Teeth Shed New Light On Man's Earliest Origins

Two fossilised teeth found on Devon’s ‘Jurassic coast’ have been identified as belonging to some of man’s earliest ancestors.

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The teeth belonged to two previously unknown species of small, rat-like creatures that lived around 145 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period. The two species, which have been named Durlstotherim newmani and Durlstotherim ensomi, are now effectively the earliest known creatures in the line that led not just to humans, but to pretty much all mammals that are alive today – from the tiny pygmy shrew to the giant blue whale.