Researchers in Chile unearth 74 million year old mammal teeth
JUNE 11, 2020 / 12:56 PM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO
Researchers in Chile unearth 74 million year old mammal teeth
Fabian Cambero
2 MIN READ
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean and Argentine researchers have unearthed teeth in far-flung Patagonia belonging to a mammal that lived 74 million years ago, the oldest such remains yet discovered in the South American country, the Chilean Antarctic Institute reported on Thursday.
Scientists uncovered the tiny teeth, which belonged to a species called Magallanodon baikashkenke, on a dig near Torres del Paine National Park, a remote area of Patagonia famous for its glacier-capped Andean spires and frigid ocean waters.
The small mammal would have lived in southern Patagonia during the late Cretaceous era, alongside dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles and birds, according to an article published in the bulletin of the Natural History Museum of Chile.
It is the southernmost record of Gondwanatheria, a group of long-extinct early mammals that co-existed with dinosaurs.
More:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-chile-fossil-discovery/researchers-in-chile-unearth-74-million-year-old-mammal-teeth-idUKKBN23I2WU?rpc=401&
Also posted at Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122869961
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Artistic recreation of what the Magallanodon baikashkenke would
have looked like.
ILLUSTRATION: Mauricio Álvarez
Magallanodon: with an antiquity of 74 million years, this is the oldest mammal discovered in Chile
Patricio lazcano
22 HOURS AGO
The species was discovered in Cerro Guido, near Las Torres del Paine, when this region had a climate similar to that currently found in the central part of the country.
Baptized as Magallanodon baikashkenke , since this Tuesday, this animal is the oldest mammal ever discovered in Chile.
At 74 million years old, the researchers who discovered it point out that it corresponds to a species of the lineage of the Gondwanatre class that inhabited the late Cretaceous period, that is to say, 66 million years ago.
The name Magallanodon is due to the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Hernando de Magallanes and Baikashkenke's first round the world tribute to the Tehuelches, in whose language it means “grandfather's valley”.
Once again, the discovery was made in the Las Chinas complex, in Cerro Guido , next to Torres del Paine, one of the most prolific paleontological sites in the country.
The first finds of the species date back to a couple of years ago, when paleontologists discovered small teeth, no larger than an inch. But it was not until Tuesday, when the find was certified as the oldest mammal discovered in the country , after it was validated by a publication of the National Museum of Natural History.
More:
https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/magallanodon-con-una-antiguedad-de-74-millones-de-anos-este-es-el-mamifero-mas-antiguo-descubierto-hasta-ahora-en-chile/DOPAN644YFBZBOPAMTOWPKSEVA/
