The mammal – a giant for the time it lived in – was roaming around the supercontinent.
Researchers have first revealed the entire fossilized skeleton of a bizarre mammal from the time of the dinosaurs. It is an old resident of the supercontinent Gondwana, who lived on the island of Madagascar about 66 million years ago. In this era, mammals were usually the size of a mouse. However, the newly discovered mammal appears to far exceed this size.
Adalatherium hui
The new animal is Adalatherium hui which in Malagasy and Greek means as much as “crazy beast”. The fossil still contains almost all the bones and teeth that were found by curator David Krause in 1999. “It took twenty years to study every aspect of the fossil in detail, to find out what kind of mammal it was and how it likely lived in its ecosystem,” said researcher Alistair Evans.
Artistic impression of Adalatherium hui who lived on the island of Madagascar about 66 million years ago. Image: Andrey Atuchin
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Full skeleton
That the researchers are on a full skeleton of Adalatherium hui is very special. Previously, only pieces of the skeleton were found, such as parts of the jaws, teeth or skull. Scientists therefore had no idea what this animal must have looked like. “We never imagined that we would find such an extraordinary fossil of this mysterious mammal,” says Evans. “For the first time, we can take a look at the evolution of mammals.”
More about Gondwana
Gondwana was a super continent in the Southern Hemisphere. Modern Antarctica, South America, Africa, India and Australia, among others, were part of the continent. The supercontinent began to slowly disintegrate in the late Jurassic, about 160 million years ago. First of all, Africa broke free and moved north. The next block to break down was India along with Madagascar during the early Cretaceous Period (about 125 million years ago). Later, India broke away from Madagascar and drifted north. Australia then broke off from Antarctica 96 million years ago, and New Zealand followed about 80 million years ago.
After analysis of the skeleton, it turns out that it was an animal that belonged to an unknown group of extinct mammals, which roamed only in the southern hemisphere. In addition, it is probably the skeleton of a young specimen that weighed about 3.1 kilograms. Compared to other mammals that lived in the same time, it should Adalatherium hui have been a giant. Because although most mammals were no larger than a mouse at the time, they must Adalatherium hui about the same size as a domestic cat. This makes it one of the largest known mammals of this era. In addition, the large claws and robust legs suggest that it must have been a skilled excavator.
Crazy beast
It is not surprising that the animal has been called “crazy beast”. Not only because of its peculiar size, but also because of its remarkable teeth. “The animal’s strangeness is clearly visible in the teeth,” Evans says. The teeth of Adalatherium hui appear to be quite different from other mammals. “This means that the teeth are in again Adalatherium hui must have evolved from a distant ancestor, “says Evans.
Secluded
The large size of the animal and its strange teeth may be due to the remote and isolated location of the island of Madagascar. It is generally known that animals that live on islands separated from the mother species evolve differently. It could therefore well be that Adalatherium hui has appeared so special because it has evolved isolated on an island for tens of millions of years, finding its own solutions for how it moves from A to B and for finding food. “This is similar to Australia’s marsupials,” says Evans. “They are also very different from the animals you find elsewhere.”
It is not the first time that scientists in Madagascar have come across the fossil remains of a large animal. They already met one before giant crocodile-like who walked around the island during the Jurassic (about 201 to 145 million years ago). This animal had teeth similar to those of a T. Rex and must therefore have frightened other animals.
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