Three Cat-Sized Mammals That Thrived in the Post-Dinosaur World
Palaeontologists have found fossilised teeth and jaws of three hitherto unrecognised mammals — Conacodon hettingeri, Miniconus jeanninae, Beornus honeyi — in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming. The fossils suggest that these mammals were not bigger than a giant rodent or a small-sized cat and thrived during the early Puercan age, within almost 328,000 years after the dinosaurs disappeared. They belong to a group called condylarths. They were somewhere related to the ungulate family, which also includes the ancestors of today’s hooved mammals. The findings suggest that the diversification of mammals after the extinction of dinosaurs began much earlier than previously predicted by researchers. The discovery of these three new species also demonstrates how many more “unique pockets of diversity” might have thrived in different locations during this age.
About 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid struck the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and wiped dinosaurs off the face of the earth. Researchers had previously agreed that all species that survived in the aftermath of the catastrophe would have been the size of rats or mice. Previously discovered fossils suggested that condylarths was the most abundant group of mammals in North America during the early Puercan age. However, researchers had to dig deep to place the new fossils within the established taxonomy of animals.
The team compared the fossilised teeth with the specimens of 25 other condylarths and another distantly related mammal. They used a computer programme to analyse 64 characteristics of each specimen’s teeth and studied how closely these species related to other mammalian ancestors from the same era. After the analysis, researchers concluded that these species were part of a family called the periptychids.
Periptychids are usually distinguished from other condylarths by their swollen teeth, which suggests that these species did not live on flesh. Beornus honeyi had large inflated premolars and molars. Miniconus jeanninae had an unusual extra cusp on its molars while Conacodon hettingeri showed a short lobe on its last molar. The teeth structure and hardness suggested that these mammals survived on hard materials such as seeds. They could have been omnivores.
The new findings were compiled in a paper by Jaelyn Eberle and Madelaine Atteberryon in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. The specimens under investigation were kept in the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. The exhibited collection also comprises more than 400 other specimens from the same site.
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An unprecedented nine-day tsunami following a significant rockslide in Greenland’s Dickson Fjord was recently recorded by the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a collaborative mission by NASA and France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). The event, which took place in September 2023, saw a unique pattern of seismic waves resonate around the world, marking one of the rare instances where satellite data captured a prolonged natural phenomenon with such clarity.
Satellite’s Breakthrough Detection in Remote Fjord
As per a report by NASA, the rockslide unleashed over 25 million cubic meters of rock and ice into the fjord, displacing the water and creating a massive wave that moved rhythmically between the fjord walls every 90 seconds for nine consecutive days. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Josh Willis highlighted this as a first, saying, “SWOT’s technology allowed us to see the wave contours, something we couldn’t achieve before.” The water levels on the northern side of Dickson Fjord rose as high as 1.2 metres in contrast to the southern side, emphasising the powerful impact of the rockslide.
Advanced Technology for Global Hazard Monitoring
At an altitude of around 900 kilometres, SWOT utilises a Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) to measure surface water height with precision. This technology captured the event’s effects in the confined fjord setting, which conventional altimeters could not do due to their larger footprint. Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, a scientist at NASA Headquarters, noted that this capability highlights SWOT’s potential for monitoring hazards, contributing to preparedness and disaster risk reduction.
Innovative Partnership in Satellite Research
Since its launch in December 2022, SWOT has been instrumental in mapping global water levels. Developed with contributions from the Canadian and UK space agencies, NASA leads the mission’s U.S. operations, including the KaRIn instrument, with CNES managing various onboard systems and support. The data collected promises ongoing contributions to scientific understanding of Earth’s water dynamics.
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