Researchers recently released new details about the “crazy beast” mammal they discovered about eight months ago.
- A study about the mammal’s fossils was originally published in the journal Nature back in April. New details were shared in a special issue of Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir Series, which was published on Friday, according to CNN.
Context:
Back in April, scientists revealed that they had discovered a 66-million-year-old fossil that represented a new species called adalatherium, which translates to “crazy beast,” according to USA Today.
Scientists accidentally discovered the species in Madagascar, where they were trying to uncover a crocodile skeleton, the Deseret News reported.
At the time, Guillermo Rougier of the University of Louisville said in a statement the creature “has teeth for which we have no parallel.”
Researchers said the creature was likely the size of a badger.
Why it matters now
The researchers said in the newly-published research that the creature “is the most complete and best-preserved of any Mesozoic mammaliaform from Gondwana.”
Dr. David Krause and Dr. Simone Hoffmann, who worked on the new research, said the creature is an important part of evolutionary research.
- “Adalatherium is an important piece in a very large puzzle on early mammalian evolution in the southern hemisphere, one in which most of the other pieces are still missing,” said Hoffmann.