Researchers have recently discover remains of a mammal that was only as large as a kitten , but was still a fierce predator . The research was completed by Russell Engelman and Darin Croft of Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and the result were published in theJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology .
The skull was recovered in Bolivia , where the animal lived 13 million geezerhood ago . It is believe to be in the orderSparassodonta , which has no living members but is considered a baby taxonomic group to marsupials . They are presently holding off on naming a coinage . While many sparassodont coinage have only been identified through their tooth , this skull — which is about 3 inches ( 7.6 cm ) long — is lacking teeth that are adequate to compare to other closely - pertain mintage .
Though they do n’t have good tooth sample in the skull to name the species , the researchers were still capable to tease out a lot of info about the dentition . The animal had prominent , round canine tooth dentition , double-dyed for attacking some evenhandedly ambitious fair game . " Most predators do n’t go after beast of equal sizing , but these features betoken this small vulture was a redoubtable hunter , " Croft said in apress spillage .
When it was first compile in 1978 , it had n’t been psychoanalyze very thoroughly and was initially assumed to be an out specie of carnivorous opossums . However , the mintage that is currently documented to be the one-time meat - eating possum is about one-half as previous as this mystery skull , putting stock on that link . Additionally , the morphology of the eye socket in relation to the nasal bone was more like a sparassdont than an opossum .
" No single feature find in the skull was so classifiable that we could say one way or the other what it was , " Croft explained in thepress release , " but the combination of features is unique and says this is a sparassodont . "
However , thing are n’t really that clear - cut when compare this skull to sparassodonts . Its features are more reminiscent of larger animal than those of similar sizing . The skull has a short snout and no col between its dentition , which is similar to animate being the sizing of a jaguar . Smaller creature typically have gapped tooth as well as longer fox - like snouts .
Croft will be returning to the area where the skull was recovered this summer in hopes of finding more cue about the identity of this small - yet - mighty animal .
