On March 13, 2025, the journal Science published a groundbreaking study in which scientists successfully reconstructed, for the first time, the pelage coloration of several early mammals from different lineages and diverse ecomorphotypes that existed in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. This finding addresses a missing piece of knowledge in Mesozoic mammaliaforms’ coloration and provides critical insights into the ecological adaptations and evolutionary history of early mammals.
Research Team:
Professor Quanguo Li from the China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Professor Matthew D. Shawkey from Ghent University (Belgium) served as co-corresponding authors of the paper. Ruoshuang Li, a Ph.D. student at the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), was the first author. Professor Changfu Zhou from Shandong University of Science and Technology and researcher Liliana D’Alba from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Netherlands) contributed significantly to the study. Additionally, Ph.D. students Gerben Debruyn and Jessica L. Dobson from Ghent University (Belgium), Professor Julia A. Clarke from the University of Texas at Austin (USA), and Professor Jakob Vinther from the University of Bristol (UK) participated in the research.
The Reconstruction of Pelage Coloration in Five Early Mammals from the Jurassic, published in this study, was created by ZHAO Chuang.
The article link in Science: Mesozoic mammaliaforms illuminate the origins of pelage coloration
