Antarctica’s oldest known footprint of a carnivorous mammal has been discovered in volcanic mud on a remote Antarctic island. This footprint is also the first known footprint of an Antarctic mammal.
Slab T-373 supporting the railway from King George Island, Antarctica. Scraper – 10 mm. Image credit: Mansilla-Vera others., doi: 10.1007/s00300-026-03539-1.
The newly discovered specimen consists of partial limb (manus pes) prints from the Eocene epoch, dating about 55 million years ago.
Known as T-373, it was recovered from the Fossil Hill Formation on the Fildes Peninsula of King George Island.
This paleontological site is home to a rich collection of plant, feather, and animal traces, hence it is designated as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area.
According to Dr. Hector Mancila Vera of the Chilean Antarctic Institute at the National Museum of Antarctica and colleagues from Patagonia and Argentina, the record of mammalian footprints dates back to the Late Triassic, with a significant increase in diversity towards the end of the Mesozoic era.
The T-373 print, despite its small size, provides important clues about the animal that made it, estimated to weigh about 1.3 kg and resembling a group of extinct South American predators known as Sparassodonts.
The footprints of these predators indicate their presence in Antarctica during the Eocene period, shedding light on the complexity of the Antarctic ecosystem at that time.
This groundbreaking discovery is published in the latest issue of Polar Biology, marking a significant milestone in Antarctic paleontology.
Source: www.sci.news
