2 days ago
Fossil Shows a Sharp-Toothed Mammal That Thrived Among Dinosaurs
Around 145 million years ago, the beach in what is today Dorset, England, was covered in a freshwater lagoon. It was teeming with dinosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodiles and turtles. Making its way among all these beasts was a small puff of fur with excruciatingly sharp teeth.
Scientists last month described the prehistoric mammal in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. They named it Novaculadon mirabilis, from novacula, the Latin word for razor.
'The premolars form quite a sharp cutting edge,' said Steven Sweetman, a paleontologist at the University of Portsmouth in England and an author of the paper. The species was probably omnivorous, with teeth designed for processing vegetation but also possibly meat.
Novaculadon, about the size of a mouse, came from an order of mammals called multituberculates. They are named for the round 'tubercles,' or outgrowths on their teeth. They were among the most successful groups of ancient mammals yet discovered, living alongside dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era. Though unrelated to mice and rats, they most likely filled a similar role as an easy food source for larger predators while also dispersing seeds and controlling insects, all the while avoiding the weighty footfalls of roaming sauropods.
The Novaculadon specimen was discovered in a rock on the Dorset beach. Its full jawbone was found with the majority of its teeth intact, including a robust incisor and premolars, though it lacked the molars. Scientists used X-ray computed tomography to digitally isolate the teeth without the risk of damaging the delicate fossil.
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