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| The little tree-climber, Agilodocodon scansorius |
Excerpt from
sciencerecorder.com
Two new fossil discoveries push the
timeline back on the appearance of burrowing and tree-climbing mammals.
Fossils of the shrew-sized creatures found in China date to the age of
the dinosaurs and show that mammals of that period were already highly
specialized, well-performing animals. One of the rodent-like animals was
likely a long-clawed tree-dweller, while the other was shovel-pawed
tunnel-digger.
The little tree-climber, Agilodocodon scansorius, is the earliest arboreal mammal ever discovered. A report
published this week in Science Magazine highlights its traits suited
for its habitat, including long claws, spade-like front teeth for
gnawing into bark, and flexible elbows and ankles. It is believed to
have weighed up to 40 grams, a bit less than a typical hotdog without
condiments, and lived about 165 million years ago in what is Mongolia
today.
“When we got into the study of Agilodocodon, we realized that the
outline for the horny sheath of the claws is preserved,” Zhe-Xi Luo,
professor of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of
Chicago, said in an interview. “Those soft tissues are not preserved in
the vast majority of mammals. It has a very long, curved narrow claw —
one feature to show that it is a good climber.”
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| Docofossor brachydactylus |
Both fossils are of creatures that belong to the order Docodonta. The
In a report published in the same issue of Science, the other mammal, called Docofossor brachydactylus,
is described to have stood no more than 9 centimeters tall and weighed
only 17 grams, about the size of a juvenile mouse. Docfossor is the
earliest underground-dwelling mammal ever found and shares similarities
with the African golden mole, having short, wide digits suitable for
digging. The little digger is estimated to have lived some 160 million
years ago in what is today Ganggou Fossil Site in China’s Hebei
province.
discoveries are the first to provide full skeletons of this order,
which had previously been characterized by evidence from fossils of
teeth, jaws, and bits of skull.
Source Article from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AscensionEarth2012/~3/TtaWnkwLBNE/researchers-discover-fossils-of-tiny.html
Researchers discover fossils of tiny mammals that frolicked among dinosaurs
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