Species found that survived extinction of dinosaurs – De Morgen

An international team of paleontologists has found remnants of an ancient mammal species that was unknown until now. The animal comes from the early Paleocene, about 65 million years ago. Especially interesting is that the species survived the incident that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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Very interesting is that the peculiar group in the few survivors of the mass extinction heard and could maintain himself in its aftermath “

Thomas Williamson, researcher

The animal was discovered in the US state of New Mexico and was named Kimbetopsalis simmonsae. According to the British and American paleontologists who studied the new mammal, it belonged to the group of multituberculata.

This now-extinct group of mammals originated about 166 million years ago, about a hundred million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs. They consisted of small, fluffy, rodent-like creatures, which are distinguished by their unusual teeth. The animals had very sharp incisors and molars with multiple rows of sharp points; multituberculata the name is a reference to it. Their special teeth were perfect for their diet of plants and leaves.

Important gap filled

The newly discovered species is described in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society by Dr. Thomas Williamson of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, who find calls a “pleasant surprise.”

The importance of the discovery lies in the fact that the group of multituberculata survived the events that led to the mass extinction at the transition of the Cretaceous and Tertiary, about 66 million years ago where the dinosaurs disappeared. During the post-extinctietijdperk spread the animals themselves by what is now Asia and North America, to finally clean up some 35 million years ago for the emerging group of rodents.

“The new discovery helps us a significant gap in the history of this group of animals to fill,” said Williamson. “Very interesting is that the peculiar group in the few survivors of the mass extinction heard and could maintain well in its aftermath. Perhaps that’s because they were already adapted for the events to eat plants.”

Apocalyptic change

The new species shows how quickly the animals evolved to become to adapt to the new conditions. “The asteroid that ended the dinosaurs, caused an apocalyptic change,” says co-researcher Dr. Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh. “But it seems that the mammals could bounce back quite quickly afterwards.”