Tiny animal which roamed the Earth after extinction of dinosaurs, maybe long-lost predecessor of cows and pigs

A newly discovered species named Militocodon lydae, which is said to be around the size of a rat and weighs up to 455 grammes, walked the Earth just after the extinction of the dinosaurs and is part of a group of animals that gave rise to all modern hoofed mammals, including deer, cows and pigs, according to a recently published study.

According to the study published in the Journal of Mammalian Evolution, the animal in question lived around 65 million years ago.

It is believed to have appeared just after the extinction of the dinosaurs as the fossil skull and jaws of Militocodon lydae were uncovered from rocks dating back to that period. The creature’s fossil was recovered from the Corral Bluffs, a site in Colorado, United States.

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The finding also provides important clues about the explosive diversification of mammals after the dinosaurs went extinct, said the researchers.

“Rocks from this interval of time have a notoriously poor fossil record and the discovery and description of a fossil mammal skull is an important step forward in documenting the earliest diversification of mammals after Earth’s last mass extinction,” said Dr Tyler Lyson, Museum Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology.

After unearthing the specimen, the team used sophisticated scanning techniques, 3D reconstructions, and teeth comparisons to find out where Militocodon lydae would be placed on the evolutionary tree.

One of the key findings which suggests that the small mammal led to cows, pigs, and deer we have today is that its teeth were used to shear and crush rather than grind.

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Notably, researchers have found only a handful of Militocodon lydae fossils in the past eight years or so.

Therefore, furtherstudiesfor needed for scientists to confirm that this small and rather cute-looking animal is in fact what it is thought to be.

(With inputs from agencies)