Artist impression. Credit: Oscar Sanisidro

A fossil of a previously unknown mammal has been found in Spain. This fossil includes soft tissue, which is very unusual.

This animal resembles a possum and is thought to be 125 million years old. But what is most interesting is the fact that it contains so many soft tissues. Twice the age of any other soft tissue found from mammals.

It consists of a complete skeleton, parts of fur, skin and an outer ear and even internal organs, such as lungs and the liver.

The researchers have been able to deduce how this mammal looked based on the skeleton. It was a small animal that probably lived of insects and larvae.

The fossil was found in limestone in Spanish Las Hoyas, where several well-preserved skeletons of dinosaurs also have been found.

The study A Cretaceous eutriconodont and integument evolution of the early mammals detailing the findings have been published in Nature.

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A Cretaceous eutriconodont and integument evolution of the early mammals

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