T
he beautifully preserved remains of a 47-million-year-old, lemur-like creature have been unveiled in the US. The preservation is so good, it is possible to see the outline of its fur and even traces of its last meal. Thefossil, nicknamed Ida, is claimed to be a “missing link” betweentoday’s higher primates – monkeys, apes and humans – and more distantrelatives. But some independent experts, awaiting an opportunity to see the new fossil, are sceptical of the claim. And they have been critical of the hype surrounding the presentation of Ida. The fossil was launched amid great fanfare at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, by the city’s mayor. Althoughdetails of the fossil have only just been published in a scientificjournal – PLoS One – there is already a TV documentary and book tie-in.
Source/more: BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8057465.stm