From: Jeff Hecht <jeff@jeffhecht.com>
Reply-To: jeff@jeffhecht.com
To: Dinosaur mailing list <dinosaur@usc.edu>, vrtpaleo@usc.edu
Subject: "Gigantic" early mammal
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 15:24:02 -0500
The latest find from the Yixian formation to challenge the conventional
wisdom, a meter-long carnivore comparable to a honey badger or a Tasmanian
devil. Previously the only evidence that Mesozoic mammals might reach such
sizes were a handful of teeth and other fragmentary remains. A team from
the American Museum of Natural History and IVPP describe the beast in
Nature. They have a virtually complete skeleton of the big guy, preserved
in three dimensions, and a pretty good specimen of a smaller one with
Psittacosaur bones in its belly. My account for New Scientist is on line at
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6874
It's a triconodont, so it's not on the main line to any extant mammals, but
it makes you wonder what else was out there. Really neat stuff, and great
work.
--
Jeff Hecht, science & technology writer
jeff@jeffhecht.com; http://www.jeffhecht.com
Boston Correspondent: New Scientist magazine
Contributing Editor: Laser Focus World
525 Auburn St., Auburndale, MA 02466 USA
v. 617-965-3834; fax 617-332-4760