Close X
Saturday, March 1, 2025
ADVT 
Health

Ancient kitten-sized predator found!

Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 May, 2014 12:22 PM
    A kitten-sized but formidable hunter preyed on animals of its size in Bolivia about 13 million years ago, researchers have found.
     
    "The animal would have been about the size of a marten, a catlike weasel found in the northeastern United States and Canada, and probably filled the same ecological niche," said Russell Engelman of Case Western Reserve University in the US.
     
    Analysis of a partial skull that had been in a University of Florida collection more than three decades showed that the predator is one of the smallest species reported in the extinct order Sparassodonta.
     
    The researchers refrained from naming the new species mainly because the specimen lacks well-preserved teeth, which are the only parts preserved in many of its close relatives.
     
    The skull, which would have been a little less than 3 inches long if complete, shows the animal had a very short snout.
     
    A socket, or alveolus, in the upper jaw shows it had large, canines, that were round in cross-section much like those of a meat-eating marsupial, called the spotted-tailed quoll, found in Australia today, the researchers said.
     
    "Most predators do not go after animals of equal size, but these features indicate this small predator was a formidable hunter," said Darin Croft, an anatomy professor at Case Western Reserve University.
     
    The findings appeared in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Now get a beer glass that would double the pleasure!

    Now get a beer glass that would double the pleasure!
    You love the taste of bubbly, now taste the glass too! A German firm Spiegelau has developed a brew-specific vessel that has a precise combination of high-end glass and strategic curves for maximising joy for your stout.

    Now get a beer glass that would double the pleasure!

    Did You Know: Nearly 1,700 US teens turn mothers per week

    Did You Know: Nearly 1,700 US teens turn mothers per week
    Births to younger teens aged between 15 and 17 have declined over the past 20 years in the US, but still account for about a quarter of teen births, or nearly 1,700 births a week, a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed.

    Did You Know: Nearly 1,700 US teens turn mothers per week

    Soon, trees to deliver high-power storage devices

    Soon, trees to deliver high-power storage devices
    In a major breakthrough, scientists have found a novel way to make high-tech energy storage devices from your neighbourhood tree.

    Soon, trees to deliver high-power storage devices

    Revealed: How Chinese have faster eye movement

    Revealed: How Chinese have faster eye movement
    Ever wondered how quickly Chinese people move their eyes? It has nothing to do with the neurological behaviour or culture in people of Chinese origin.

    Revealed: How Chinese have faster eye movement

    Decoded: How You Decide Who Is More Popular

    Decoded: How You Decide Who Is More Popular
    Your brain knows for sure who attracts more eyeballs in your own circle as a new research has found how our brains recognise popular people. People track popularity largely through the brain region involved in anticipating rewards.

    Decoded: How You Decide Who Is More Popular

    How watching movies synchronises viewers' brains

    How watching movies synchronises viewers' brains
    Do you know that while watching a movie, your brain reacts to it immediately in a way similar to other people's brains? Researchers have succeeded in developing a method fast enough to observe immediate changes in the function of the brain even when watching a movie. 

    How watching movies synchronises viewers' brains