02-08-2021, 12:59 AM
Scientists describe 'crazy beast' that lived among dinosaurs and seems to break rules of evolution
In a new 234-page treatment, scientists have explained in detail the bizarre features of the animal.
Friday 18 December 2020 10:59, UK
Life-like reconstruction of Adalatherium hui from the LateCretaceous of Madagascar. Credit: Denver Museum of Nature & Science/Andrey Atuchin.
Image:
Life-like reconstruction of Adalatherium hui. Pic: Denver Museum of Nature & Science/Andrey Atuchin
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Scientists have described the ways an ancient "crazy beast", which lived alongside dinosaurs on Madagascar approximately 66 million years ago, broke the rules of evolution.
Officially called Adalatherium hui, which literally translates from Malagasy - the national language of Madagascar - and Greek as "crazy beast", the mammal was discovered earlier this year and announced in the journal Nature.
Now a team of 14 international researchers have published their comprehensive 234-page monographic treatment examining the creature's bizarre evolutionary history and features.
Skeleton of Adalatherium hui, a new gondwanatherian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, in sandstone matrix. Photographer – Marylou Stewart (deceased and therefore no e-mail address). Credit: Nature Research.
Image:
The skeleton was found in Madagascar. Pic: Nature Research
It was about the size of a modern cat or an opossum, according to researchers at Stony Brook University in the US, and the skeleton is the most complete for any mammal ever discovered from this era in the southern hemisphere.
The animal is also surprisingly large for mammals of its time, which were believed to be about the size of mice, and is expected to have burrowed to hunt for food and avoid dinosaurs.
The 234-page treatment, consisting of seven separate chapters, is part of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) Memoir Series, a special yearly publication that provides a more in-depth treatment of the most significant vertebrate fossils.
Among the crazy beast's notable features are its spine, which contains more trunk vertebrae than most other mammals, its muscular hind limbs that were placed in sprawling position - similar to modern crocodiles - and its brawny sprinting front legs that were tucked underneath the body.
In a new 234-page treatment, scientists have explained in detail the bizarre features of the animal.
Friday 18 December 2020 10:59, UK
Life-like reconstruction of Adalatherium hui from the LateCretaceous of Madagascar. Credit: Denver Museum of Nature & Science/Andrey Atuchin.
Image:
Life-like reconstruction of Adalatherium hui. Pic: Denver Museum of Nature & Science/Andrey Atuchin
Why you can trust Sky News
Scientists have described the ways an ancient "crazy beast", which lived alongside dinosaurs on Madagascar approximately 66 million years ago, broke the rules of evolution.
Officially called Adalatherium hui, which literally translates from Malagasy - the national language of Madagascar - and Greek as "crazy beast", the mammal was discovered earlier this year and announced in the journal Nature.
Now a team of 14 international researchers have published their comprehensive 234-page monographic treatment examining the creature's bizarre evolutionary history and features.
Skeleton of Adalatherium hui, a new gondwanatherian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, in sandstone matrix. Photographer – Marylou Stewart (deceased and therefore no e-mail address). Credit: Nature Research.
Image:
The skeleton was found in Madagascar. Pic: Nature Research
It was about the size of a modern cat or an opossum, according to researchers at Stony Brook University in the US, and the skeleton is the most complete for any mammal ever discovered from this era in the southern hemisphere.
The animal is also surprisingly large for mammals of its time, which were believed to be about the size of mice, and is expected to have burrowed to hunt for food and avoid dinosaurs.
The 234-page treatment, consisting of seven separate chapters, is part of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) Memoir Series, a special yearly publication that provides a more in-depth treatment of the most significant vertebrate fossils.
Among the crazy beast's notable features are its spine, which contains more trunk vertebrae than most other mammals, its muscular hind limbs that were placed in sprawling position - similar to modern crocodiles - and its brawny sprinting front legs that were tucked underneath the body.
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