Mystery of 90 million year old animal unearthed in Gobi

Shocking fossil discovery in Mongolia: ancient mammal helps scientists rewrite evolutionary history in the mid-Cretaceous period.

During a joint expedition to the Baynshire Formation, a fossil deposit in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, Dr. Tsukasa Okoshi of Okayama University of Science and colleagues found the fossil of a lower jaw about 1 cm long. Photo: @Discover Mongolia Travel.

Analysis showed that this fossil specimen belonged to a previously unknown species of ancient mammal that roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous period, about 90 million years ago, and it has been named Ravjaa ishiii. Photo: @Tsukasa Okoshi.

This ancient mammal was about the size of a mouse and belonged to the family Zhelestidae - a family of mammals that was widely distributed from Eurasia to North America during the late Cretaceous period. Photo: @Tsukasa Okoshi.

Their unusually high molars and distinctive jaw shape differ from those of known relatives, leading experts to name Ravjaa ishiii a new species. Photo: @Tsukasa Okoshi.

The species name honors two individuals: Dulduityn Danzanravjaa, a revered 19th-century Mongolian Buddhist monk, and the late Kenichi Ishii, former director of the Hayashibara Museum of Natural Science, who played a key role in establishing the Mongolia-OUS research partnership. Photo: @Tsukasa Okoshi.

"The discovery of an exceptionally well-preserved mammal fossil excavated from the Gobi Desert of Mongolia has played a major role in understanding the evolution of mammals in the Mesozoic," said Dr Tsukasa Okoshi from Okayama University of Science and colleagues. Photo: @Tsukasa Okoshi.

The discovery marks the first record of a Zhelestidae species in Mongolia, suggesting that the group also thrived further inland, not just along ancient coastlines as previously thought. Photo: @Tsukasa Okoshi.

"Finding such a small fossil in the vast Gobi Desert is like a gift from the Gobi Desert. It's a miracle," said Professor Mototaka Saneyoshi of Okayama University of Science. Photo: @Tsukasa Okoshi.

Additionally, according to Dr. Tsukasa Okoshi, the robust nature of Ravjaa ishiii's upper molars resembles that of seed- and fruit-eating mammals, providing an interesting insight that the first prehistoric mammals exploited the resources produced by flowering plants. Photo: @Kaek_art.

Dear Readers, please watch the video : Discovering the cause of the mammoth's extinction. Video source: @Thanh Nien Newspaper.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/bi-an-loai-thu-90-trieu-nam-tuoi-duoc-khai-quat-o-gobi-post1548025.html