Paleontologists have found fossilized remains of a giant possum-like mammal that lived 60 million years ago.
The researchers’ work is aimed at uncovering some of the smaller and harder-to-find fossil mammals that lived at Big Bend at the time, Beard said.
The paleontologists are also interested in the differences in the kinds of fossils found in more northern regions, such as Wyoming and Alberta, Canada.
“North of that ancient divide, we see the classic Bighorn Basin taxa in their expected time periods,” Miller said said.
More research into Swaindelphys solastella, as well as new fieldwork in Big Bend, is planned.
Fossilized remnants of a massive possum-like mammal that existed 60 million years ago have been discovered by paleontologists.
According to a paper published last week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the fossils were discovered at Big Bend National Park in Texas and are part of a group of Paleocene-era near-marsupials known as Swaindelphys.
According to the researchers, the ancient Swaindelphys solastella was “gigantic” in comparison to other Swaindelphys at the time, but it is actually about the size of a contemporary hedgehog.
Kristen Miller, a doctoral student at The University of Kansas’ Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum and the paper’s lead author, said in a statement, “I compared them to a lot of other marsupials from around the same time period to see what they’re most closely related to.”.
When the fossils were first discovered, paleontologists assumed they belonged to a group of metatherians, or mammals that resembled marsupials, that lived through the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, which is thought to have wiped out dinosaurs from the earth 66 million years ago.
The specimens, however, were found to belong to a “surprisingly large” new species of Swaindelphys after further examination.
In addition to being the biggest metatherians of this era, Miller noted that they are also the youngest and found in the southernmost latitude.
Chris Beard, senior curator with KU’s Biodiversity Institute, said in a statement that the new fossil is the largest marsupial—both in size and body—discovered to date in North America from the Paleocene period.
Beard remarked, “This is perhaps not surprising, since everything is bigger in Texas.”.
“I refer to them as ‘primatomorphans,'” Beard stated. Technically speaking, they are not primates, but they share a close ancestry with both extant and extinct primates. These marsupials most likely resemble early primates ecologically. “.
Finding some of the smaller and more elusive fossil mammals that were present at Big Bend at the time is the goal of the researchers’ work, Beard said.
Different types of fossils found in more northern areas, like Alberta and Wyoming, Canada, are also of interest to paleontologists.
Miller stated that the classic Bighorn Basin taxa are present in their anticipated time periods north of that ancient divide. South of that, however, things start to get a little crazy in places further south and in river drainages that start in the central Rockies. “.”.
There are plans to conduct new fieldwork in Big Bend and conduct additional research on Swaindelphys solastella.
