New Jurassic fossils reveal (again) that our hearing evolved from reptilian Jawbones

Unfortunately this is old news. Several decades old.
Everyone knew our hearing evolved from reptilian jawbones at least back to the 1980s following the work of James Hopson and others. Following those earlier discoveries, Peters 1991 included this illustration (Fig 1) in a popular book on evolution (cited below).

series of jaw bones demonstrating the gradual accumulation of traits that changed them into ear ossicles and an eardrum frame. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 1. Click to enlarge. A series of jaw bones demonstrating the gradual accumulation of traits that changed them into ear ossicles and an eardrum frame.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/evolution-ear-click.jpg?w=65″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/evolution-ear-click.jpg?w=187″ class=”wp-image-8142 size-full” src=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/evolution-ear-click.jpg?w=584″ alt=”series of jaw bones demonstrating the gradual accumulation of traits that changed them into ear ossicles and an eardrum frame.” />

Figure 1. Click to enlarge. A series of jaw bones demonstrating the gradual accumulation of traits that changed them into ear ossicles and an eardrum frame. from 2012, copied and pasted from Peters 1991.

Publicity hype from SciTechDaily.com:
“An international team of paleontologists has uncovered important fossils that provide crucial insights into how early mammals transitioned from having jaw joint bones to middle ear bones during their evolution. The findings published today in the prestigious journal Nature provide a clearer insight into the evolution of hearing in mammaliaforms.”

“Important.” “Crucial insights.” “Prestigious.” = new hype + old news.

“Co-author Dr. Thomas Rich of Museums Victoria Research Institute said, “Newly recognized well-preserved fossils from the Jurassic of China significantly clarify how one of the most remarkable transitions in the history of the vertebrates occurred; namely, the transformation of many of the multiple bones in the lower jaws of reptiles became tiny bones in the middle ears of mammals.”

Readers, this is where paleontology is at in 2024: recycling old discoveries (Mao et al 2024 a, b), shunning new discoveries, and creating myths. Just follow the money.

From the AMNH.org website:
“Scientists have been trying to understand how the mammalian middle ear evolved since Darwin’s time,” said [co-author] Meng. “These new fossils bring to light a critical missing link and enrich our understanding of the gradual evolution of the mammalian middle ear.”

I guess it would not make a great headline to report, ‘Excellent fossils of rare tiny taxa support and confirm earlier hypotheses of middle ear development in mammals.’

Pretending this is a new discovery makes both scientists and publishers look a little desperate for attention. Does this come down to grant procurement (= money for universities)? That trend in that direction is widely reported in several sciences.

I will add these taxa
(Feredocodon and Dianoconodon) to the LRT when high-rez data becomes available. They are wonderfully preserved and should score strongly.

References
Crompton AW and Jenkins FA Jr 1968. Molar occlusion in late Triassic mammals, Biological Review, 43 1968:427-458.
Gow CE 1986. A new skull of Megazostrodon ( Mammalia, Triconodonta) from the Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Southern Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 26(2):13–22.
Mao F et al (6 co-authors) 2024a. Jurasssic shuotheriids show earliest dental diversification of mammaliaforms. Nature 782(260) online.
Mao F et al. (8 co-authors) 2024b. Fossils document evolutiionary changes of jaw joint to mammalian middle ear. Nature 1759(266):onlline
Peters D 1991. From the beginning – The story human evolution. Wm Morrow PDF

wiki/Megazostrodon

Publicity
scitechdaily.com/our-hearing-evolved-from-reptilian-jawbones/
amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/research-posts/fossil-discoveries-mammal-evolution