Probable ancient human relative: scientists discover 62 million-year-old mammal remains

Scientists have discovered the fossilized remains of a small mammal called Mixodectes pungens that lived in western North America about 62 million years ago, in the early Paleocene. The discovered mammal was a tree dweller, weighing approximately 1.3 kilograms.

Its limbs and claws were adapted to climbing trees and grabbing branches, which allowed it to live comfortably in the forest environment. This is reported by Interesting Engineering.

Its diet was based on leaves, although it remained an omnivore. The animal's teeth show characteristic ridges that indicate the ability to break down solid plant foods.

"This fossil discovery gives us a better understanding of how placental mammals were able to adapt and occupy new ecological niches after the dinosaurs disappeared," said study leader Stephen Chester, associate professor of anthropology at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Study co-author and Yale University anthropologist Eric Sargis explains that Mixodectes pungens has close evolutionary ties to primates and colugos (flying lemurs) that live in Southeast Asia. They are all part of the large group Euarchonta, which also includes the ancestors of modern humans.

"The complete skeleton, more than 60 million years old, gives us a new perspective on the mammalian evolutionary tree. We have received clear evidence that Mixodectes is a close relative of both primates and colugos and therefore of humans," Sargis emphasized.

The discovery helps to better understand how mammals adapted to new living conditions after the mass extinction of dinosaurs and became the basis for the development of many modern groups, including human ancestors.

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