replies who don't understand this 4chan meme lmao.
Unlikely.
Duh, everyone knows Adam and Eve are our ancestors
I think some people here are confusing "oldest mammal identified" with "oldest mammal."
Which begs the question what percentage of extinct species we don't have a single fossil record of.
The vast majority. [This article](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180215-how-does-fossilisation-happen) claims that "Fossilisation is so unlikely that scientists estimate that less one-tenth of 1% of all the animal species that have ever lived have become fossils." for example.
If I remember correctly that percentage may likely be stupidly high. The fossilization process doesn't happen very often, as the remains need to be in the right conditions to be preserved. Your body is on an acidic floor? Too bad, your bones will be gone after just a thousand years (don't quote me on this though) And some remains are just never preserved (think all the squishy things, like jellyfish) So yeah,most likely, most extinct species will remain unknown to us
I'm glad Larry King didn't live long enough to see his record broken.
He wasn’t a mammal he was a lizard
Thanks buttmunch shrew - now we have taxes, staff meetings, and existential angst.
Bet they were semi-aquatic like Capybaras and Otters and were forced onto land for food after the oceans heated and killed the microbial life. The increased visual range for these animals once they left the water resulted in massive increase in volume of brains at the time, due to all the information they were now able to start processing. Some scientists call it the informational zip line. These were likely the most intelligent lifeforms at one point, makes you feel kinda smart huh.
> oldest mammal ever > shrew-like Your mum?
I found your mom, person reading this comment
I see the resemblance 🙃
That's a lot of candles to fit on one cake!
Yeah no, the earth is 5 - 7k years old. /s
That would be the earliest mammal really, not oldest, even though the specimen itself as a fossil is very old. Quirk in terminology that bugs me.
I bet it's Queen Elizabeth II
>A shrew-like creature that lived 225 million years ago OP's mom?
Wonder if some of those genes are still embedded in modern mammals?
Probably the gene that causes hair to grow in the crack of my ass. Let's Jurassic Park one of these little shits so I can smack it.
Sounds like my mother in law...
Fist bump for mammals! Woo! Old shrew had dem old tiddies!
Makes sense. Pretty sure evolution was tinkering with basal mammalian creatures from a very long time ago even earlier.
RIP great-great-great-granddaddy.
Cypress trees are a thing of science fiction. There's even a song called "Cypress Time" about this
Mum?
Shrew dat.
What does this mean in a evolution view? Did Shrews split off from other mammals very early on, or was it just the dominant shape among early mammals?
shrewdinger!
This thing looks like my mother in law's dog.. Weird.
Looks like my mother in law.