Platypus-Like Mammal Relative Discovered From Jurassic-Era China
A newly discovered Jurassic creature is the largest-known mammal relative of its era, weighing about as much as a Chihuahua.
An illustration of the Jurassic platypus-like animal Megacauda sungei*, which had a broad tail for swimming, and shearing teeth for eating fish. (Image credit: April I. Neander)*
A newly discovered platypus-like creature is the largest-known mammal relative from the entire Jurassic period, a new study finds — although it still only weighed as much as a Chihuahua.
The critter, which hunted salamanders in the freshwater lakes and rivers of what is now Inner Mongolia, China, lived during the mid-Jurassic between 168 million and 163 million years ago. It appears to be the earliest known mammal-type animal to have lived a semiaquatic life.