A discovery about the dark fur of early mammals confirms long-held theories about their evolutionary and ecological behavior.

Instead, these ancient creatures were cloaked in dark, drab fur from snout to tail. Using their monochrome coats as camouflage ... some early mammals exhibited patterns or bright colors.

"These extinct early mammals had distinct lifestyles, ranging from ground-dwelling and burrowing to gliding through the treetops like modern-day flying squirrels," Li Ruoshuang, the paper's first ...