Rabbit's ancestor connects Europe and Asia

London: Researchers have discovered the ancestor of the present-day rabbit that lived in south-eastern Siberia in Russia, confirming an important biogeographic barrier free link between Asia and Europe.

The remains of Amphilagus Tomidai, a mammal that lived on the Earth about 14 million years ago, confirms that the Asia and Europe were once connected and were free of natural barriers due to the disappearance of the ancient Paratethys Sea.

"Amphilagus is a genus that was traditionally thought to only exist in Europe, but remains of this mammal were recently located in Asia," Chiara Angelone, a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Palaeontology Miquel Crusafont, Spain, and co-author of the study, said.

"The discovery of this mammal on the continent of Asia indicates that there were some paleogeographic and environmental conditions that favoured the expansion of this species towards the east," she explained.