US EditionOldest Saber-Toothed Mammalian Ancestor Found in Mallorca
- Paleontologists have discovered what may be the earliest known saber-toothed animal that lived before the dinosaurs.
- The fossils of this prehistoric predator were found in Mallorca, Spain, and date back 280-270 million years.
- The creature is likely the oldest known member of Therapsida, which includes mammals.
- This discovery is significant as it is the oldest known gorgonopsian, a lineage leading to mammals.
52 Articles
52 Articles
Science Alert
Shining ScienceDog-Like Predator's Bones Belong to Oldest Known Mammal Relative
Before the time of the dinosaurs, a naked, warm-blooded egg-layer known as a gorgonopsian sipped water from Pangea's tropical floodplains amid herb-grazing reptiles off what's now Mallorca in the Mediterranean. Its death 270 million years ago may provide us with a critical glimpse into our own evolution. Paleontologists suspect it might be the oldest gorgonopsian specimen on record – up to 15 million years older than any previously studie…
270 million-year-old saber-toothed predator from 'ghost' lineage looked like a bald dog
Fossils of the oldest saber-toothed predator are helping researchers understand the evolution of early mammal relatives called gorgonopsians and our shared origins in the therapsid group.
Gorgondogs were warm-blooded animals with saber-shaped teeth.
A good number of ancient fossils have been found on the beautiful island of Mallorca in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, which belonged to the gorgonops, relatives of the ancestors of mammals.
Fossil of Oldest Dog-Like Saber-Toothed Animal Predating Dinosaurs Found
Archaeologists have discovered the fossil of the oldest saber-toothed animal predating the dinosaurs. Credits: Illustration by Henry Sutherland Sharpe, CC BY 4.0, Nature. Archaeologists have discovered the fossil of the oldest saber-toothed animal dating back to the time before the dinosaurs’ existence. This prehistoric saber-toothed animal looked somewhat like a dog and walked the Earth around 270 to 280 million years ago. The fossil is of what…
The world’s oldest ‘sabre-tooth’
An international team of palaeontologists has unearthed in Banyalbufar, Mallorca, the fossil remains of a 270-million-year-old gorgonopsid, the world’s oldest ‘sabre-tooth’. The discovery, published in the journal Nature Communications, is the first discovery of a therapsid – a group of prehistoric animals that evolved to give rise to today’s mammals – in the Mediterranean region. Source
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