Vincent Fernandez – The Conversation

Reconstitution artistique d’un embryon de Lystrosaurus. Artiste: Sophie Vrard

April 17, 2026

Un fossile d'embryon découvert en Afrique du Sud prouve que les ancêtres des mammifères pondaient des œufs

Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand; Jennifer Botha, University of the Witwatersrand, and Vincent Fernandez, University of the Witwatersrand

Un scan de haute précision d’un embryon fossilisé de thérapside révèle l’œuf le plus ancien attribué à un ancêtre des mammifères.

Artist’s impression of Lystrosaurus embryo. Artist: Sophie Vrard

April 13, 2026

Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand; Jennifer Botha, University of the Witwatersrand, and Vincent Fernandez, University of the Witwatersrand

A detailed scan of a fossil therapsid embryo reveals the oldest egg belonging to a mammalian ancestor.

This pair of curled-up Diictodon skeletons tell a story of male parental care. Authors supplied

April 19, 2021

Roger Malcolm Harris Smith, University of the Witwatersrand; Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand, and Vincent Fernandez, Natural History Museum

These new finds indicate that Diictodon was burrowing and giving some parental care to its young. This was long thought to be unique to mammals.