Sinodelphys facts for kids
Quick facts for kids SinodelphysTemporal range: Lower Cretaceous
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| Sinodelphys szalayi fossil displayed in Hong Kong Science Museum. | |
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†Sinodelphys
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†S. szalayi
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Sinodelphys was an extinct mammal that lived a very long time ago. It lived during the Lower Cretaceous period. This was about 125 million years ago!
Sinodelphys is special because it belongs to a group called Metatheria. This group includes all modern marsupials. Marsupials are mammals like kangaroos and opossums. They often carry their babies in a pouch.
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Discovering an Ancient Mammal
Scientists found the fossil of Sinodelphys in 2003. It was discovered in China, in a place called Liaoning Province. The fossil was in rocks from the Yixian Formation.
This fossil is the oldest known metatherian ever found. It is almost as old as the first placental mammals. Placental mammals are like humans and dogs. Their babies grow inside the mother's body.
What Sinodelphys Looked Like
Sinodelphys szalayi was a small creature. It was only about 15 centimeters (6 inches) long. That's about the length of a pencil! It probably weighed around 30 grams (1 ounce). This is about the weight of a small candy bar.
Scientists found its fossilized skeleton. Around the bones, they could see outlines of its fur and soft body parts. This is very rare! The animal was quickly buried by fine dirt after volcanic events. This helped to preserve all the tiny details.
How Sinodelphys Lived
Scientists think Sinodelphys lived in trees. They figured this out by looking at its foot structure. It was similar to modern opossums, which are good tree climbers.
Sinodelphys likely hunted for food in the trees. It probably ate small creatures like worms and insects.
Most metatherians from the Mesozoic Era lived in North America and Asia. Many of them lived during the Upper Cretaceous period. This was between 90 and 65 million years ago.
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: Sinodelphys para niños
