Archive · 12 Aug 2025
Fossil of Ancient Rodent-Like Mammal Discovered in Chile
Scientists found an old fossil of a tiny mammal called Yeutherium Pressor.
It lived with the dinosaurs around 74 million years ago in South America, when the land was connected.
The mammal was mouse-sized, weighing about an ounce.
The fossil was found in Chile.
This mammal was likely very different from modern mammals, possibly laying eggs or having a pouch.
It ate hard vegetables.
Scientists discovered a 74-million-year-old fossil of a mouse-sized mammal.
The mammal, named Yeutherium Pressor, lived during the Late Cretaceous period.
The fossil was found in Chile's Rio de las Chinas Valley.
Yeutherium Pressor weighed around one ounce.
The mammal may have laid eggs or used a pouch for offspring.
- Who
- Scientists from the University of Chile and Chile's Millennium Nucleus research center.
- What
- Discovery of Yeutherium Pressor fossil.
- When
- Around 74 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.
- Where
- Chile's Rio de las Chinas Valley.
- Why
- To learn more about early mammals and their lives during the age of dinosaurs.
- Name
- Yeutherium Pressor
- Age
- 74 million years old
- Period
- Late Cretaceous
- Weight
- Around one ounce
- Location of discovery
- Rio de las Chinas Valley, Chile