Burrowing

Scientists discover two new species of burrowing mammal ancestors

by

Scientists have discovered two new species of burrowing animals that lived in northeastern China 120 million years ago.  Skeletal remains of the species, called Fossiomanus sinensis and Jueconodon chenispiky, reveal they had claws designed for ‘scratch digging’ – a technique to create tunnels using the claws of the forelimbs.  Experts at the American Museum of Natural … Read more

Burrowing rabbits dig up 9,000-year-old tools and Bronze Age pottery on Welsh island

by

Archaeologists in Wales have an unusual source to thank for the discovery of prehistoric artifacts on a remote island: Burrowing rabbits. Wardens on Skokholm Island, a wildlife preserve some two miles off the coast of Pembrokeshire, found a smooth stone tool by rabbit hole near their cottage. Used to skin seals, the ‘bevelled pebble’ dates … Read more