Imagine holding in your hand the remains of an animal that lived when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. That is exactly what scientists in Chile have done. They have discovered the fossil of the smallest mammal ever found in South America, and it is believed to be about 74 million years old.
The animal has been named Tiuqueñathus presser. It was a tiny creature, weighing between 30 and 40 grams, and lived during the Late Cretaceous period. This was the time when South America was part of a giant landmass known as Gondwana. The discovery has excited scientists because it helps them understand more about life forms that existed alongside dinosaurs in this part of the world.
The fossil was found in the Río de las Chinas Valley in Chile’s Las Magallanes region, about 3,000 kilometres south of Santiago. What makes this find so special is that fossils of small mammals from this era are extremely rare in South America. Most fossils from that time belong to large dinosaurs or reptiles.
The fossil itself is not a complete skeleton. Scientists found a small piece of the animal’s jaw along with a molar and the crowns and roots of two other molars. These teeth have given researchers important clues about the animal’s diet, lifestyle and even how it reproduced. Hans Püschel, a researcher at the University of Chile, said that the tooth structure was key to identifying the animal and linking it to a family of mammals that lived in the Southern Hemisphere during the Cretaceous.
Although Tiuqueñathus presser looks like a modern shrew or small marsupial in illustrations, it was actually more primitive. Researchers believe it might have laid eggs or given birth to very tiny young, which it then carried in a pouch, like present-day kangaroos or opossums. This makes it an important species for understanding the evolutionary link between egg-laying mammals and those that give birth to live young.
The shape and wear of the teeth suggest that it probably fed on a mix of insects and plants. This kind of diet is typical for small mammals that need to stay active and alert to avoid predators. Living among large dinosaurs, this little animal would have needed to be quick and cautious to survive.
The fossil has also helped scientists fill a gap in the record of mammal life in South America. Until now, there was limited information about the kinds of mammals that existed in this region before the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago. Every new find like this helps researchers build a clearer picture of ancient ecosystems and how life evolved after major changes on Earth.
The discovery was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. According to the research team, studying such small fossils is challenging because they are often overlooked during excavation. However, these tiny remains can reveal big secrets about our planet’s history.
In short, the Tiuqueñathus presser is not just the smallest mammal fossil found in South America. It is also a time capsule from an age when giant dinosaurs ruled the land, and small creatures like this one were quietly shaping the path of mammalian evolution.
