A littleherbivorous mammal the size of a mouse, contemporary with the dinosaurs that lived 130 million years ago, has been discovered by researchers at the University of Zaragoza in thetown of Galve (Teruel). The research group “Aragosaurus” has baptized it with the name ofIberica hahni.
Galve is popularly known for the discovery of dinosaurs, of which two have been described so far: sauropodsAragosaurusYGalvesaurus. However, as these huge dinosaurs roamed around Galve, so did small mammals the size of modern mice, themultituberculados. In Galve there are remains of at least four species of these animals preserved in rocks dating back 130 million years. So far they have been identified exclusively byisolated teeth.
The dentition of multituberculates resembles that of rodents, although slightly different, with the presence oflong incisors, followed by a dental diastema (part of the denture that does not have teeth). The premolars and molars of multituberculates are characterized by presenting numerous cusps, peaks or tubercles (hence the name given to these mammals) in the upper dental series, and triangular or rectangular premolars with a serrated shape at the apex, in the series lower. It is aboutteeth specialized in processing vegetables, although the precise diet of these extinct mammals is unknown.
The finding ofIberica hahni, published in the English scientific journalCretaceous Research, has been carried out by the members of the Aragosaurus-IUCA research group Ainara Badiola, José Ignacio Canudo and Gloria Cuenca. The generic name of the new species of Galve,Iberian, is dedicated to the Iberian Peninsula, and the epithet,hahni, is a tribute to the German researchers Gerard and Renate Hahn, specialists in multituberculates and who have published different works in Galve.
