A couple of items:

From Reuters.com, in China the fossil ear bones of a mammal have been found. It fills the gap between the earliest mammals and modern mammals. And proves the theory that the mammal ear bones came from its ancesteral reptile’s jaw.

From the National Geographic, hybridization many be more common in animals than previously thought. The recent finding of a grizzly bear and polar bear hybred, may be the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.