Jakarta – Scientists have identified a 42 million year old jawbone. It is known, the bone belongs to hypercarnivorous animal mysterious roaming the territory of California.
This monstrous bobcat-sized mammal roamed the jungles of what is now San Diego. Unlike most animals at the time, he was a hypercarnivorous group that always ate meat.
Launch Science NewsWednesday (16/3/2022), the animal is a Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghaea newly identified species of the family Machaeroidine which is now extinct. Currently there are only about a dozen fossils Machaeroidine identified.
The species is considered to be the first mammal with sword-like fangs and sharp teeth. Paleontologists were able to identify this new predator thanks to a 71-millimeter-long mandible with teeth originally found in the San Diego County fossil bed.
The research team carried out a thorough examination by taking photos from various angles and building detailed 3D models of the bones and teeth.
They then believed that animal it doesn’t just come from the species Machaeroidine but with a new genus. They then named it Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae in honor of San Diego County as a place of discovery of fossils, reported from Live Science.
The fossils show that the creature had canine teeth that were long like swords because its chin bone was lowered to protect its fangs, and there was a gap in its lower teeth to fit it, said Ashley Poust, a paleontologist at the San Diego Natural History Museum.
He explained that the specimen had large teeth, slicing and shears that were ideally suited for eating fresh meat, rather than chewing nuts or gnawing through bones.
This hypercarnivore is estimated to be the size of a large polar bear, tiger, or cat when viewed from the size of the jaws found. But his lifestyle as a meat-eater was out of the habit of predators in the Eocene at that time, about 34 million years ago.
according to American Museum of Natural History, the Eocene began with a period of extensive warming, which fueled the growth of hot and humid rainforests around the world. Amount fossil found in the Santiago Formation provide evidence that ancient California’s dense rainforests were once home to primates such as lemurs and marsupials but the size of a wild boar.
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