Wikia

Megazostrodon

Name	Megazostrodon

Order	Morganucodonta

Class	Synapsidae/Mammilia

Name Translation	Mega-Girdled-Tooth

Period	Late Triassic Period 200 million years ago

Location	Africa

Diet	Insectivore, Omnivore

Length	4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm)

Megazostrodon (meg-UH-zoss-TROH-don) was a small, shrew-like mammal that first evolved during the Late Triassic Period some 200 million years ago, about the same time as some of the earliest dinosaurs like Coelophysis and Eoraptor. It was first discovered in 1966 in Lesotho, Africa by Ione Ruder, but it wasn't described until two years later by A.W. Crompton and F.A. Jenkins Jr.

PaleobiologyEdit

Megazostrodon had many features much like modern-day rodents, and was one of the first creatures to give birth to live young and nurse its young. It is commonly refferred to as the first true mammal, but this is somewhat debated, and some scientists say that it was more like an advanced synapsid than a true mammal. Whether it was or not, Megazostrodon certainly had very mammal-like features, such as fur, whiskers, paws, and sticking-out ears. It was small, only about 5 in. (12 cm.) long, with its tail making up most of its length, but its actually man's and all modern-day mammals' closest relative during the early Mesozoic Era. It was most likely and insectivore/omnivore, and probably ate about anything it could. It had long whiskers to help feel its way around in the dark, so it can escape from the predators during the day. It most likely lived in tunnels underground, and possibly fed on some roots or burrowing insect while it was down there or some small dinosaurs.

In Popular CultureEdit

A Megazostrodon named Tiny was featured in a Dink the Little Dinosaur episode, where it helped

Dink get past a bullying sauropod, however, the closest thing to a sauropod Megazostrodon ever saw were the prosauropods like Plateosaurus. It also featured in the fourth Land Before Time movie named Tickles, and is sh