Tag Archives: mammal

Newly Discovered Polyiron Duct Mammal Species in the UK

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Paleontologists have unearthed fossilized teeth from a newly identified genus and species of plagioclase polyuria in the lower Cretaceous Luluworth Formation within the Purbeck Group in Dorset, England.

Artist’s depiction of Nova Cradon Mirabilis. Image credit: Hamzah Imran.

Multi-liquids represent a highly successful and diverse group of Mesozoic mammals.

Over 200 species have been documented, ranging in size from that of a mouse to a beaver.

These mammals thrived during the Central Jurassic throughout the Mesozoic Era, even surviving the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, which led to the early, sparsely populated neural period.

They adapted to various ecological niches, from living in dens to climbing like squirrels.

The newly identified species existed during the Beliasia period in the pre-Cretaceous Epoch, around 143 million years ago.

Dubbing it Nova Cradon Mirabilis, this mammal was omnivorous, likely consuming small invertebrates like worms and insects.

Its sharp incisors and distinct, blade-like premolars demonstrate feeding strategies that differ from those of modern rodents such as squirrels and rats.

“This study illustrates how early mammals established their ecological roles while dinosaurs dominated the Earth,” remarked Professor David Martill from the University of Portsmouth and his colleagues.

The 1.65 cm jaw of Nova Cradon Mirabilis was discovered in 2024 by undergraduate Benjamin Weston at the University of Portsmouth.

“The fossil showcases long, pointed incisors at the front, followed by a gap and then four sharp premolars,” the paleontologist stated.

“While it superficially resembles a rabbit’s jaw, the pointed incisors and unique premolars clearly link it to the multi-iron group.”

The specimens were found at the upper beach area of Dalston Bay, Dorset, England.

This location is part of the Luluworth Formation from the Lower Cretaceous period of the Purbeck group.

“The new specimen is the most complete multi-iron structure found in the Purbeck group,” the researchers noted.

“The fossils were extracted from a distinctive layer in the so-called freshwater bed, specifically the flint bed, which scientists believe indicates deposition within freshwater lagoons.”

“Nova Cradon Mirabilis is also the first mammal recovered from the flint bed,” they added.

The discovery of Nova Cradon Mirabilis is detailed in a paper published in the Proceedings of the Geologists Association.

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Benjamin T. Weston et al. A new polyiron tube (mammal, Arosaria) from the Luluworth Formation (Cretaceous, Beliasian) in Dorset, England. Proceedings of the Geologists Association Published online on July 9, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.pgeola.2025.101128

Source: www.sci.news

Discovery of a New Metaterian Mammal Species Unearthed in Texas

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Members of the genus Metatherian Swaindelphys were previously identified in the Swain Quarry in southern Wyoming and the Nasimiento Formation in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and are now also found in the Black Peaks Formation in West Texas.

Reconstructing the life of Swaindelphys. Image credit: Kristen Tietjen.

The newly identified species thrived in Texas during the Ale-Nocene period, around 60 million years ago.

It has been designated Swaindelphys Solastella; these animals were significantly larger than related species, yet still about the size of a modern hedgehog.

It belonged to Metatherian, a group encompassing living marsupials and their extinct relatives.

“We’ve dedicated a lot of effort to uncovering this world,” remarked Kristen Miller, a doctoral student at the University of Kansas.

Fossil remains of Swaindelphys Solastella were uncovered in the Black Peak Formation within Big Bend National Park, West Texas.

“The earliest fossil mammals from the Big Bend during the Ale Holocene epoch were initially documented decades ago,” stated Professor Chris Beard of the University of Kansas.

“However, our mission is to uncover some of the smaller, more elusive fossil mammals that inhabited Big Bend during that era.”

“The new fossil we are describing holds significance as it represents the largest marsupial ever identified from the Ale Holocene in North America, in terms of body size.”

“This isn’t surprising considering that everything tends to be larger in Texas.”

The distribution patterns of Swaindelphys may provide insights into the natural features and barriers that limited the geographical spread of species during this time, including early primates.

“During the Ale New Century, the climate would have been warmer, likely leaning towards tropical,” Miller explained.

“Instead of the desert landscape seen today, there would have been more vegetation, possibly alongside numerous rivers and streams.”

“These fossils are found in what are referred to as river sediments, stemming from ancient river systems.”

The discovery of Swaindelphys Solastella is detailed in a paper released this month in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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Kristen Miller et al. Implications of biogeographical and biostratigraphic novel species. Swaindelphys (Mammals, Metatheria) from the Black Peaks Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, published online on June 17th, 2025. doi:10.1080/02724634.2025.2500501

Source: www.sci.news

90-Million-Year-Old Mammal Fossils Discovered in the Gobi Desert

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Scientists have discovered a new genus and species of ZheLestid mammals from fossil sites in the Bien Series Formation located in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia.

Reconstruction of ravjaa ishiii (foreground) depicted near a hadrosaurus dinosaur Gobihadro. Image credit: kohei futaka.

This new species, named ravjaa ishiii, existed during the Cretaceous period approximately 90 million years ago.

The ancient mammals are mouse-sized; the ZheLestidae family of Eutherian mammals was widely found across Eurasia and North America in the late Cretaceous period.

“The remarkably preserved mammal fossils found in late Cretaceous deposits of the Gobi Desert have been crucial for understanding the evolution of Mesozoic mammals,” stated Tsukasa Okosi, a PhD candidate in Science at Okayama University, and a collaborator on the research.

“These extraordinary mammal fossils were primarily excavated from the Balungoyacht and Djadokhta formations, with only two fragmentary fossils obtained from the underlying Baianshiree formation.”

The new Zhelestid fossil was uncovered in 2019 in the Bayan Shiree area within the Bayanshiree Formation.

This specimen consists of the distal section of a premolar and part of a mandible, measuring 1 cm from the first to third molar.

“Discovering such a tiny fossil in the vastness of the Gobi Desert feels like a gift from nature. It’s truly miraculous,” remarked a professor from Okayama University of Science.

“Their exceptionally tall molars and unique jaw structures set them apart from known relatives, prompting us to establish a new genus and species,” explained the paleontologist.

“The robust nature of their molars is reminiscent of seed and fruit-eating mammals, which provides fascinating insights into how early mammalian species may have exploited plant resources.”

The research team asserts that ravjaa ishiii is the first Zhelestid identified from the Bien Series formation, indeed marking the first discovery of its kind in Mongolia.

“ravjaa ishiii may represent the oldest member of the Zhelestids, as the currently oldest known Zhelestids were found in Uzbekistan, indicating that this group’s emergence dates back to the early/late Cretaceous boundary,” the researchers noted.

Their study is published online in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

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Tsukasa Okoshi et al. 2025. A new Late Cretaceous Zhelestid mammal from the Mongolian Baiansilli formation. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 70(1): 193-203; doi: 10.4202/app.01213.2024

Source: www.sci.news

This unusual spiked mammal is like a real-life Pokemon

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Visualize this scenario: it’s 1976 at Camden’s electric ballroom. The Sex Pistols are on stage, bringing “British anarchy” to a pogo mosh pit filled with punk rockers. The floor is sticky with lager, the air heavy with attitude, and in the midst of it all, a Tenrek with a striped lowland pattern blending in…

Imagine an animal perfectly fitting into a Sex Pistols concert – that would be the lowland striped Tenrec. This small mammal from Madagascar’s rainforest sports a yellow quill crown reminiscent of John Lydon.

With stripes running along its black body, the Tenrec can raise its spines as a defense mechanism. For instance, non-receptive females may use these sharp spines to ward off unwanted advances. Even predators like snakes and fossas are cautious around these punk rockers of the animal kingdom.

https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2025/03/GettyImages-1874621590.mp4
Lowland striped tenrek

Similar to Lydon, the lowland striped Tenrec is a bit of a musician itself. It has quills on its back that vibrate when the muscles contract, producing high-pitched sounds for communication. This makes them unique among mammals.

There are 36 varieties of Tenrecs, all part of the family Tenecidae. They vary in size, with the lowland striped Tenrec being breakfast sausage-sized. Despite their appearance, they are closely related to elephants and sea cows due to their evolutionary history.

Living in large family groups, lowland striped Tenrecs are social animals that use their long noses to forage for earthworms and invertebrates. This behavior helps make earthworms more active and easier to detect.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Mixedectes Pungens: An Enigmatic Mammal of the Early Ale Holocene with a Knack for Climbing Trees with Its Claws

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Small Mixedectid Mammals Called Mixedectes Pungens Analysis of a remarkably complete skeletal structure discovered in New Mexico shows that the skeletal characteristics that live in the leaves were primarily dieting on the leaves, weighing about 1.3 kg.

Mixedectes Pungens (foreground) lived in the same forest as early primates Torrejonia Wilsoni (background). Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Mixedectes Pungens He lived in western North America during the early Ale Holocene period, about 62 million years ago.

First described in 1883 by the drinker Coop of the famous American paleontologist Edward, the species was previously known for its fossilized teeth and jawbone fragments.

In the new study, Professor Eric Salgis of Yale University and his colleagues looked into the new skeleton Mixedectes Pungens – The most complete dental-related skeletal structure still recovered for mixed-cutide mammals from the Nasimiento Formation in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA.

“This 62 million-year-old skeleton of quality and integrity provides novel insights into the mixetide, including a much clearer picture of evolutionary relationships,” Professor Sargis said.

“Our findings show that they are relatives of primates and corgos – flying lemurs native to Southeast Asia – make them a fairly close human relative.”

The researchers determined that the new specimen belongs to a mature adult weighing about 1.3 kg.

The anatomy of the animal's limbs and nails indicates that it is dendritic and can cling perpendicular to the trunks and branches of a tree.

Its molars have a coat of arms to break down abrasive materials, suggesting that they were omnivorous and mostly ate the leaves.

“This fossil skeleton provides new evidence on the way placental mammals have become ecologically diverse following the extinction of dinosaurs,” says Dr. Stephen Chester, a researcher at the City University of New York and Brooklyn University at the Yale Peabody Museum.

“Characteristics such as greater weight and increased dependence on leaves. Mixedectes Pungens To thrive on the same tree that is likely to be shared with other early primate relatives. ”

Mixedectes Pungens Ale In North America during the early Holocene, it was very large for tree-inhabiting mammals.

For example, the new skeleton is significantly larger than the partial skeleton of Torrejonia Wilsonia small arboric mammal from an extinct group of primates called plesiadapiforms, discovered along with it.

meanwhile Mixedectes Pungens Living on the leaves, Torrejonia WilsoniThe meals were mainly made up of fruits.

These distinctions between size and diet suggest that the Mixeodotids occupied a unique ecological niche in the early days of the past, distinguishing them from contemporaries who inhabit their trees.

Two phylogenetic analyses conducted to clarify the evolutionary relationships of species confirmed that the mixed disease is Euarcontan, a mammalian group consisting of Tressue, primates and corgos.

“One analysis supported them as being an archaic primate, while the other wasn't,” Professor Sargis said.

“However, in the latter analysis we confirmed that Mixodectids are Primatomorphans, a group within Euarchonta, made up of primates and corgos, but not Treeshrews.”

“This study does not completely resolve the discussion about where Mixodectids belong to evolutionary trees, but it is significantly narrower.”

Survey results Today I'll be appearing in the journal Scientific Report.

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SGB ​​Chester et al. 2025. New remarkably complete skeleton of Mixodectes Cretaceous – reveals the argonism of protozoan mammals during the Oxalocene after mass extinction of the secondary genes. Sci Rep 15, 8041; doi:10.1038/s41598-025-90203-z

Source: www.sci.news

Fossil of a large Metatherian mammal discovered in Colorado

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Paleontologists have recovered a fossilized jaw fragment and three isolated bones from a relatively large (by Late Cretaceous standards) new species of Metatheria in the Williams Fork Formation of northwestern Colorado, USA. Found a tooth.

artist’s depiction Heleochora piceanus In a Late Cretaceous wetland. Image credit: Brian Engh / LivingRelicProductions.com / Utah Natural History Field House.

” Metatheria “[Marsupials and their closest fossil relatives]consist of about 330 extant species in seven orders, most of which live in the Southern Hemisphere,” said Jaylin Eberle, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. said.

“However, this clade appears to have originated in the Northern Hemisphere during the Early Cretaceous.”

“By the end of the Cretaceous period, Metatheria had dispersed across Europe, Asia, and North America, and were more diverse and numerous than their contemporaneous eutherians.”

“Most of the Late Cretaceous Metatheria species are represented almost exclusively by isolated teeth and jaws recovered from fossil localities in the interior western United States.”

The fossilized remains of a new species of Metatherian have been discovered. williams fork formation It is located in Douglas Creek Arch between the Uintah and Piance Creek basins in northwestern Colorado.

named Heleochora piceanusThis animal lived approximately 70 to 75 million years ago (late Cretaceous period), a time when a vast inland sea covered much of the American West.

Weighing about 1 kg (2 lb), it was larger than most Late Cretaceous mammals.

Based on the tooth, Heleochora piceanus They probably ate plants mixed with insects and other small animals.

It coexisted with creatures such as turtles, duck-billed dinosaurs, and giant crocodiles.

“This area could have been similar to Louisiana,” says Dr. Rebecca Hunt-Foster, a paleontologist at Dinosaur National Monument.

“We see a lot of animals like sharks, rays and guitarfish that are very happy in the water.”

“Colorado is a great place to find fossils, but mammals from this era tend to be quite rare,” Eberle says.

“So it’s really amazing to see this piece of time preserved in Colorado.”

“Compared to much larger dinosaurs that lived at the time, such as Tyrannosaurus and its horned ancestors, triceratopsColorado’s newest fossil addition may seem small and insignificant. However, it was surprisingly large for a mammal of its time. ”

This finding is reported in the following article: paper in a diary PLoS ONE.

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J. Hebert others. 2024. A new Late Cretaceous Metatherian discovered from the Williams Fork Formation in Colorado. PLoS ONE 19 (10): e0310948;doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310948

Source: www.sci.news