一具保存完好的白垩纪哺乳动物化石的发现，推翻了科研人员近40年来的分类认识1。这件标本被命名为Tamirkhan balcarceli，由美国自然历史博物馆赞助的科考队于2004年在蒙古戈壁沙漠东部发现1。该研究成果已发表在《自然》杂志上1。
Tamirkhan balcarceli是迄今发现的最完整的zhelestid标本，保存了头骨、肢骨等大量骨骼结构1。这只生物体长6至7英寸（约15至18厘米），具有长且持续生长的门齿、zalambdalestoid特有的头骨特征以及长而纤细的后肢1。该化石的发现证明，zhelestids并非如科学界长期以来认为的那样是现代有胎盘哺乳动物的早期亲缘，而是属于zalambdalestoids群组的独立谱系1。这项研究由Andres Giallombardo等人完成，美国自然历史博物馆、石溪大学、亚利桑那大学和Arcadia大学参与合作1。
A well-preserved fossil discovered in the eastern Gobi Desert of Mongolia has overturned nearly four decades of scientific consensus about an extinct mammal group. The specimen, named Tamirkhan balcarceli, was found in 2004 by an expedition sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and represents the most complete zhelestid fossil ever recovered. 1
The discovery revealed that zhelestids do not represent an early lineage ancestral to modern placental mammals, as scientists had believed for approximately 40 years, but rather constitute an independent evolutionary lineage within the zalambdalestoid group. 1 The fossil preserves extensive skeletal material including the skull and limb bones of the creature, which measured approximately 6 to 7 inches in length. 1 Key anatomical features identified in the specimen include continuously growing incisors, skull characteristics unique to zalambdalestoids, and elongated slender hind limbs. 1
The research, led by discoverer Andres Giallombardo and conducted by teams from the American Museum of Natural History, Stony Brook University, the University of Arizona, and Arcadia University, was published in Nature in September 2026. 1
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