A new genus and species of small carnivore appeared called Galanthis baskini. They found it at a site in Teruel. It demonstrates that the origin of the subfamily Mustelinae - to which weasels, ferrets and minks belong - is older than previously thought. The true origin of weasels dates back to the end of the Miocene, about 6.5 million years ago.
The study is led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). It was published in the journal 'Palaeontology'. Until now, the oldest fossils of weasels had been found in Poland and Germany. They were about 3.5 million years old. Therefore, this new discovery "doubles" the evolutionary history of the species.
carnivore diet
The discovery is the result of a review of the fossil collection of the National Museum of Natural Sciences. It is relevant to continue research activity within the paleontological collections themselves. This relative of weasels already had a "very small" body size, 134 grams. It is similar to that of the least weasel (Mustela nivalis), the smallest carnivore today. But their teeth already show adaptations typical of a highly carnivorous diet.
«Size reduction and adaptations to capture small vertebrates appeared very early in the evolutionary history of this group. Probably in relation to environmental changes and the expansion of certain rodents during the end of the Miocene," they add.
The true origin of weasels is due to the combination of classical comparative anatomy techniques with advanced analysis methods. «It is a clear example of the great fossil wealth of mammals in Aragon, recognized on a global scale. Our team has been contributing to the excavation of sites and the study of mammal fossils for decades,” they conclude.
weasel family
The next step, the researcher anticipates, will be to find new fossils. These may allow us to reconstruct in greater detail the early evolution of weasels and their relatives. At the same time, the team continues to investigate the fossil record of carnivorous mammals from the Miocene and Pliocene in the Mediterranean region and Africa. "We want to reconstruct with greater precision the early evolution of different families of carnivores," they add.
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