H is for Harpagolestes
So far, every fossil I’ve talked about has been a large, hoofed mammal. Well, something has to eat all those herbivores.
Thus enter Harpagolestes.
Harpagolestes was a bear-sized, hyena-like mesonychid carnivore. For a long time, scientists thought that mesonychid carnivores were the ancestors of modern whales due to similarities in the teeth. (New analyses put whales more closely related to hoofed mammals.)
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist 