Yanoconodon allini, Reconstruction artwork: Mark A. Klingler/CMNH. Life reconstruction of the new Chinese Cretaceous mammal Yanoconodon, as a chipmunk-size nocturnal mammal, adapted to ground-living (terrestrial habits) and digging (fossorial habits). It is estimated to weigh about 30 grams (less than 1 ounce) from its skeleton about 15 cm (about 5 inches) in length. Yanoconodon belongs to the primitive Mesozoic fossil mammal group known as triconodonts, characterized by three cusps in a straight line on molar teeth (“tri” – three; “con” – cusps; “don” tooth; “triconodont” – mammal with three-cusped tooth)

PITTSBURGH, PA.- International teams of paleontologists have discovered a new species of mammal that lived 125 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era in what is now the Hebei Province in China. This new mammal, documented in the March 15 issue of the prestigious British journal Nature, provides first-hand evidence of early evolution of mammalian middle ear – one of the most important features for all modern mammals. Named Yanoconodon after the Yan Mountains in Hebei, this remarkable fossil was unearthed in the fossil-rich beds of the Yixian Formation and is the first Mesozoic mammal recovered from Hebei. The fossil site is about 300km outside of Beijing. Lire la suite http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=19717