When we talk about the origins of cats and dogs, many people will say that cats originate from tigers, and dogs originate from wolves, because in terms of appearance, they do have many similarities, but is this really the case? Research believes that the small ancient cats that appeared on the earth 50 million years ago may be the real ancestors of cats and dogs.
The mysterious little ancient cat
When an asteroid hit the earth 65 million years ago, causing the fifth mass extinction of life, dinosaurs became history. Mammals that were originally suppressed by dinosaurs ushered in the spring of evolution.
What does the little ancient cat look like? Through the collected fossils, paleontologists reconstructed its appearance. It looked like a "mink", with a big tail, and its body and limbs were very soft.
As a small carnivorous mammal, small ancient cats mainly live in trees. They first appeared in tropical rain forests, and later began to evolve in the direction of cats and dogs about 40 million years ago.
Research believes that since 40 million years ago, small ancient cats have evolved into many species, including the direct ancestors of cats and dogs. For example, there is an ancient creature called "raccoon dog" on the earth. It is considered to be the transitional link in the evolution of small ancient cats into dogs, because "raccoon dog" looks very similar to dogs.
So, from their birth to being domesticated by humans, until cats and dogs have become inseparable companion pets of humans today, what kind of evolution have they experienced to get to where they are today? Regarding this issue, researchers believe that they may have been "self-domesticating."
Are cats and dogs actually taking advantage of humans?
Through fossil research, it has been found that cats and dogs truly became "friends" with humans about 10,000 years ago, that is, after humans entered the Neolithic Age.
At this time, primitive farming also appeared, human life gradually stabilized, and primitive animal husbandry also began to develop. At this time, as humans began to become more self-sufficient, some animals were also attracted.
Of course, this process is also very long. Through ancient DNA research, researchers have found that the evolution of cats and dogs began to slow down about 4,000 years ago, because at this time humans have begun to enter the civilized period, and human social structures have become more stable.
For many years, many paleontologists and geneticists have been building an "evolutionary tree" of cats and dogs, hoping to sort out the complete evolutionary history from small ancient cats to them. Unfortunately, due to geological movements, many fossils are incomplete, and many key fossils have not yet appeared. We can only place our hope in the future. Let's wait and see!