The "Grave Robber" Identification of Fossil Remains solves a 121 year old 

Paleontological Enigma

MARSHALL GRANT

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121119151318.htm

       An international group of researchers have recently indentified and discovered more about the relationship of Necrolestes patagonesis which means "Grave Robber". The Grave Robber is an ancient ancestral mammal which lives most of its life buried underground like that of the mole. A controversial fossil mammal from South America held the key to a 121 year old mystery. The recent fossil discovery and comparative analysis of the skeletal structure allowed for the team of researchers to correctly date and place the 16 million-year old organism into the fossil record.

     How might this be important? The Grave Robber is interesting due to its structure of an upturned snout and large limb for digging out dirt. The find however unexpectantly dates the endpoint for the fossils evolutionary liniage by a sum of 45 million years. This means that families of mammals were able to survive the extinction event that ended the Age of Dinosaurs

    This amazing realization is another example of a species that lasted longer than expected called the Lazarus Effect. Much of what we knew of this organism was a mystery, but could be assumed as a mammal. Recent studies of the ear region led to another hypothesis to the Grave Robber being a marsupial. More studies on the cranial structure led to another finding that was on a completely unexpected branch of the evolutionary tree which was thought to die out 45 million years ago. The strange and varying anatomy of the creature leads scientists into classifying it into several groups of taxonomy  making it harder to narrow down evolutionary wise.

     Very similar was another organism called Cronopio, having similar homologous structures in and around the same time period. They believed it was the vast burrowing capabilities of the Grave Robber to survive any blast or impact made during the extinction event and allowed it to continually prosper.

     More teams are looking into the near future of exploring geological advantages and analyzing skeletal structure more to properly classify this mysterious organism that survived the extinction event.

Connection:
This connects to evolution and natural selections because a mammal like creature was able to adapt and function so that it could survive a mass extinction event and continue to prosper in an environment. It is interesting to see how the skeletal structures of the Grave Robber fits into many taxonomic groups and cannot be narrowed down after one study. The use of skull comparison like what we have done in class is useful to the classification and future study of this organism. To more study the fossil record and change the way mammals and creatures alike evolved from the extinction period and on is fascinating and connects to what we learn today.

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