Scientists examined a 165-million-year-old fossil from China and found a broad swimming tail plus bony throat structures; the Jurassic mammal predecessor could feed and swallow in ways seen in modern mammals

• An X-ray photograph of the Megacauda fossilScientists have examined a 165-million-year-old fossil found in China and identified a mammal predecessor that had a broad tail for swimming and throat bones similar to those found in modern mammals.
• The discovery suggests that some early relatives of mammals had already developed ways of chewing and swallowing food millions of years before modern mammals evolved.
• The newly identified species, named Megacauda sungei, lived during the Jurassic period.