Newly discovered squirrel-like creatures suggest mammals first appeared 208 million years ago
This reconstruction shows arboreal mammals in a Jurassic forest. The three animals on the left side represent the three new species of euharamiyidan mammals. The other two represent a gliding species and another euharamiyidan, respectively, that were reported earlier. Credit: Zhao Chuang

The discovery of three new small squirrel-like species lends evidence to the notion that mammals originated at least 208 million years ago in the late Triassic Period, according to new research appearing in a recent edition of the journal Nature. The research, which was led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History and the…