discovery would be whether the alleged "Precambrian rabbits" really were fossilized rabbits. Alternative interpretations might include incorrect identification of the "fossils", incorrect dating of the rocks, and a hoax such as the Piltdown Man was shown to be. Even if the "Precambrian rabbits" turned out to be genuine, they would not instantly refute the theory of evolution, because that theory is a large package of ideas, including: that life on Earth has evolved over billions of years; that this evolution is driven by certain mechanisms; and that these mechanisms have produced a specific "family tree" that defines the relationships among species and the order in which they appeared. Hence, "Precambrian rabbits" would prove that there were one or more serious errors somewhere in this package, and the next task would be to identify those errors. Benton pointed out that, in the short term, scientists often have to accept the existence of competing hypotheses, each of which explains large parts—but not all—of the observed relevant data. Oldest rabbit Genuine fossils of earliest rabbits are from the Eocene Epoch, about 56 million years to 33.9 million years ago. Members of the genus Gomphos are established to be the phylogenetic root of lagomorph rabbits and hares. To date, the oldest Gomphos is G. elkema discovered in 2008 from Gujarat, India. The fossil is dated to 53 million years old. See also Out-of-place artifact Paluxy River – became famous in 1930s when locals found dinosaur and supposed human footprints in the same rock layer. References Fictional rabbits and hares Evolutionary biology History of evolutionary biology Philosophy of biology Hypothetical life forms