DAILY DOSE ASIA: Japan confirms first fossil of rare marine mammal, reshaping Miocene map; China’s plants face a “hidden extinction crisis,” new nationwide study warns - Scientific Inquirer

DAILY DOSE ASIA: Japan confirms first fossil of rare marine mammal, reshaping Miocene map; China’s plants face a “hidden extinction crisis,” new nationwide study warns - Scientific Inquirer

Japan confirms first fossil of rare marine mammal, reshaping Miocene map Researchers in Hokkaido have identified Japan’s first fossil of Neoparadoxia, an extinct marine mammal previously known only from sites along the U.S. West Coast. The 15-million-year-old remains, unearthed in Akan (Kushiro) between 1996 and 2000, expand the animal’s known range across the North Pacific and offer new clues to Miocene ocean currents and climate. Scientists sa…