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You can\u2019t make a mammal-ette without laying some eggs.<\/p>\n
The duck-billed platypus wasn\u2019t the only mammal to lay eggs. Analysis of a fossil in South Africa proves that our mammalian ancestors were cranking out hard-shelled embryos as early as 250 million years ago, as detailed in a groundbreaking study in the journal Plos One.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt is thrilling because this discovery breaks entirely new ground,\u201d declared study author Jennifer Botha of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, The Times reported.<\/a><\/p>\n The species in question was a therapsid, a group of animals that was the forefather to modern-day mammals, including humans, according to The Conversation.<\/a><\/p>\n They were first described over 150 years ago based on fossils found in South Africa. However, while it was known that some of our prehistoric predecessors laid eggs, researchers hadn\u2019t found any evidence of therapsids ovipositing \u2014 until researchers analyzed the aforementioned fossil.<\/a><\/p>\n