 Quote by spicerack
I don't think the fossil record is going to help as from my understanding it requires catastrophism on a large scale for animals to be buried and compressed in mud before becoming fossilised.
A carcass left in the open won't fossilise just descompose.
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Fossilization doesn't require a large scale catastrophe. A small scale event can quickly bury an individual (or even some individuals dig & become entrapped...and there is some evidence that Neandertals buried their dead or at least had a specific disposal area).
Granted, a large scale event has the potential to capture more specimens at one time.