Fruitafossor

Froo-tah-foss-sor.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Fruitafossor‭ (‬Fruita digger‭)‬.

Phonetic

Froo-tah-foss-sor.

Named By

Zhe-Xi Luo‭ & ‬John R.‭ ‬Wible‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Incertae sedis.

Diet

Insectivore.

Species

F.‭ ‬windscheffeli‭

Size

15‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

USA,‭ ‬Morrison Formation,‭ ‬Colorado,‭ ‬Fruita.

Time Period

Kimmeridgian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Almost complete specimen.

In Depth

       The discovery of Fruitafossor made many palaeontologists sit up and pay attention,‭ ‬because here was a digging mammal that existed one hundred million years before the previously known Cenozoic ancestors of today’s mammalian diggers.‭ ‬Although it appears that Fruitafossor was not related to any of today’s existing mammals,‭ ‬it employed its powerful forearms,‭ ‬which have earned it the nickname‭ ‘‬Popeye‭’ ‬due to their oversized resemblance to the cartoon characters forearm,‭ ‬to dig for the termites that lived towards the end of the Jurassic.‭ ‬Not only could Fruitafossor have used its forearms and claws to break into termite nests,‭ ‬it has also been suggested that it could dig itself burrows for protection from hunters.‭

       The teeth of Fruitafossor are sharp and lack enamel suggesting that they were lost and replaced as they wore out.‭ ‬Animals that eat termites usually do not have to do any chewing,‭ ‬so enamel is not required to protect the teeth for this process.‭ ‬More importantly though,‭ ‬the same type of teeth are found in mammals that primarily feed on termites today,‭ ‬indicating that because Fruitafossor was not related to them,‭ ‬the evolutionary adaptations suited for eating termites happened more than once.

       The species name F.‭ ‬windscheffeli is in honour of Wally Windscheffeli,‭ ‬a Carnegie museum volunteer who discovered the Fruitafosser remains.

Further Reading

– A Late Jurassic digging mammal and early mammalian diversification. – Science 308:103-107. – Z.-X. Luo & J. R. Wible – 2005.

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