Ancient Madagascar Skull Helps Reveal The Backgrounds Of Evolution

A bizarre fossil skull from Madagascar reveals that mammals who lived during the dinosaur age were likely small and weighed less than a pound, according to recent findings published in the journal Nature.

"The skull is amazingly complete," said lead study author David Krause, a professor of anatomical sciences at Stony Brook University in New York, via LiveScience. "What's most remarkable about it is its size. [The skull] is about 5 inches long, which may not seem that large, but for mammals at the time, it was enormous."

Researchers discovered that the fossil belongs to a group of elusive, extinct mammals known as gondwanatherians. They are known for having several teeth and jaw fragments, and lived an estimated 72 million years ago.

Furthermore, the fossil gave insight into the animal's vision and smell. For instance, they discovered that the creature's large eye sockets most likely suggest that it also had large eyes, helping it to see in relatively low-light conditions.

"This is a whole group of mammals that that we knew nothing about at all 30 years ago," he concluded. "Now we have a complete skull that really helps us document what the gondwanatherians were."